I've not had the HCA 3500 in my system for a listen, though I've had other older Parasound HCA amps. I currently own an HPA 2 and 3, and consider then far better than the Parasounds I owned. I liked the HCA's, but find the Proceed just seems to do everything easier... It really shines on difficult speakers provng excellent detail without blurring things together which I found the Parasound to do. It is a slightly more relaxed and neutral amp then the Parasounds I've had as well. Hope that helps some.
I am unaware of an upgrade to fix reliability issues, though I've not had any problems with mine to date.
I am unaware of an upgrade to fix reliability issues, though I've not had any problems with mine to date.