Parasound 2250v2 -- 275wpc Stereo Power Amp - was $1395, now $999 -- Good deal?

[lovinthehd]

Don’t be shy about ordering. Just call ahead about the return policy. Maybe even tell em you plan on blind testing especially if your using the same site to order on. Probably very hard to clip klipsch speakers without hearing damage but extra headroom never hurts.

FYI I’ve bought my HSU sub based off the trust factor that you’re talking about on the forums and I absolutely love it. It has a built-in crossover and some nice settings so that I could easily pair it with any speakers. Don’t forget high end and subs offen have built-in crossovers that you can manually adjust.

Does your Hsu have high level or low level connections, or both, for the crossover (assume you're talking both high and low pass filters, too)?

 

[CB22]

Does your Hsu have high level or low level connections, or both, for the crossover (assume you're talking both high and low pass filters, too)?

It has high level, XLR, & RCA inputs.

for the crossover (assume you're talking both high and low pass filters, too)?
Not go crazy technical but my sub has a just has a crossover. Crossover uses both a high and a low pass filter that attenuate the signal. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's how as I understand it. There's not an individual high and low pass knobs on my sub. Just a crossover knob. I know that cheaper sealed subs have a built in high-pass filters to make sure they don't blow up on ya. The more I learn about speakers the more I learn just how tricky crossover are.

 

[KEW]

Yes, just what I was thinking...Here is a small section from the P-5 preamp manual, showing the bass handling controls on the rear of the preamp. (There much more explanation included in the manual.)
View attachment 24451

It is always disappointing to see much money going into electronics when the difference in sound quality gained is so little (if it exists at all). Certainly you can spend even more money on more expensive brands than Parasound, but if you are leaning towards a system with this type of bass control, I would suggest that you go with the Outlaw RR2160 Stereo Receiver. For $800, this receiver will give you a solid amp and bass management which is not quite as flexible as the P-5, but covers what 95% of people would want to do. Most importantly, it will save the Forte woofers from having to push its lower limits (~38Hz) while producing more sounds in the low mid-range (between 250Hz to 650Hz!) that we are much more sensitive/attuned to :

BASS MANAGEMENT:
60/80/100Hz crossover, bypass, High & Low-pass slope-12dB/octave (2nd order)

The style does seem to evoke "love it/hate it" responses:

https://www.outlawaudio.com/products/rr2160.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9LPYBRDSARIsAHL7J5mFbAbMFf-wmAxBwEsoWyvJZIEiFu3KR00qgVx0r8rsoX3KTnBvX8QaAnOSEALw_wcB

The other option I am aware of is the $750 Yamaha R-N803 which is an interesting cross between AVR and tradition Stereo Receiver that gives you Yamaha's RoomEQ (YPAO) with full AVR bass management and EQ, along with automated level and delay matching:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0758NXS8R/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=
At 100+ Watts per channel, these both have ample power to ensure you can play the Forte's louder than you could ever want.
As LovintheHD said, AVR's get you more for less, but if you really want to avoid an AVR, be it for looks or not having a screen attached (I'm not sure how the R-N803 shows you where you are, but it doesn't have video out, so they must have worked it out on the display window!).
Buying an AVR would get you Video processing and 3 or 5 extra amp channels (along with audio processing for multi-channel options) for roughly the same price as these stereo receivers! But if you are certain you won't use those features, they have little worth to you (and modern AVRs have too many buttons and not enough knobs! ).

 

[Forsooth]

Kurt --
Thanks for your detailed recommendations. Yes, I have speculated about the Outlaw and the Yamaha receiver over the last several (many) weeks.

Yamaha R-N803 (100wpc, lots of features) above

Yamaha A-S801 (Same power, much less functionality) above

Why do you do it, Yamaha? I was amazed at how much "more" the R-N803 seems to offer for less money. I was rattled by the cost/feature discrepancy. Why is the Yamaha A-S801, with less functionality, $150 more than its brother receiver? I found a couple of extended threads on other forums discussing this same question, but ultimately no clear conclusions.

I have also thought hard about the Outlaw and read a bunch, its manual, reviewer comments everywhere I could find them, videos, etc. I admire its styling a lot, so that is not a problem. It has a fine reputation.

My personal feeling right now is that the Outlaw and the Yamaha receiver do too much -- they are too "complicated." I don't mean that I couldn't learn to use them, it is just that their multi-level functionality makes me uneasy. Too much to go wrong. Too many features that i can't imagine myself using. I understand how some people would want a Swiss army knife approach, but I'm thinking more in terms of a simple Buck pocket knife, e.g., the Parasound P-5 preamp and the A23 amp. A little more than the Buck pocket knife, yes, I know.

Edit: I might change my mind. I'm not going to buy anything until I feel reasonably comfortable.

 

[lovinthehd]

I think avrs have the numbers advantages mostly (economies of scale), and wouldn't surprise me that even the 2ch receivers would have it over integrated amps in numbers as well...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It just depends what you want out of it, aesthetically and feature-wise aside from specs. Simply as a power amp I just find the Crown a better value.

I say put a the Crown XLS 1502 into an $50 HTPC case for aesthetics.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I bet I can fit two Crown amps inside my SilverStone Crown HTPC case.

Alright, forget everything else in this picture, just look at the two Crown HTPC cases.

 

[KEW]

Alright, forget everything else in this picture, just look at the two Crown HTPC cases.

Sorry, but the HTPC cases are the least interesting thing in that picture!
I think the ATI amps look very fine as is!
Besides, what are you going to use to anchor your shelving to the floor when the tornadoes come if you get rid of the ATI's?

 

[CB22]

Sorry, but the HTPC cases are the least interesting thing in that picture!
I think the ATI amps look very fine as is!
Besides, what are you going to use to anchor your shelving to the floor when the tornadoes come if you get rid of the ATI's?

I know right, I'm looking at those Phil 3's like . I'm jealous.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Sorry, but the HTPC cases are the least interesting thing in that picture!
I think the ATI amps look very fine as is!
Besides, what are you going to use to anchor your shelving to the floor when the tornadoes come if you get rid of the ATI's?

No. I meant to put the ugly pro amps inside the HTPC case.

Not the ATI amps. I love the way the ATI amps look.