My HK AVR-230 as good as a HCA-750A?!

[CarlosM]

Now that i've gotten you're attention, hear me out.

My current setup:

B&W;
2x DM602 S3's <-- mains which were being used in testing
2X DM601 S3's
1x LCR60

my receiver is an HK AVR-230.

I went to my local dealer and took home a Parasound HCA-750A Stereo Amp. An improvement, i was sure, over my HK Reciever, for power.

Well, after extensive testing.. near A/B speeds.. i have come to the conclusion that there is no reasonable difference! I ran the tests for my gf, who also sat through the blind a/b testing and also concluded there is no way that it is worth getting the amp.. at nearly any cost.. because we cant tell! We demo'd several discs, and different types (even using the well-made Hell Freezes Over/Eagles DTS disc).

I also used some rather nice quality interconnects on loan (Nordost) and had my speaker wire crimped and sodderred w/ some gold plated banana plugs.

I wanted to get this amp.. i had been researching amps for some time now and i am very dissapointed in my results.

What gives?

Here's my defense: my dvd/cd player.. it is a (prepare yourself) $40 apex player. Tomorrow i am going to demo a higher end media player because the only rational reasoning is that the source is the weakest link in the chain (because i find it hard to believe 1,000's of audio-freaks are wrong about higher-quality external amps).

That said, my room is also rather small (16x11x8) so the demands on very small. I listen at around ~85db at my listening position (~8ft from speakers). My point is, maybe i do not require alot of power?

What is everyone's take on this?

[Scarp]

Hi,

Its very likely that the Parasound amp can't shine because of limitations within your current set. You mention this yourself as well. However your front speakers also might limit what parasounds are often good at, given good, tight and deep bass.

On the other hand, it might that you dont listen in a way that you notice difference.

But why is a bad thing that you and your gf don't hear a difference? Its a good thing, since it saves you money in getting this amp, which you can spend on something else. A good replacement for your dvd player, might give you more improvement. Improved cabling, etc.

So, just look at something else you might consider replacing. Or try a different amp.