Is the Parasound HCA-2205A a good amp?

[Danzilla31]

Hey guys I have a chance to pick up a Parasound HCA-2205A amp from a fella here in San Antonio for $500. I believe I can talk him down to lower then that. I like to buy em and flip em when I'm done playing with them is this amp even worth it tho? Playing around with it or not no sense pursuing it if it's not that great

Thanks for your time

 

[Leemix]

Its good but its old. Its slightly under the halo range in sound quality but quite a bit better then the new classic line. This is just my personal opinion though, having owned and used a 2205 for many years until it had to be replaced, got a new classic 5250(?) but old one had been a little better and i didnt get comfortable with that one so had to step up to the halo a31 and then things fell into place again.


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[Out-Of-Phase]

I owned an HCA-1100 MkII and an HCA-2200. They were both good amps, noisy toroidals though. I wonder what the condition is on the power supply capacitors?

 

[Danzilla31]

Hey thanks for the input you 2 I don't think this is the original owner and I dont think he knows what the condition it's in is. And I don't know the condition it's been kept in or how it was treated. So I'd have to probably do a lot of checking up on it and probably some maintenance. Meh more trouble then it's worth. Hey thanks again!

 

[KEW]

Hey thanks for the input you 2 I don't think this is the original owner and I dont think he knows what the condition it's in is. And I don't know the condition it's been kept in or how it was treated. So I'd have to probably do a lot of checking up on it and probably some maintenance. Meh more trouble then it's worth. Hey thanks again!

Uncertanty is a deal killer!
The only way to know you have what you hope for is test/reconditioning which kills the discount of buying used unless you have the knowledge and equipment to DIY it.
I'd stick with newer gear unless you can get trustworthy info on a one owner item.

 

[dcard]

A bit late on this, but thought I'd offer my two cents.

The Parasound 2205A is an 80 lb. beast of an amp. All of Parasound's amps during this era were designed by John Curl. Evidently, even their newer high end amps use this same design described here:

linkto[ audioholics ]/amplifier-reviews/parasound-halo-a-21/halo-a-21-amplifier-build-quality-continued]
(sorry not enough posts to make a direct link)

This description of the current amplifier, the $4,500 A51 matches identically to the internals on that 2205A.

*****************
So, great Amplifier.

*****************
Would I buy it for $500 today? Probably NOT.

Why?

The capacitors on that amp are getting close to 20 years old. No matter the quality of the amp, those capacitors are the weak link. They WILL start failing on you.

I lost my first channel about 3 years ago. I am an electrical engineer. Obtained circuit schematics, and I replaced that channel's massive supply capacitors.

I transitioned that system from a 7-channel (with a Parasound HCA-1000A for surrounds), to a three channel setup a couple of years ago. I lost three more channels in that time (again, capacitors).

Although an EE, I suck at soldering. I found a good local place in Houston in a strip mall. I checked out the back room, and it was filled with McIntoshes, and even Classe stuff.

So it cost me $700 to replace every capacitor in that system. It is now purring along once again.

It worked for me, $700 for an amp that I will likely get more years out of.

But if you buy today for $500, that amp will likely cost you $1,200 with the soon-to-be capacitor replacement cost.

Even then, it may be a great deal. But then Audioholics reviewed this new amazing Monoprice Amp:

linkto[ audioholics ] /amplifier-reviews/monoprice-monolith-7-channel-amplifier-review/conclusion

$1,600 for 7 channels in a beast of a chassis? I think you can get a 5-channel of a few hundred less.

So for $700, (me), a bargain to keep it.

But for $1200? I would go with a new Monoprice in a second.

 

[pbur296788]

I don't agree. Years ago I wrote to Parasound asking them about advise when I was looking at a used HCA -1205A. Richard Schram emailed me back with the advice that at some point the speaker relays might need to be replaced. That has turned out to be the case. No capacitor failures.

 

[Verdinut]

A couple of years back, I sold a 45 year old TA-3200 Sony power amp. It was still operating properly and the power supply caps had never been replaced. If it aint broken, why fix it by replacing caps? Sometimes you start replacing parts and other problems start popping out just afterwards.

 

[Gmoney]

Find one of these on Ebay, From what I read up on these amps they are Fairly easy to get service. I'll be picking one up soon.