Parasound vs Emotiva

I think the x factor will be going from all single ended to all XLR. I know the preamp doubles its voltage and my dac is balanced. The X26 Pro is Badass. Class A, just a beauty.

Btw, initially the entire system was emotiva and I've been slowly replacing parts with large upgrades, not lateral, in cost.

Let's not bash on Emotiva, they are excellent for the money. And some of these items they have are clearly loss leaders. I would pay a grand for the t zero speakers I have and not even blink. They were 399. I still can't believe I paid 399 for them, the value is off the charts.

You get what you pay for in general though and there is better, hence the upgrades, but if I was stuck with an Emo system for life I'd still be miles ahead of the general public. Miles and miles.

Not sure how to reply to individual posts, forum is a bit of a mystery still, but thank you Ja kb z!

I think if I like the a23+ in near field then a JC 5 will be in my future for main duties.

Sounds like you have a nice system there, wow!

Any further anecdotes on the Parasounds?

I too was going to get an R2R, the Venus, but I decided what I really wanted was a Terminator+ and that is simply not in the cards, so I instead decided to go with the most advanced "conventional" dac i could afford at the moment.

That Dac has a beautiful sound! I think its doing most of the work right now. Can’t wait to hear it in balanced mode with xlrs ;)

I just now swapped one of the new pairs of xlrs between the dac and preamp and got rid of the rca. Punchiness has come up some! I think the poor Emo would benefit by being balanced. Can’t wait to go all the way xlr from preamp to Parasound in a few days!

Also, the subs are really quite good, as a $400 8 inch should be, but they will eventually transform into REL T7X :)

Thanks man!

I’m going to reply to you better when I can post on something other than my phone. This forum is wonky on it. No I was replying to another guy. Some people wanna just bash on Emotiva, and its really a disingenuous band wagon thing. Emotiva is fine gear, but they aim at being very reasonably priced for average people and new people to the hobby. Their upper echelon stuff is high performance no doubt. They wouldn’t still be here othewise. The XPR amps are legendary.

Did all of you drive a Rolls Royce as your first car? My first car was a rusted out Chevy S10. It got me around and expanded my world, and I loved that thing.

Stop being snobs, audiophiles! Nobody thinks thats impressive. New audiophiles on a budget should feel welcome here too otherwise watch the hobby die in a sea of bluetooth speakers.

Last update before I get the amp. I just went XLR between the dac and preamp and Basically uncorked all of the X26 Pro. Holy ****. I could park it here and die happy. Incredible upgrade, just enabling the whole  circuit. I was listening for months single ended.

Love this hobby! 

If your budget is high, no reason to even look at Emotiva. You do get better with more money, nobody disputes that.

But for the same money? Good luck with that!

I will add however that over 12 years I have owned a fair share of zemotiva stuff, and every time I’ve gone to sell it (here, in fact!) I’ve always gotten damn near what I paid.

If Emotiva is "junk" that would have never happened.

I liken them to the "Honda" of audio. Nothing wrong with a Honda! The Accord is a nice car!

Yeah, the subs are actually quite cool in that I go straight from the preamp to the subs, and the subs have a selectable high pass filter for the speakers, and I go from those to the speakers.

I have messed with it all, extensively, and I’m just not able to get that hit to the chest.

The A300 is not a bass monster, ar all. I would call it a little lean. Maybe high efficiency speakers would be different but everything I have, Maggie’s, etc are all hard loads

But I mean, look. How many 25 pound full on class AB, 250 watt amps in a full chassis.. are $399? Again, good luck besting that.

That said it is magic from midrange on up. Magic. At least with almost 3 grand of components feeding it and cut off from 80hz and below. And last night when I went xlr from dac to preamp, good enough to call it a day. Actually got a fair bit of punch enabling both channels of the dac.

I’m getting the Parasiund because I dont want to high pass the speakers anymore, I want some midbass punch and power and control.

So fully balanced to a brand new A23+? Should be pretty sweet!

One thing to remember is I’m nearfield in this system, i sit 2 feet away from towers and subs are behind me to the right and left. I am in the sweet spot for the amp, not driving terribly hard. If I were in a big room, might not be "magic".

I take that back, its a medium sized room, but I am near field, far away from walls.

Interesting AuxInput. Yes I feel like pulling hairs out trying to tell people the amps do sound good. If it sounded like crap would have been gone months ago. I have experience with a lot of amps, maybe not as many as you, but I know good sound.

Well! If the A23+ doesn't do it I will sell it and get a JC5 in a few months or maybe something else along those lines. Monoprice has a $4000 balanced only stereo amp that looks pretty impressive. Or Kinki Studios. 

2 more days!

Maybe, or maybe just get a pair of bespoke NC1200s built with a warrantee!

Hey ja_kub_sz, question!

 I really really love this X26 Pro dac and was thinking of adding the Gustard A18 reclocker, the $1800 model. The X26 Pro is the first device I've owned with. Reclocking port and the first device I've ever heard make a really significant jump when utilized with balanced vs RCA. 

Do you think it would be worth it?

Well I think my review will be fairly in depth and will really be of use to those looking at either brand and kind of what does your money get you.

Everything I said about the Emotiva A300 is true. There are also aspects of it that the Parasound has exposed. But anyone on a tight budget, the Emo is a real audiophile amplifier, full stop, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

And.. the Parasound is on another level. In a few areas they are close and in some other areas definitely not.

Very very nice amp! Give me another 5 days to let it settle in and I will write a full comparison. But in short, yes, the Emo is powered down and will stay that way until I need a surround amp.

You’re not raining on anything, I own the amp, and a Parasound, and I’m telling it like it is.

Yes the amp has fans. Have they ever come on? Never.

Again, class AB, 25 lb, big transformer, $399. SHIPPED. Is your more expensive amplifier better? Could be! Does that make the Emo bad. Not even close.

REL uses passive radiators, and with that bit of common sense out of the way I won’t even bother telling you why these 8"passive radiated subs are also good ;)

(I'm not some noob and I've owned hordes if gear, including all kinds of subs, thank you very much).

All for now.

Not to be a smartass, but you must have a $300,000 system if you are at "the top".

Kudos!

Review is coming soon, sorry I've been on a buying streak. Tomorrow in fact I have a Schiit Lyr headphone amp and Lokius EQ to play with.

Thanks.

Well, I bought headphone gear and that had me occupied for a minute. 

I just ordered CSS 1TDX with the high end crossover. Once I build em I'll put the Emo towers to bed and give both amps a fair shake and  proper review. But my entire system 2 desktop system will be in balance, the T zeros were the cheapest thing in it. Love them but the 1tDX will guaranteed blow them away.

Hifi59, you are clearly talking about the Peachtree amps? If so that's very impressive for the A23+.

With EQ, you can sparkle all day long with a Parasound. The treble is fantastic.