Parasound Amp + Rotel Preamp?

[Russ L]

I am considering adding a Parasound A23 Amp to my Rotel RSX 1057 Surround Receiver(using it as the pre for the front two channels). Would this combo sound good together? Does the A23 have a better ability to handle power demands at low speaker impedances than the Rotel RB-1070 or RB-1080 2ch power amps? Thx. Regards, Russ

[linuxtx]

While I would absolutely choose the A23 over the RB-1070, I would have a difficult time choosing it over the RB-1080. Simply put that is a lot of extra headroom you are giving up. The Halo series is a step up from the comparable Rotel model, no question, but the A23 doesn't have the power that the RB-1080 has. The RB-1080 is a great sounding amp. If you really want to stick in that budget area, I would give the 1080 a good listen, if you can step up the budget a good bit, give the A21 a listen, but it is also twice the price of the 1080. I think you would be happy with any of them driving your mains.

[Pookie007]

I am using a couple A23 amps in my system. I preferred the sound over the Rotel equipment. These amps have provided plenty of power for my application. At one point I used the amps in conjunction with a receiver. The amp was a huge improvement over the receiver amplification. If you need more power the A21 would be another nice option but price/performance comparison vs the 1080 won't justify the price increase.

A couple things about the Parasound amps I didn't realize when I purchased it, was the trigger is a sub mini connector. I had to get an adapter from Radio Shack to convert from the mini connector every other component in my rack uses. I also had a hum problem at first. I fixed it by filtering my cable line, but I also heard a cheater to remove the ground will also work. The Halo's also run a lot hotter than my Audio Research amp. I haven't had a problem with it overheating, but it does run warm.