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REVIEW: Parasound a 21 Amplifier (SS)

68.218.184.104


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Model: a 21
Category: Amplifier (SS)
Suggested Retail Price: 1995.00
Description: stereo amplifier
Manufacturer URL: Parasound

Review by robotk on May 31, 2007 at 22:08:19
IP Address: 68.218.184.104
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for the a 21


The Parasound a21 is a $2000 250 wpc/8ohm Class A/B solid state amplifier, designed by John Curl. This amp recently received a very favorable review by Valin in the January 2007 TAS. I had been looking on the used market for a amplifier in the $2000 range, when I came across the Parasound.

The first thing that strikes you about the a21 is the build quality - I have not seen another audiophile grade product in this price range that is as well made. Large heatsinks flank the sides and the whole unit is dressed in a very attractive pearl silver, satin finish metal. When in standby mode, the power button and the Parasound logo glow a faint blue and red, respectively. The overall effect is very understated and expensive looking. This does not look like a $2000 amp.

The amp has balanced/unbalanced inputs (although I believe the balanced inputs are not truly so). A nice feature are the input gain knobs that allow easier pre-amp matching or even direct source connection. This is especially useful for me, as I use a passive preamp. Speaker terminals are nothing special and are a bit too closely spaced. If I used thicker cables, this could be a real issue.


Auto turn-on is a nice feature of this amp, which switches to active when a audio signal is detected and switch back to standby when no signal is detected for 5 minutes. Manual on/off is also available - switching the amp results in a brief moment for protection circuits to warm before the primary relay switches on.

I was replacing a Krell KAV-250a amplifier in my system. Unlike most others, I appreciate certain aspects of this amplifier's sound - it is dynamic, fast and has fairly clean and extended high frequencies. On perfect recordings with my Thiels, the air and resolution were exciting. Unfortunately, the Krells had a tendency to sound a bit thin and occasionally glassy. The Krells seemed to excel in reproducing synthesized music as opposed to voices and complex tones such as ride cymbals.

Replacing the Krell with the Parasound was a profound improvement. Suddenly a balanced and relatively liquid midrange appeared that instantly fleshed out vocals that were previously thin and unnatural sounding. Sibilants were greatly tamed and the Thiels became smooth and incredibly balanced without a trace of glare or brightness. Another surprising improvement was in the bass. The Thiels are transmission line speakers and, with the Krell, had a tendency to have a boomy, bloated bass that seemed a bit uncontrolled and vague. With the a21, the bloat has disappeared and has been replaced by a much tighter, well controlled and accurate bass.

The first record I played was The Smiths, Strangeways... LP. In my experience, Smiths records can sound spitty and brittle on the wrong type of equipment and with the Krell, this was occasionally the case. Again, the Parasound fleshed out the midrange and added body to Morrissey's voice. The record now has punch and a much more listenable and refined sound. All the detail is there, but the occasional sibilant spikes that would sear my brain were smoothed over nicely.

The next album was the new Deerhoof album on CD. Occasionally, I would hear a irritating, resonating boomy bass that was muddy and distracting. With the Parasound, these moments were completely erased. Complicated bass passages in general were much better organized and distinct, compared to before. This was so on every album I listened.

Finally, listening to a six-eye of Brubeck, Take Five really hit home the differences between the Krell and Parasound when paired with Thiels. I play the drums, so I'm usually pretty critical of percussion. During the drum solo of Take Five, the snare drum had a much more warmer tone with woody resonance as opposed to the empty crack that the Krells reproduced. The most significant improvement, though, was with the ride cymbal that plays throughout this song. Rides are incredibly complicated sounding cymbals, with the initial snap of the drumstick followed by the wash of shimmering overtones and decay. Ride cymbals should have body and a burnished, golden color of sound. With the Krell, I was getting a static sounding sizzle with no body and no life, absolutely devoid of character. In my mind, reproducing this sound was it's biggest weakness. Enter the Parasound and the ride was real -- with color, bloom and decay. It was a huge difference.

I may be making this amp sound like it's perfect and it's not. I've heard a Lamm setup that had more palpability and three dimensional imaging. I've heard a Burmester system that was more balanced from top to bottom. I've heard a Krell FBP that was far more punchier and dynamic. I think, though, that the a21 gets everything essentially right and to hear a real improvement would require a significantly greater amount of money. In the final analysis, the Parasound addressed all the major weakness of my system. That alone makes it a winner in my book.


Product Weakness: not the last word in air/3-d imaging
Product Strengths: see above - balanced


Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Parasound a21
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Sonic Euphoria PLC
Sources (CDP/Turntable): sony SCD-1
Speakers: Thiel CS 1.6
Cables/Interconnects: VdH Clearwater/KK PBJ
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Rock; Jazz
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): PS Audio p300/Van Evers Clean Line Jr.
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Parasound a 21 Amplifier (SS) - robotk 22:08:19 05/31/07 ( 2)