Parasound JS5 vs Anthem STR amp, anyone compare these two?

[Revelation]

Both are very good amps with lots of power. I am wondering if anyone ever compared the two and what differences you found.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Difference in sound quality?

I think both sound very sweet, smooth and very rich.

So do amps like the ATI AT542NC (500W x 2) and Legacy Audio iV2 (610W x2) and many other high-end amps like Bryston 4B-3, Theta, DataSat, Storm, McIntosh, Classe, etc.

 

[Revelation]

The Parasound runs straight Class A for the first seveal watts which adds more pleasant 2nd harmonic distortion at a gentle level. This would provide a different sound over the also excellent Anthem.

 

[highfigh]

The Parasound runs straight Class A for the first seveal watts which adds more pleasant 2nd harmonic distortion at a gentle level. This would provide a different sound over the also excellent Anthem.

It doesn't "add" 2nd order harmonic distortion, it would only do that if it begins to clip the signal and at 5W, that's very unlikely. The reason Class AB amps transition away from Class A is because they run hotter and aren't efficient. In Class A, there's less chance of 'crossover distortion', which does help it amplify with less/any distortion. All Class AB amps transition from Class A but most do it at about 1Watt.

 

[PENG]

The Parasound runs straight Class A for the first seveal watts which adds more pleasant 2nd harmonic distortion at a gentle level. This would provide a different sound over the also excellent Anthem.

highfigh is right, take a look of the $17,000 a pair JC1's bench test results:

Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblock power amplifier Specifications | Stereophile.com

The JC 1+'s distortion was predominantly the subjectively innocuous second harmonic (fig.8), and higher harmonics are all very low in level (fig.9). The second harmonic lies at a low –86dB in this graph (0.005%) and didn't rise in level when I reduced the load impedance to 4 ohms. When the amplifier drove an equal mix of 19 and 20kHz tones at 100W into 4 ohms (fig.10), the second-order difference product at 1kHz lay at a very low –89dB (0.003%), though higher-order intermodulation products were slightly higher in level.

So yes, they may have more 2nd harmonic than 3rd, 5th but at -86 dB, that will be buried and at least masked by your room noise anyway so it won't be heard.

Now take a look of a lowly AVR measured by ASR:

It also has more 2nd harmonics, but a little lower than the JC-1, about -90 dB. Marantz's would have more 3rd harmonics than second, yet more people claimed they sounded "warm".

I hate to call it, but those are internet perpetuated myths, practically BS, not to be trusted as facts.

Also, as mentioned, many class AB amps do run in class A, but to much lower output level to avoid unnecessary heat with no gain in SQ.

We have compared a Parasound Halo A21 that runs class A up to about 8 W and a Bryston 4 B SST that would run up to 20-25 W class A, though Bryston never advertise that number but would tell you if you ask.

And the result: 0 difference heard!

 

[Revelation]

highfigh is right, take a look of the $17,000 a pair JC1's bench test results:

Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblock power amplifier Specifications | Stereophile.com



So yes, they may have more 2nd harmonic than 3rd, 5th but at -86 dB, that will be buried and at least masked by your room noise anyway so it won't be heard.

Now take a look of a lowly AVR measured by ASR:

It also has more 2nd harmonics, but a little lower than the JC-1, about -90 dB. Marantz's would have more 3rd harmonics than second, yet more people claimed they sounded "warm".

I hate to call it, but those are internet perpetuated myths, practically BS, not to be trusted as facts.

View attachment 53945

Also, as mentioned, many class AB amps do run in class A, but to much lower output level to avoid unnecessary heat with no gain in SQ.

We have compared a Parasound Halo A21 that runs class A up to about 8 W and a Bryston 4 B SST that would run up to 20-25 W class A, though Bryston never advertise that number but would tell you if you ask.

And the result: 0 difference heard!

I agree with what this audio reviewer says about Parasound, McIntosh and Bryston at 11:15 in the video.
The Parasound JC5 Review! True Hi-Fi excellence. - YouTube Maybe the sound has to do more with the overall components vs 2nd harmonic distortion.

 

[Pogre]

I disagree with most YouTube reviewers, lol.

Too many of them have magical thinking and have never even attempted any kind of controlled listening tests.

 

[Pogre]

Maybe the sound has to do more with the overall components vs 2nd harmonic distortion

Or maybe the differences disappear under controlled listening tests like a dbt. IME there's not enough of a difference in sq from one receiver or amp to another to be audible enough to notice, regardless of class. As long as there is reasonably low distortion, like below audibility, and operated within spec most competently made amplifiers today are going to sound more alike than not. Enough so that I don't think anyone could tell the difference in a dbt.

Here's an interesting example.

https://matrixhifi.com/contenedor_ppec_eng.htm

 

[Revelation]

So what your saying is, once you get to the level of the JC5 or Anthem STR, any difference is so small that it does not make a difference which amp you buy. Therefore all the amps over 10k, just forget about them. They are not worth it because in a controlled environment where your blind testing you won't notice more than a 5 percent difference?

 

[PENG]

So what your saying is, once you get to the level of the JC5 or Anthem STR, any difference is so small that it does not make a difference which amp you buy.

For sound quality, yes if they all have the power you need under the worst conditions, but it will make a difference in other areas.

Therefore all the amps over 10k, just forget about them. They are not worth it because in a controlled environment where your blind testing you won't notice more than a 5 percent difference?

Not necessarily, there are other considerations, and there is no guarantee that all amps over 10K are transparent. I do believe most of them probable are.

 

[Pogre]

So what your saying is, once you get to the level of the JC5 or Anthem STR, any difference is so small that it does not make a difference which amp you buy. Therefore all the amps over 10k, just forget about them. They are not worth it because in a controlled environment where your blind testing you won't notice more than a 5 percent difference?

More or less, tho some of the more expensive ones sure look nice and do have excellent build quality. I think there's something to be said for pride of ownership too. As far as any true audible performance differences go tho, I remain wholly unconvinced.

Personally money no object I think Macintosh make beautiful gear and would love to own one but I wouldn't expect any significant audible improvements. In general tho if one is after sound quality improvements, that kind of Mac money can usually go somewhere more productive like better speakers or room treatments.

 

[Revelation]

I would not say my McIntosh MC152 has any improvement over the JC5 or Anthem, but the gentle smooth mids it offers makes it unique over the competition. Not everyone likes its character but I sure do. And thankfully it was not too crazy expensive compared to some of their other gear.

 

[lovinthehd]

How does a McIntosh amp particularly affect the midrange to make them "smoother" than another amp? This goes for any speaker you use with it?

 

[Revelation]

Well you guys are the smart ones so you can tell me why my McIntosh sounds different with my system vs Parasound or my old Adcom 555. Lol

 

[Pogre]

Well you guys are the smart ones so you can tell me why my McIntosh sounds different with my system vs Parasound or my old Adcom 555. Lol

Sighted bias, placebo, expectation bias, differences in gain structure, etc. There can be a number of reasons but sighted bias is up at the top of the list. That's why double blind testing was developed. Sighted testing has been proven to affect subjective perceptions of sound quality. Take away the sighted part of the testing and folks can't tell one from the other.

Did you click that link I posted and read it? The method they used there is a good example of unbiased double blind testing and is pretty much necessary if you want accurate results. Sighted testing is completely unreliable.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

For people who feel that every amp sounds differently, I think they will have to bring every amp home into their system and see which amp fits their taste the best.

 

[Revelation]

Sighted bias, placebo, expectation bias, differences in gain structure, etc. There can be a number of reasons but sighted bias is up at the top of the list. That's why double blind testing was developed. Sighted testing has been proven to affect subjective perceptions of sound quality. Take away the sighted part of the testing and folks can't tell one from the other.

Did you click that link I posted and read it? The method they used there is a good example of unbiased double blind testing and is pretty much necessary if you want accurate results. Sighted testing is completely unreliable.

I have been an audio engineer for over 25 years. I respect your opinion but I disagree with your position. I found it pointless to debate these topics on line so I will leave it at that. I clearly hear a difference when played the same song through 3 different amps with the same stereo. The bottom line is you buy an amp that your happy with.

 

[Pogre]

I clearly hear a difference when played the same song through 3 different amps with the same stereo.

I 100% believe you clearly perceive a difference.

The bottom line is you buy an amp that your happy with.

And I 100% agree with you.

 

[lovinthehd]

Have no clue why you feel that way, or how you came to that conclusion. or even what you mean by smoother midrange particularly. That's why I asked. Just what speakers do you have where a $6k amp is a reasonable expense let alone shopping many different amps for them? It's like if I compared the amps, on what basis is the comparison? Cost? Power? Impedance handling? Just some sort of "feelings" about performance or is it measured? Does it actually act as a tone control, and how so? Are you actually degreed in engineering or just a typical audio engineer meaning you have some street experience recording music? Generally around here we find it pointless to discuss some vague feelings about amps based on brand name.

 

[Pogre]

I found it pointless to debate these topics on line so I will leave it at that.

Well... I mean, you did ask...