Within Parasound's well-regarded product line is their own premium Halo family, which now grown by one new power amplifier, and three channels: The THX Ultra2-certified Parasound Halo A 31. Rated at 250 RMS watts per channel, the A 31 is sonically identical to their five-channel Halo A 51 and two-channel Halo A 21. This new power amp was developed by Parasound engineers for surround listeners seeking audiophile reproduction of stereo music while also supplying matched amplification for the center channel.
"Why a three-channel amplifier?" you might ask. Parasound is quick to answer:
The Halo A 31 harkens back to Parasound three-channel amps of old, the HCA-1203 and HCA-2003, which also allowed customers to reconfigure their speaker setups in unconventional ways. Surround in the home is now more common than ever, but high-end two-channel is en vogue once again, and so a serious three-channel amp clearly offers a host of benefits.
The Parasound Halo A 31 provides high-bias Class A/AB operation with pure Class A operation up to seven watts per channel. It delivers 250 watts per channel into eight ohms and 400 watts into four ohms with all channels driven. The XLR balanced inputs represent a step-up alternative to the RCA single-ended inputs. It is also direct-coupled and uses no capacitors or inductors in the signal path, with full power output down to five hertz. Speakers connect via heavy-duty 24-karat gold-plated five-way speaker terminals, all relay-protected.
The power supply consists of a 1.35kVA-encapsulated toroid transformer with independent secondary windings for each channel, with power stability maintained by four premium power-supply filter capacitors per channel. The Parasound A 31 provides a gain control for each channel offering ±6db relative to THX reference level, enabling the A 31 to play louder in large rooms, and aiding in level matching with other amplifiers. The massive chassis has an anodized aluminum face and rear carry handles. A rack-mounting adapter is included. The Parasound Halo A 31 will be available in April at a suggested price of $3,000.
Unflappable two-channel lovers short on space would also do well to consider the Parasound Zcustom Series of ultra-compact components, coming soon in silver. The Zcd CD Player + MP3 ($400) can be used with or without a preamp, and can play MP3 tracks either from a recordable CD disc or an attached USB flash drive. It offers simultaneous fixed and variable analog outputs, in addition to optical and coaxial digital audio outs.
The Zdac 192KHz digital-to-analog converter ($450) offers plug-and-play USB connectivity to PC or Mac as well as optical and coaxial digital audio ins and RCA unbalanced and XLR balanced outs. The oversized toroidal power transformer assures superior performance. Also available is the Zamp v.3 Class AB zone amplifier ($350) with multiroom support, 45 watts/channel (eight ohms) and level controls for each channel; and the Zphono USB MM/MC phono preamplifier with USB out (also $350) with sophisticated sonic tweaks to bridge the gap between the vinyl and the computer worlds and ample inputs.
These new 2012 Z-Series components are being promoted by Parasound along with the optional Sonos Connect ZP90 to for even more musical freedom, with easy digital or analog hookup.
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