can anyone lend an objective opinion about parasound's amplifiers vs. carver's. i've recently upgraded my speakers (deftech bp 7002's as mains and mythos 1's and 3 as my surrounds and center respectively). however, they are being driven with an obsolete yamaha, which rescues itself from me by shutting down every time i crank the volume anywhere below -23, which is a problem because i like my music loud. i'm considering parsound's new classics (5250) or bob carver's new TGA 7200. can anyone share any insights? thanks!
I'm liking the Carver for the balanced operation. The simple doubling of power at lower impedence could be simple ad copy, whereas the Parasound seem to be a bit more forthright with the values at difficult loads. Tough call, indeed. Neither site listed componant weight or power consumption.(which I note). Obviously you need the multi-channel operation, Anino, from personal experience, you might slip in a Classe amp just for another option. Bryston, too. Am I helping?
I have some old Carver stuff, 2 M-4.0ts 375 wpc into 8 ohms amps and a M-0.5t amp, which is 175 wpc into 8 ohms but ~400 wpc bridged. I had one of the M-4.0t amps refurbished, new caps and all, and have put it into my 2 channel system. This has thrown a wrench into my plans for an ultimate HT system down the road. The refurbished 2 Carver is so good that I do not know if I can pull it out of my 2 channel system. It would probably cost me north of $2K to replace it with something new. I am holding off on refurbishing the last 2 Carvers until it is closer to the time I will deploy them. The refurbishment is under $300 per unit. I have posted detailed info about my Carver experience under Hierarchally Upgrading My System.
thanks for the info guys. so far it seems carver by a nose. nuck, you've piqued my curiosity...why the comment about the amps "power consumption"? does this factor into the amps performance at some level? the parasound is a beast at nearly 70 lbs. i haven't researched the classe, or bryson yet, and a friend also told me to consider rotel.
slow down. i have a newborn and i'm moving a new system into production, so i can't get to these threads as often as i'd like. i had a kenwood amp that i worked like a dog for nearly twenty years, never had the thing "refurbished" and it still performs flawlessly...was the refurb a necessity or just because you felt it was time?
I was encouraged by the folks on ecoustics to try what I had in hand, the Carvers, prior to running out and buying something new. In that they were about 15 years old, sat in a closet for the last six years before I bought them from a friend, so it was time for a refurbishment.
Once I got the refurbished amp back I realized that it was actually a necessity too.
that's encouraging. i know there are better and worse amps, but since $$ IS an object i'm trying to find the best value and still enjoy exquisite sound...which means the yammy must go! when the amp doesn't shut off, the bp 7002's sound magnificent, and even though i'm a jazz nut, i love it loud. i've spent some time reviewing jan's thread "do you listen" and was shocked at how many people didn't understand the question. for me the magic of a live performance IS what i am looking for. imo, anyone with a teaspoon of common sense knows one will not be able to replicate with the exquisite dynamics and detail of a live concert in their living room...but oh, what a glorious endeavor just the same.