Equipment > Other Equipment
Parasound amplifier died - looking for a receiver now
BSD2000:
My 18 year old Parasound HCA-2205A amplifier decided to self destruct yesterday with loud explosions and heavy smoke. It's a 5 channel amp and channel 3 was dead for years and I really only used it for the front two channels. Now, it's completely dead; a 90 pound paperweight. :(
I didn't open it up to see the carnage yet, but I think I'm just going to replace it with a 7.2 channel receiver since I watch more movies than listen to 2-channel music. Plus, my Parasound C2 preamp is limited to 96k/24bit audio and I would be nice to be able to play higher resolution audio like 192k/24bit and DSD in the living room. Plus, the C2 has component video and no HDMI video/audio inputs so it's time to bring my home theater into the 21st century. ;)
I'm not looking for a really expensive receiver, somewhere between $500 ~ $700 is about it for now. The three brands I'm looking at is Pioneer Elite, Denon and Onkyo. Here's some of the features I'm looking for:
- 4K passthrough; upconversion a plus
- DSD 2.8Mhz audio playback, 5.6 a plus
- At least 100W per channel
- WIFI connectivity, wired network and bluetooth
- A decent Android app to control the receiver
- Auto calibration (distance/size/EQ)
- Burr Brown, CS or AK DAC's (No SABRE dac's)
- AM/FM radio a plus
- Internet radio a plus
I was wondering if anyone has experience with the sound quality between modern Onkyo and Denon receivers. I tend to prefer a warmer, fuller sound - that's why I shy away from components with a SABRE DAC which tend to sound hyper-realistic and etchy. My Paradigm Studio 100 speakers are VERY power hungry and have an average load of 6 Ohms, so the more current - the better.
Which receiver company would have the highest current and cleanest amplifier output? Which one would have the most 'analog' sound quality? Does Onkyo still have issues with LCPM audio and HDMI switching?
My Parasound amp was a beast and I miss it dearly. I might send it out for repair and upgrade my preamp at a later date, but for now, I'll settle for a 'cheap' receiver and see how it goes.
Any suggestions?
BSD2000:
Things just went from bad to worse. When the amp died, it sent a strong DC current through the right channel and fried the two woofers in one of my Studio 100 speakers. The two woofers are stiff and locked up. The voice coils must have fried and welded themselves to the center pole magnet. The tweeter and midbass drivers are OK; I didn't look at the crossover yet.
I did send an email to Paradigm to see if they still have woofers available for Studio 100's v2.
BSD2000:
I received a quick reply back from Paradigm - they don't make the drivers anymore, nor do they have any 'old stock' lying around; but they can rebuild the drivers back to factory specifications if I send them in. ;D
Here's a couple pictures of the disassembly of my speaker. The crossover looks fine - no exploded caps or burn marks on the inductor.
shadowlord:
sorry to hear about your amp and speaker.
let us know how the re-work turns out.
BSD2000:
Well, good news - the speakers were shipped out today. :) They say it could take four to six weeks to rebuild the speakers and ship them back. In the meantime, I plan on calling Parasound to discuss what they can do to help me get the HCA-2205 amp back up and running. The amp weighs almost 90 pounds, so shipping it out for repair is going to cost quite a bit of money. :(
I'm debating whether to put both repaired drivers in one speaker, or split them up - one original and one repaired driver per speaker to even out the possible audible difference (if any). What do you guys think?
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