Parasound Halo p5/a21 vs new Halo Integrated 2.1

D

dmac

Active Member
I moved this over to Modern Day. I am considering purchasing a new amp to upgrade from my Yamaha RXV667 and am looking at the Parasound halo a21/p5 combo or the Halo integrated 2.1. I have Polk Audio SDA1Cs right now and they do require a fair amount of power to be at their best. I also will likely upgrade speakers in the near future to another large floorstander.

I primarily listen to vinyl and some CDs. All kinds of music. Reasoable volume occasionally loud. I like good dynamics and do not like to hear the system strain in any way.

I was wondering if anyone has compared these two Parasound options. Does the Integrated have enough power? Sound quality comparisions etc...

Thanks,

Dmac
 
I've heard the A21. But not the Integrated 2.1 which has a ESS Sabre32 Reference DAC with USB, Optical and Coax inputs and the USB input decodes Native DSD, DoP and PCM up to 384kHz/32-bit. You'd do good to get that for the DSD as well as the great sound of John Curls products. The Halo products are not a bad product at all and sound really great. Nice neutral sound.
 
Thanks,

I am intrigued by the additional DAC capabilities of the Integarted although I have not begun to use any of the Hi rez downloads yet. My main goal is to upgrade sound quality and dynamics from the 90 wpc Yamaha AVR. I am wondering if the integrated will be enough of a step up to justify the expense.
 
The Halo versus a Yammie AVR? I think so. If you get the Halo, or whatever you get, do the proper system matching through knowing the sound characteristics of the Halo and you'll be smiling and enjoying music for a long time. This means you have to have an ear, or develop an ear so you can hear, and once you have that ear.... just make sure you get great cabling that you can afford. Make sure you get great speakers that can support the Halo and the cables. And make sure you get the best sound you can from your gear with vibration control. I believe once a person has decent gear, the hard fun work is to get the best out of it as they can. Dont just settle once you get the gear....support it with great tweaks and speaker placement to get the best sound out of her....you'd be surprised at what your gear is capable of.
 
I would say yes. I had a p5 for a little bit. I have heard the A21 and the combo of a p5 and A21. They do sound great. The 2.1 can do dsd also that the p5 cannot. It also is one of the few that has a built in crossover for a 2 channel sub out.
Solid piece for the $.
 
dmac said:
I moved this over to Modern Day. I am considering purchasing a new amp to upgrade from my Yamaha RXV667 and am looking at the Parasound halo a21/p5 combo or the Halo integrated 2.1. I have Polk Audio SDA1Cs right now and they do require a fair amount of power to be at their best. I also will likely upgrade speakers in the near future to another large floorstander.

I primarily listen to vinyl and some CDs. All kinds of music. Reasoable volume occasionally loud. I like good dynamics and do not like to hear the system strain in any way.

I was wondering if anyone has compared these two Parasound options. Does the Integrated have enough power? Sound quality comparisions etc...

Thanks,

Dmac
Click to expand...

I was just at AXPONA where I heard each system and had a great conversation with Richard Schram, Parasound founder.
The new integrated amp looks and sounds incredible. It was used in a few demo rooms including the KEF room where it pumped the KEF LS50s loud and clean enough to fill a large conference room.
The integrated amp has identical preamp circuitry to the P5. However, the A21 is a world class power amp that is used in recording studios and has much more power than the integrated. It also outputs in class A mode up to 10 watts, which is significant.
If you have the funds, the P5 / A21 is a combo that will last a lifetime with never a need to upgrade.
 
I haven't heard the integrated and have no experience with it. I also don't have much experience comparing my system to other amps/pre's.

That said I have zero regrets spending $3600 on the P5/A21 combo (a pretty hefty and spontaneous investment for me).

Using my media PC over USB with WAV and Flac files the sound is crystal clear and very dynamic. Streaming services are an obvious compromise on sound quality - but still bearable. The P5 with it's built in crossover and separate sub control is a very nice feature. My only complaint with the P5 is that there is no way to use the bass/treble/sub adjustments from the remote control.

The A21 seems to have headroom for days and doesn't even break a sweat driving my Infinity RSII's for hours on end (RSII's can dip down to a 2-ohm load from what I understand). edit: first thing I noticed after replacing the emotiva xpa-2 is how dark and dead silent the noise floor is - If there is no sound or music there is nothing.

I hope this helps in some way.
 
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Good for you! When I made the switch from my XPA amp I noticed immediate improvements in imaging, bass and midrange sound quality and highs that weren't harsh. I've got the P7 with remote control of bass/treble, but I usually run the tone controls defeated. The A21 makes my Paradigm Signature S6 speakers sound amazing, it's a combo that really works. I'll never go back!
 
runnin' said:
Good for you! When I made the switch from my XPA amp I noticed immediate improvements in imaging, bass and midrange sound quality and highs that weren't harsh. I've got the P7 with remote control of bass/treble, but I usually run the tone controls defeated. The A21 makes my Paradigm Signature S6 speakers sound amazing, it's a combo that really works. I'll never go back!
Click to expand...


That exactly matches my experience.

I didn't even know that there is a p7 pre.
 
It's an analog only 7.1 preamp with a kickin' phono section. Many owners just use it for 2 channel as do I, though I've brought it upstairs to the theater system on occasion!
 
dmac said:
I am intrigued by the additional DAC capabilities of the Integarted although I have not begun to use any of the Hi rez downloads yet. My main goal is to upgrade sound quality and dynamics from the 90 wpc Yamaha AVR. I am wondering if the integrated will be enough of a step up to justify the expense.
Click to expand...


Even going from a modern day AVR to vintage receivers is an improvement in sound quality.

What you are talking about is making a quantum leap from an AVR to "high end" components.

You should see if you can demo the integrated. I would bet that you will be floored by the sound quality difference.
 
In reading up on the Halo Integrated 2.1, it tempts me to dump 3 of my preamps and 2 of my power amps to go with it. I have four Parasound products now, and have owned others in the past, and have really liked them. In particular their D/AC-2000HD is one of the best sounding DACs I've ever listened to. The 2.1 looks like a very well designed and fully featured product.
 
Tom Bombadil said:
In reading up on the Halo Integrated 2.1, it tempts me to dump 3 of my preamps and 2 of my power amps to go with it. I have four Parasound products now, and have owned others in the past, and have really liked them. In particular their D/AC-2000HD is one of the best sounding DACs I've ever listened to. The 2.1 looks like a very well designed and fully featured product.
Click to expand...

it looks great in person- they really improved on the appearance of the halo separates by using aluminum side panels instead of the chromed plastic.
backlit volume control, really nice sound too. i'm torn between this and the P5/A21. such a smooth, natural sound.
 
I said it once and I'll say it again, if Parasound had the Integrated back in 2012, I would have seriously considered it over the A21 with separate pre. At the time I wasn't sure which way I was going to go with a pre, and ended up experimenting with the Oppo 95 as pre, and a couple of NAD integrateds I had acquired(as pre only).

That said, I consider my P7/A21 combo to be the endgame for me. Some nights I find yet another song that just comes to life in a way I hadn't experienced before.
 
Hi guys,
Just checking in on this thread: has anyone had more experience yet with the Parasound Halo integrated? Very interested in it; the feature set most appealing, especially the DAC.

How does it sound? I've never heard Parasound before....
Thanks,
Jeff
 
Just picked up the Halo Integrated, hopefully will have it here just after the new year...looking forward to it!
 
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Not to muddy the waters, unless you must have the dac built-in, another consideration for a high-end integrated might be the Anthem 225 integrated (more power for your Polks) and add an outboard dac.
 
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