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Difference between collectable and vintage

B

Benbo

New Member
I recently bought a Parasound HCA 2200 ll . I am the second owner and it came with the original sales receipt, 1997, Panamax line conditioner same circa and a vent fan. I had just recently purchased a stereo Parasound preamp so I am now just awaiting the wife approval for spare bedroom. Question is, I read and hear discussion about vintage and expensive gear all the time. Is there a reason that Parasound is mentioned as being good equipment but not mentioned in the same breath as some sought after gear?

Is Parasound considered "-roll your sleeves up get the job done" type of equipment rather than a "get you there with bells and whistles " type of amp?
 
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Listen for yourself.
If you think it's special, it is.
I've never heard one.
I've owned pieces of gear that people raved about. Some I shared the opinion. Others not so much.
Could be taste, system synergy , perhaps condition of piece when viewer owned.
Judge for yourself.
I got a different take based on the title.
Some collect gear because (they can, they like it, they want the whole line, they're hoarders, it pisses off their SO)
Some people need multiple systems.
Some lusted for gear in their youth' that they couldn't afford then and can now.
There are rational and irrational reasons for owning gear ( and I'm not one to judge)
Listen to your parasound gear. Decide for yourself.
Maybe you'll change the narration.
 
I look @ Parasound much as I do Adcom,NAD and say Rotel et-al.
That is it's largely "good bang for the buck" workingman's "mid-fi" gear (for lack of a better term).

They started out as a fairly modest outfit,but yeah they've upped thier game as they got some years under their belt.
So Parasound now is quite a different beast than it started out as.

Truth is they can build gear with the best if they choose to,but they're also not blind to the needs of the masses.

Regardless John Curl's name alone earns them a good deal of respect in most audio circles.

Me,,,I like Parasound gear just fine,,,it fits right into my target demographics... :thumbsup:

FWIW

Bret P.
 
Parasound "mid-fi?"
Maybe their lowest line (still very good)
but certainly not their higher lines. Their
higher lines are most definitely "hi-fi."
Perhaps it would be wise to investigate before passing judgment.
 
Parasound is designed by Richard Schramm. Before Parasound, he designed Concept receivers. Mr. Schramm knows how to design great sounding gear. Whether this elevates his product to collectable is something else. The Concept 16.5 is certainly collectable but the 2.5 and 4.5 much less so.
 
SoCal Sam said:
Parasound is designed by Richard Schramm. Before Parasound, he designed Concept receivers. Mr. Schramm knows how to design great sounding gear. Whether this elevates his product to collectable is something else. The Concept 16.5 is certainly collectable but the 2.5 and 4.5 much less so.
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Evidentially you are unaware of John Curls' involvement in the design of Parasound amplifiers going back quite a ways. :confused:
 
Was Parasound ever sold in the UK? I don’t think i’ve ever seen any of their gear over here
 
Benbo said:
I recently bought a Parasound HCA 2200 ll . I am the second owner and it came with the original sales receipt, 1997...... Is there a reason that Parasound is mentioned as being good equipment but not mentioned in the same breath as some sought after gear?
Click to expand...

Your thread title & post do not seem to have anything in common, what is it you're trying to get at?

Based on thread title Parasound is not even close to being considered "vintage" in these forums at least as to collectable that is debatable

I think most people would agree a pair of 1963 KLH Model 6 speakers, a 1974 Sansui 9090 receiver or a 1961 HH Scott 299 tube amp would be what we would call "Vintage" the Parasound from 1997 not so much

Based on your initial post, "not mentioned in the same breath as some some sought after gear" what "sought after gear" (brands) are you comparing the Parasound to?

Not trying to be harsh just trying to get a little clarity as to what you're looking for answers to.
 
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Benbo said:
I recently bought a Parasound HCA 2200 ll . ... Question is, I read and hear discussion about vintage and expensive gear all the time. Is there a reason that Parasound is mentioned as being good equipment but not mentioned in the same breath as some sought after gear?
Click to expand...
It's not vintage enough to be considered vintage, or vintage enough to be considered collectable.

Yet.

Ask again in 20 years.
 
I have a Parasound DAC, model D/AC-1000. Uses two highly revered Burr Brown PCM63P DAC chips and the build quality is really over the top. Three linear power supplies, one for the digital section and two of them for the analog section. It's hard to beat for Red Book CD playing and the latest crop of DAC's are trying to copy what Burr Brown did in that PCM63P chip.
In an interview a few years ago, the top designer/owner of Schitt called the BB PCM63P chip the best DAC chip that was ever built.
I consider it vintage, it was built in 1991, 28 years ago. For digital gear it is antiquated. Funny thing is, it still sounds great! Very musical, can listen to it all day long.
That is really my only experience with Parasound. Based on that I would say that they are capable of building top notch products. I think John Curl was involved in that design.

BillWojo
 
darkblue94 said:
Parasound "mid-fi?"
Maybe their lowest line (still very good)
but certainly not their higher lines. Their
higher lines are most definitely "hi-fi."
Perhaps it would be wise to investigate before passing judgment.
Click to expand...
I said for lack of a better term,,,sigh... :rolleyes:
There's the older Parasound gear,and there is the newer Parasound gear.
Now seeing this thread is supposed to be about collectable vs. vintage I figured the basis of this discussion was more towards their older gear.
Maybe I should've said it's not what I'd consider "high end" gear ??? :wtf:
xero-D-hero said:
They started out as a fairly modest outfit,but yeah they've upped thier game as they got some years under their belt.
So Parasound now is quite a different beast than it started out as.

Truth is they can build gear with the best if they choose to,but they're also not blind to the needs of the masses.
Click to expand...
I made it pretty clear they can build some very nice gear,but I stand by my POV that I would'nt consider them a high end brand per-se.
I gave a good frame of reference by listing brands I'd associate with that sort gear (Adcom ~ NAD ~ Rotel etc. etc.)

I actually own Parasound gear,so I'm not talking about something I have no experience with.
And yeah it's older Parasound gear too,P/FET-900 preamp,2x D/AC-1000,and a f210s EQ.

That f210s EQ,that clearly was'nt even made by Parasound,it was a generic EQ that was re-branded as Parasound and sold to the masses.
So it's not "hi-fi" by any stretch of the imagination.

The P/FET-900 aint too shabby,reminds me a lot of a Kenwood Basic C1,and I love my Basic C1,hence why I bought the P/FET.
But again not a "high end" preamp (neither is the Kenwood C1),,,now is it "hi-fi" ??? to me yeah,,,but to the next guy maybe not so much...

Now the D/AC-1000,like BillWojo said they're nice,waaayyy better than they needed to be,and seriously under-rated as SOP.
It's the closest to "high end" and it's definitely "hi-fi",but if one asked random audio types they would likely call it mid-fi as SOP.
That's because the high end DACs can easily cost five figures as SOP.

And everytime you'll hear a reference to those D/AC-1000 these days it's going to be in a "vintage" DAC thread.
So yeah Parasound can be considered vintage IMO.

And IMO it can be very collectable too.
I'd buy every D/AC-1000 ~ D/AC-1500 I could afford w/o giving it a second thought,so to me those are collectables.

Anyhow I wsa hoping no one would take that "mid-fi" nugget too seriously.
But I kinda had a gut feeling it was'nt gonna slide on by everyone.

:dunno:

Bret P.
 
On paper, your Parasound HCA 2200 ll is a real monster amp: https://www.parasound.com/vintage/hca2200.php

Whether or not it sounds as impressive as its description is something that only people who have heard it can answer. This will now include you! When you've listened long enough to form an opinion, please let us know. :)

I've bought my gear almost entirely on reputation, since home auditioning is next to impossible for most of us these days, at least without abusing a return policy. There is a difference between a reputation formed over the years by a consensus of experienced listeners, and a reputation formed in the moment by fans who just bought one. It is sometimes hard to imagine better until you hear it for yourself. If you hear lots of new things on familiar recordings, then you know your ears are receiving more information. Some worthy components never accumulate a reputation simply because few were made, so knowledge of them is not widespread. Your amp may be an example, in which case you are the expert.

Buying equipment by reputation in order to get good sound is one thing, but buying by reputation in order to receive community approval, or for bragging rights, is quite another, and IMO not worthwhile. Others may disagree.
 
Vintage is a period of time. Collectable denotes something has worth. Just because a piece is vintage doesn't mean it has value. Remember there is a sucker born every minute. I have some old baseballs I used as kid I am willing to sell you for a $1000.00 each if you are stupid enough.
 
Vintage implies a certain age.
Collectible implies it was somehow magic to someones ears. People wanted to collect one or more just to have some of that magic. Opinions play a big part in this judgement.
 
Late 90’s era gear is a little young to be what I consider “new vintage”, but Parasound from that era does fit nicely into the category that is “high on performance and quality, fully depreciated in value and not likely to require servicing”...which means excellent bang for the buck and a great category in the hifi hobby to play around in.
 
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