I Just Bought My First Parasound...Used!

[arftech]

My Parasound HCA 1205A is an older amp that has been discontinued and will be mated with a Yamaha RX-Z7 AVR. The plan is to bypass the amps in the Yamaha for both 2 channel and multi-channel music/video.

I'm wondering how my system will sound after everything is configured. By the way, this is the first time using a separate amp with a receiver. What can I expect?

Thanks,

Al

[blownrx7]

My Parasound HCA 1205A is an older amp that has been discontinued and will be mated with a Yamaha RX-Z7 AVR. The plan is to bypass the amps in the Yamaha for both 2 channel and multi-channel music/video.
I'm wondering how my system will sound after everything is configured. By the way, this is the first time using a separate amp with a receiver. What can I expect?Al

Welcome to the forum!
That is a good question! The Yamaha is a pretty nice receiver and I've heard (second-hand only, sorry) that it has very pleasing sound.
The Parasound is a good 10 years old but the 140w/channel is probably a little more real than the Yamaha's same 140w power rating (receiver ratings always seem to be a little optimistic). It may depend on the load that your speakers present. If it is a difficult load, I suspect the Parasound will sound better. If not a difficult load, the difference MAY be minimal. Overall, the Parasound will probably be able to drive your speakers to higher sound levels. I'd be very interested to hear your findings on this. Keep us informed.

[Chris D]

Hey, Al, congrats, and welcome! :banana:

RX has the right viewpoint. In general, you WILL get better results by bypassing a receiver's amplification and getting nice amps as separates. Even if the receiver does have decent amps, by doing the power amplification in a separate unit, you're taking the EMI produced by the power amps and physically moving it away from the components doing the hi-fi processing. This should yield a cleaner sound.

You don't have to use multi-thousand dollar cables, but just make sure you use decent connection cables between the pre-amp and new amps so you don't throw out the new benefits you should be gaining.

[Audio bliss]

Welcome to the parasound club!..im sure you will notice a cleaner more definition and space in your music and also your movies should be a bit more dynamic.....thats what i got when i added a parasound halo a23 amp to my h/k avr(preamp) ...at least buying a used amp you know its been broken in! ....and yes good cables for sure make a diffrence..im using straight wire cresendo jr.s.....enjoy your new amp!

[arftech]

Thanks everyone! I am noticing more space, detail and clarity after inserting the amp to the pre/out section of the Z7. BTW, I'm using the Silver Serpent cables and the same cables are used with my Esoteric DV-50 for 2 channel and SACD audio. To be honest inserting the 1205A into the chain has really been a revelation and I'm looking for a long standing relationship with Parasound.

I haven't sat down and watched a Blu-Ray movie yet but I'm inspecting an increase in the sonics when I do.

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

Al

[arftech]

Welcome to the parasound club!..im sure you will notice a cleaner more definition and space in your music and also your movies should be a bit more dynamic.....thats what i got when i added a parasound halo a23 amp to my h/k avr(preamp) ...at least buying a used amp you know its been broken in! ....and yes good cables for sure make a diffrence..im using straight wire cresendo jr.s.....enjoy your new amp!

I almost threw up in my mouth after seeing the price of the cables! What an expensive hobby we have but quality interconnects do make a difference.

Al

[Chris D]

For those that don't know, HTGuide's administrator also has a business that makes and sells custom cables. Great stuff. You may want to check them out. Forum sponsor. All my cables are Cats, and they're rocking my system.

https://www.catcables.com

Links also at top and bottom of each forum page.