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Parasound A21+ good bad ugly?

you should hear it... so much more than the sum of its parts. The P6 volume control takes some getting used to: From 0 to 20 each increment raises the volume 2db, from 21 to 60 it only increases 1/2 db per number, and from 61 to 99 the volume goes up 1 db at a time, so it gets loud very rapidly after you get to 61 (with one amp I would play it LOUD at 75, with two amps I only need to hit 65 to make my ears bleed).
 
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krautmaster said:
The speakers are the very efficient (90dbz) Monitor Audio Silver 500's, but they are not in bridged mono, they are in "Vertical Bi-Amp"- aka the left amp drives the left speaker with the left channel driving the low frequencies, while right channel drives the high frequencies. Right amp does the same thing for the right speaker.....
A21+ Bi - Amp Diagram

A21+ Bi - Amp Diagram

How to Bi-Amp a Parasound A21+ - per Owners Manual
I just like "overkill" !
Click to expand...

yes, nice work!!
Vertical biamping is a great way to go. Have done that many times with big SS amps....
 
krautmaster said:
The speakers are the very efficient (90dbz) Monitor Audio Silver 500's, but they are not in bridged mono, they are in "Vertical Bi-Amp"- aka the left amp drives the left speaker with the left channel driving the low frequencies, while right channel drives the high frequencies. Right amp does the same thing for the right speaker.....
A21+ Bi - Amp Diagram

A21+ Bi - Amp Diagram

How to Bi-Amp a Parasound A21+ - per Owners Manual
I just like "overkill" !
Click to expand...

"Overkill" sounds a bit harsh, perhaps "at least adequate" is appropriate. Your bi-amp setup should definitely provide adequate current delivery to each woofer section, which should tighten everything up and make it sound pretty amazing. I'm guessing bridged mono mode would also sound amazing too, with possibly a slight difference in the distribution of the 120 available peak Amps per channel. Congrats!

I bought an A21+ to power the subwoofer section of my Vandersteen Model 4 speakers, which it does better than anything else I've tried, and I also tested it on the woofer sections of my Vandersteen Model 2ce Signatures, which was kind of mind-bogglingly unbelievably amazing. Nothing prepares you for how much of an absolute beast this amp is when it arrives, and not just because of its extreme heft, but because of its incredibly tight mid-bass and lower-bass control. I've never encountered a better value in high-end electronics than the A21+. I really don't think there's anything to compare to it for under $10,000. Which explains why a lot of high-end dealers don't carry it - it would just embarrass all of their high-margin gear.
 
The JC5 is supposed to be a touch better (for twice the price) but I honestly could not tell the difference, so I went with two A21+, for the price of one JC5.
 
I think you'll like it !.. Just give it lots of time to break in: my A21+ both sounded better after 100 hours, and now with approximately 400 hours they are nirvana.
 
My new Butcher Block Acoustics "Rigidrack" arrived yesterday... what a beast! It came in four boxes with the best packing you will ever see. Each shelf weighs about 50 pounds, and I screwed it together (but not tight) because it had not yet received the wife's stamp of approval. When she got home she said "I don't like brown legs, they should match the color of the speakers and subwoofer" (Rose nut). So apart it came... I have stained the light brown walnut legs with some Varthane Barn Red stain, and darn if they don't nearly match... just have to wait a day or two for the stain to dry and then coat them with urethane. Sometime this coming week I'll have it all done.
 
The new Butcher Block Acoustics "Rigidrack" is all put together... legs stained with Varthane Barn Red stain to help match the Rosenut color of my Monitor Audio 500 speakers (the color match is very close, and the wife is happy with it). I also had to add a 24" x 48" plywood backing to hide what she call the "rats nest" of cables. I'll move everything over this week and see if there is any discernable difference in sound...
1.001

1.001

Rigidrack001
1.002

1.002

rigidrack 2
1.003

1.003

rigidrack 3
1.004

1.004

rigidrack 4
 
So the "Rigidrack" is all done and in place... man is that thing a beast! I have the P6 preamp and the CD player sitting on additional 1.5" maple platforms with their "Iso-Band" insulators. Sounds great, the wife is happy because the legs match the speakers (and the carpet!) and she cannot see any of the "rats nest" of wiring.
1.006

1.006

rigidrack- RATS NEST of wires
1.005

1.005

Rigidrack fully loaded
 
Right away I noticed that voices are clearer and the system is not as "warm" as it was, which is a plus as I finally was able to understand what Eddie Vetter was singing in "Yellow Ledbetter" after all these years. I have read that maple platforms can make a system too bright and cause ringing, but in my case it tweaked what was already soo good into something just a bit better.

My new Rotel CD11 Tribute edition (in silver) arrives Wednesday, I hope it sounds as good as is claimed. The Cambridge Audio CD player is going in the bedroom to replace a crappy DVD player I've been using in there for a long time.

The next (and final) addition will be a Blue Sound Node so that the wife can listen to her Sirius XM channels - she cannot abide all the commercials on regular FM that my brain automatically filters out.
 
Thinking about getting the a21+ to drive my Magnepan 1.7i.

My only concern is that I’ve read that it lacks a bit of sparkle on top, and my taste is on the cool/crisp side of neutral.

Would this be the wrong amp for me?

Thanks in advance for the input.
 
The new Rotel CD11 Tribute player is just plain wild ! I had to turn the subwoofer volume way down, and I'm hearing a lot of back ground singing and/or orchestration that was typically washed out on my other players. I really like the way guitar notes have improved sustain... marvelous!
 
Raingrover said:
Thinking about getting the a21+ to drive my Magnepan 1.7i.

My only concern is that I’ve read that it lacks a bit of sparkle on top, and my taste is on the cool/crisp side of neutral.

Would this be the wrong amp for me?

Thanks in advance for the input.
Click to expand...
A thick Maple butcher block platform / rack will bring out the sparkle you're looking for...just give it time to break in. An A21+ is one of the best bang for your buck amps available
 
Raingrover said:
Thinking about getting the a21+ to drive my Magnepan 1.7i.

My only concern is that I’ve read that it lacks a bit of sparkle on top, and my taste is on the cool/crisp side of neutral.

Would this be the wrong amp for me?

Thanks in advance for the input.
Click to expand...

After reading the reviews of the 1.7i, which are incredible, I think I understand your concerns. I would say that the A21+ sounds very neutral in the highs. Maybe a tad warm when compared to the most icy-detailed vacuum tube designs (which I happen to like), but most of those couldn't drive those panel loads very well anyway.

A redeeming factor of the A21+ is that transients are so fast and "hot" that there is never any sense of lost detail, just lots of very dynamic realism. I think the A21+ might be an excellent match for those speakers, with all the sparkle you'd want in a single amp.
 
Raingrover said:
Thinking about getting the a21+ to drive my Magnepan 1.7i.

My only concern is that I’ve read that it lacks a bit of sparkle on top, and my taste is on the cool/crisp side of neutral.

Would this be the wrong amp for me?

Thanks in advance for the input.
Click to expand...

check out Bryston 4B series from ST and up if you want cool/crisp side of neutral.
 
Have not posted here in a very long while but after a long wait I just took delivery of a new A21+ to drive my Thiel 3.6 speakers. Running in for the last 2 days so no critical listening yet (probably 30 hours or so on the amp). Also adjusting the gain to ideally match my Musical Fidelity preamp - not quite there yet. Will post my impressions soon.

What I can say is first, it runs on the warm side which might be welcome in the winter - not so much now. :) Second, I wish the auto turn off was a little more sensitive to lower input signals - it shuts off a bit too easily. Third, would like to be able to shut off the lights as this amp is front and center in my theater/listening room. All pretty minor quibbles.

It does, however pull off what very few amps have done with these super difficult to drive current gobbling speakers and that is exercise absolute authority over the woofer and midrange. Again too early to make many judgments but will pass along my thoughts soon.

Appreciate the good insights on this thread. Thanks.
 
5. Fans

5. Fans

You won't get a good idea until you put a lot more time on it, mine sounded noticeably better after about 100 hours. Prior to that the soundstage had moved around from day to day (the same CD would sound like the singer was at the far end of a stadium for a while, them change to sounding like a concert hall, etc.) After 400 hours they are outstanding.

My first one got a little warm after several hours. I had an Ebay seller make a custom set of thermostatically controlled fans for it that I have set to come on at a low speed when the amp gets up to 88-90F- they worked so well that I had him make another set for the second amp (after running all day the heat sinks are lukewarm at best.
 
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Will have to see about the need for fans…likely. In the meantime it’s running in the background while I work away in the adjacent closet office. I like the silver a bit better but reflections from the TV are a no-no. Looks pretty good in black though.

Will post the more important sound impressions soon. :biggrin:

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