C2 Stereo.

[Coachbob]

\hi this is my first posting. Having recently aquired JC1's B51 and a C2

I recently read a review of the C1 (I assume the C2 is the same). It had one major critism, that of it's stereo. It implied that this could be improved by using the balanced imputs.

Is this true?

If so my CD and DVD players do not have such outputs. Can I obtain an interconnect that has RCA and XLR connections or would this defeat the point?

This could be used for SACD stereo output. Or could it be also used insted of digital interconnects on normal CD's


One further point my DVD and Plasma have HDMI connections, is it possible to utilise these with the c2 instead of a direct connection.

Your thoughts would be appreciated

Many Thanks Bob

[Peter Nielsen]

\hi this is my first posting. Having recently aquired JC1's B51 and a C2

Congratulations to an excellent choice and welcome to the club! I am also the lucky owner of a pair of JC1s, an A51, and a C2! They're awsome! :sn

I recently read a review of the C1 (I assume the C2 is the same). It had one major critism, that of it's stereo. It implied that this could be improved by using the balanced imputs.

You should use balanced (XLR) between the C2 and JC1s and A51.

Yes, the C1 and C2 are identical. The C1 only adds a small LCD and a third set of switched RGBHV inputs. That's it!

If so my CD and DVD players do not have such outputs.

Forget the analog interconnects! You should use the RCA coaxial digital link. It is important that you make sure to use a digital cable or a 75 ohm video cable! (A cable intended for analog sound will NOT work right - it might seem to work, but in the long run you will end up having problems).

Alternatively, you can use the optical Toslink connector.

Can I obtain an interconnect that has RCA and XLR connections or would this defeat the point?.

Yes, that would defeat the point. You should run a DIGITAL connection between your CD/DVD and the C2. My preference is the coaxial connection, but the optical will work just as well...

The only reason why you would want ever to run analog stereo between the CD and C2 is if you believe the CD has a better DA-converter than the one in C2. (The DA converter in the C2 is very good. Since your CD doesn't even have XLR outputs, it is unlikely that the DA in the CD is better).

One further point my DVD and Plasma have HDMI connections, is it possible to utilise these with the c2 instead of a direct connection.

Get an external HDMI switch that is controlled by the C2's RS-232 output. (If you have a Crestron/AMX controller, or a PC and some programming skills, this will be rather easily achieved). Or, if you're not in a hurry, wait. I'm sure Parasound will eventually add this feature.

BTW, how did you end up routing the trigger wires? I found that the best solution is C2->A51->JC1->JC1 since the JC1 allows you to set a power on delay and the A51 does not.

Peter

[Coachbob]

Did I say B51 meant A51, so I have the same proc+amp set up as you.

thanks for the reply. The review I was referring to is in Home cinema.

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/cgi-bin/displayreview.php?reviewid=4808

For clarification It refers to the XLR imputs on the C1

I will study your reply later

Once again thanks

[goldear]

The only criticism that I could imagine with regards to the Halo's "stereo" performance and XLR connections would be that by using XLR you could bypass the Halo's dacs and processing and use it as a pure analog preamp.

If this is your goal, you could still use the multi-channel input with standard RCA connections (or Zone 2 since I think that is also analog)...[only if your CD/DVD player has better dacs than those in the Halo]. Fortunately, the Halo's dacs are very good so in most cases, as noted, just use the digital outputs on your player into the Halo.

[goldear]

After a brief glimpse of that review you provided, I noticed that some of the information regarding the Halo is not correct:

"Surprisingly, however, there is no single ended input that bypasses digital conversion. Even the multichannel analogue input is treated digitally, which reinforces the impression that the Halo system is first and foremost a home cinema system and not one intended to replace a high end audiophile music system. The only exception is the balanced input, which appears to be processed in the analogue domain."

It goes on to conclude: "The quality of the surround processing is excellent, but not quite state of the art, and the shortage of true analogue bypasses means that it's not possible to make the most of [multichannel] analogue sources."

This is incorrect as the 7.1 multi-channel input/bypass is indeed analog. The irony here is that the Halo is one of the few SSPs that has a pure multichannel analog input/bypass. Heck, one of the reviews in Widescreen (I think) compared the 7.1 "analog" bypass favorably with the all-analog McCormack multichannel pre-amp. Another review from Audioholics also mentioned that Zone 2 is also completely analog...so that may be another option.

If by chance you have a high-end CD player that does not have balanced outputs (and assuming its dacs are better than the Halo's) you could use these inputs as an analog passthrough. But as noted above, most this is moot since the Halo's dacs are very good and you still have these available options, if need be. If you go to ecoustics.com they may still have some of the archived reviews, which show the Halo's dac section beating out some of the better stand-alone units...as well as those from the likes of TAG.

[nicholtl]

Chris, Zone 2 is an analog output, however. How would that work with a source (like a CD player) that you're trying to input?

[goldear]

Hey Nic...if we are talking about a true analog signal without any dacs or processing than you would just use the analog, single-ended outs on the player into the single-ended inputs into the Halo. Unlike the A/D converters on the main, it would appear that everything is bypassed when going to the 2nd Zone.

Remember...most SSPs (although this is changing) don't have dacs on the their 2nd zones which is why you always have to use any analog input if you want sound in the 2nd Zone. The question is, do they (Parasound) use the A/Ds in the second zone? Not according to Secrets of HiFi (sorry, I thought it was Audiohilics), as they state:

"As an interesting side note, the Zone 2 outputs are not digitized and pass the analog signal untouched."

Unfortunately, I no longer have my C2 hooked up to test this claim...although if true, it's a perfect setup for someone like me who has two zones...one specifically for HT and the other for 2-channel music. Give a try

[dts_boy]

my two pennies worth:
I have a c2 and an arcam dv27 as a dvd plater and for cd playback. for dvd use, obviusly i have it connected digtially - co-axial using chord company digital cable. for cd playback i have used the analogue outputs into the c2 using nordost red dawn rca interconnects. i have compared the digital playback against the analogue for cd playback and actually prefer the analogue. it seems a bit sweeter sounding and bass is slightly more refined. The other benefit of it set up in this way, i can setup the cd player as a seperate input and tune it accordingly, dvd is then a comlpetely seperate input again, setup independant from cd.
My advice, just play around and see what you prefer, its really down to the cd/dvd player you will be using and how good its dacs actually are-i belive the dacs in my arcam to be supereior to thos if the halo (this is not a negative comment - so no flaming )

[goldear]

DTS:

...for cd playback i have used the analogue outputs into the c2 using nordost red dawn rca interconnects...i belive the dacs in my arcam to be supereior to those in the halo (this is not a negative comment - so no flaming.
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No flaming...but something you might want to consider. Since you are using RCA interconnects for your analog connection, you are not using the dacs in your Arcam. Anything that goes into the Parasound using their single-ended (RCA) inputs is converted by Halo's own A/D converters. As noted above, if you want to use the dacs in your player, you either have to use the multichannel (7.1) input or the balanced input...if you have an output on your player. If not, what you are hearing is still the Halo's processing.

[nicholtl]

Chris is right. That was the dilemma I had between my CD player and my turntable. My CD player is a Classe CDP-10, which cost $2000, and my turntable is the Music Hall MMF-5, which costs about $600, and I could only plug one of them into the balanced-ins. And since my multichannel-ins are taken up by my dedicated SACD/DVD-A player, I decided to relegate the turntable to regular analog RCA inputs (being the cheaper unit).

However, the Halo's A/D converters are truly awesome. I assume, DTS Boy, that you listen to your CD's in 2-channel. Stereo96 (no sub output) and Stereo (sub) are two phenomenal modes for 2-channel playback. So much so that it's not all that bad even compared to the balanced analog pass-through.

[dts_boy]

Chris - i stand corrected, i am not really one for facts and figures; never read the manual when i got the c2 and just got on with things! I generally listen using the stereo mode as i like the sub to handle the low stuff but stereo96 is fantastic also. I am gonna try using the multi-channel inputs to see what difference that makes but to be honest i don't really get the time to sit down and enjoy music as much as i like to anymore

[goldear]

Hey DTS,

If it sounds good to you...that's all that matters. As Nic mentioned, both the A/D and D/A converters in the Parasound are excellent. In fact, when I compared my older Citation 7s analog signal to that of the Halo's analog inputs (via the A/D) the sound was very similar (excellent low-end extension with a smooth top-end), which is saying a lot since the Citation was one of the better analog preamp/processors around.

That being said, I have heard great things about the Arcam you have, so it will not hurt to give it a try through the 7.1 bypass and see if those dacs are indeed better than the Halos.

Heck, if your not using the multichannel inputs, you could just run another set of analog RCAs out of the second stereo pair from the Arcam and do a direct comparison. The good news is that although the 7.1 bypass is analog, you still have (I believe) trim and level controls to level-match with your other channels. Let me know how it comes out

[nicholtl]

And for all analog sources, make sure you adjust the analog monitor function (in source setup) to make sure you don't get clipping.