2. amps-preamps
  3. 191082-165655

Parasound Zpre3 SQ

Hi all,

I'm not sure if this is a good place for this, but it appears that I don't have many options anymore, since Parasound no longer supports their products unless you order from them direct.

I have a Zpre3 - its in a stack with a Zamp and a ZDac.  I've determined that the pre is the culprit here.  It is injecting a lot of overprocessing noise and totally thins out the highs and the lows.  It reminds me of what a home theater receiver with one of those overprocessed DSP modes turned on sounds like.  I don't see any settings that would cause this on the unit, and I'm suspecting it may be a defunct piece.

I have a NC 200 that sounds absolutely wonderful in the same setup.  Does anyone have advice about this particular unit? (Zpre3)  I've seen a number of different people on the forums here talk wonderful things about it, and am worried I may be missing something.

128x128historykid
historykid's avatar
historykid OP
3 posts
 

This seems to be amplified by the tone controls of this specific Zpre3.  Anytime the bass is modified at all is when the sound really begins to distort.  This isn't uniform with any of the Parasound gear I've owned previously.  So, it sounds like I have a unit that could be damaged.  Looks like it might be something that needs to get sent in for repair then.

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,504 posts
 

I have a Zpre3 in a fairly good system. It's not a bad preamp but it's not that spectacular. Not even close to my old PHP850. Your unit seems to be not up to specifications. Perhaps change your interconnects to isolate the problem.

historykid's avatar
historykid OP
3 posts
 

The feedback I've seen on the pre is that it's decent enough.  I shouldn't be having the issues I'm having.  I should note, that when I put the NC 200 in place of the ZPre3 - the issues do not occur, so it is absolutely associated with the ZPre3 or something inside of it - not interconnects or other components.  The Pre only needs to function for the tone controls in the system I'm building for now - it's just unfortunate that it seems that's what the actual problem is tied to.

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