Okay, a month later, and having changed speaker cables, the two pairs of speakers are pretty close in decibel level at a given volume point. And I'd have to say that the 375 is an all around great performer for the price point. As it turns out, I do miss my Ascend Sierra 2 with its ribbon tweeter, and none of my current speakers can compare to it.
So I'm not 100% sure if it was the speakers or the Parasound Halo gear I had, but voice placement with that combo was more precise. Also, piano sounded a little more natural or accurate, I'm not sure which. I suspect the speakers had the greatest part to play in voice placement. My one critique with the Halo stuff was that the top end warmness reduced that air around the instruments.
But at its price point, the 375 really delivers, and has that little bit of extra air. As mentioned above, I have replaced the pre amp jumpers with Morrow cables. The power cord with a PS Audio AC5, and Morrow RCA cables are MA3 with Eichmann bullets. Also the speaker cables are Wireworld Oasis 7. Over $1000 for all cables, and that probably helps get the most out of the 375.
So I'm not 100% sure if it was the speakers or the Parasound Halo gear I had, but voice placement with that combo was more precise. Also, piano sounded a little more natural or accurate, I'm not sure which. I suspect the speakers had the greatest part to play in voice placement. My one critique with the Halo stuff was that the top end warmness reduced that air around the instruments.
But at its price point, the 375 really delivers, and has that little bit of extra air. As mentioned above, I have replaced the pre amp jumpers with Morrow cables. The power cord with a PS Audio AC5, and Morrow RCA cables are MA3 with Eichmann bullets. Also the speaker cables are Wireworld Oasis 7. Over $1000 for all cables, and that probably helps get the most out of the 375.