Parasound or Classé???

[jericho]

As proud owner of a pair of new Nautilus 800D, I'm now looking for a pair of amplifiers in combination with a processor.
I heard the new classé CA-M4OO in combination with my speakers and it sounded fantastic.I have a Belgian friend who has the old Nautilus 802 in combination with Parasound and it sounds nice too (JC1 in combination with C1)
A lot of people advise me to take Classé because the production of their new amplifiers was made together with B&W and they seem to be made for those new series of speakers.
Is the JC-1 as good as the CA-M400 monoblock and is the C1 processor as good as the classé 600???
Please a little advise and help guys???

[Peter Nielsen]

They are both good products from reputable manufacturers. Listen to both and go with the dealer that gives you the better deal! That said, it's probably also worth pointing out that the CA-M400 and JC-1 obviously were designed with different criteria:

Classé has favored a lower power consumption and less heat instead of high bias class A operation. Their web site says: "For Classé amplifiers, output stage DC bias is set to idle at a relatively low level to minimize heat."

The JC-1 lets you choose between low bias and high bias. However, even at low bias, it generates a considerable amount of heat. In high bias mode, it runs extremely hot.

The Classé website is a bit vague about the CA-M400 specs. For instance it does not mention the power in 2 ohms, the maximum output current (Ampères), the number and type of output transistors, and the size of the transformer and capacitors. I would look at all these details before making a decision...

Peter

[jericho]

Thanks a lot Peter, at least one answer!!!
You think a Parasound JC-1 can drive without problem those 800D Nautilus???
I can buy Parasound at half the price, compared with Classé but B&W is always demonstrating with Classé.i know they own Classé but is Parasound high end or do we have to compare it with for example Rotel???

[Peter Nielsen]

You think a Parasound JC-1 can drive without problem those 800D Nautilus???

No question about it. If the CA-M400 can drive them, then the JC-1 should do it just as well.

I use a pair of JC-1s to drive my Magnepan 20.1 (85dB/1W/1m), which probably are even thougher to drive than the Nautilus 800D (90dB/1W/1m).

Thanks to the high DC bias, the JC-1 should at least in theory sound better than the CA-M400. However, let me be clear and say that I have not heard the CA-M400, so whether this is true in real life I can't tell! The cost to pay for the high bias current is that you can't install the JC-1 in a rack if you intend to run it in high bias mode. (Even with low bias the JC-1 requires a 6" clearance on top and 3" on the sides).

is Parasound high end or do we have to compare it with for example Rotel???

If you read the reviews, you will find that some people consider the JC-1 to be in its own league above other Parasound amplifiers (not my words). AFAIK Rotel does not really have any amp that matches the JC-1. Also, compared to the Bryston 7B-SST, the JC-1 has the edge, IMHO. However, Bryston is a definitely a very worthy opponent with its 20 year warranty and other nice features like 4-way exchangable silver or black front panels and handles (a very nice touch that I wish Parasound had adopted).

Peter

[Chris D]

Peter, you always amaze me when you remind me that you're using TWO JC-1's for a Magnepan. That's absolutely awesome. I really want to go to electrostatic next.