Hafler vs Parasound


hey all, looking for some advice regarding power amps

for context I'm in my 20s and i've built a system from ebay and classifieds.. with a lot of luck. I'm all about bang for the buck performance and at this point I've got around 600 to play with

right now my system is as follows
speakers- NHT 3.3, Infinity Kappa 6.1
preamp- Integra research RDC7.1
source- PC lossless feeding usb to spdif, digital coax to the IR RDC7.1 apogee clock/burr brown dacs

I've been bi amping the NHT/Kappas using balanced from my IR pre/pro using a hafler 9505 250wpc for mids/highs and a beefy hafler p7000 350wpc for lows

I'm aware these power amps are 15+ years old, and I bought them used from a studio where they were used frequently, leading me to want to upgrade the capacitors as well as some other mods via musical concepts, for a pretty penny, and I want to explore my options

I've seen some parasound HCA1000a local to me on craigslist, 2 of them for a great price. these offer 125wpc @8 ohm, and 400w bridged. I see a lot of love for the parasounds especially in the bang/buck department. I would run these as mono blocks.

they are the john curl design, and I know there are good references for DIY upgrading and modding these units.

I would be completely overhauling both, I was just wondering which do you think would give me the better power amp performance

or maybe is it worth saving up for a bryston or other power amp? my goal was to spend around 500 to upgrade the older amps

I know the hafler amps are great, im just skeptical that upon upgrading I will not be happy with the results due to their pro audio roots compared to the parasound design for sound quality. thanks
nyhifihead
Hi nyhifihead, I think you need to take a deep breath and step back a minute. You didn't mention your room dimensions, etc.

It's easy to get caught up in equipment upgrades initially, but when you get back down to earth, what is really more important is how the music reacts to your room.

If I were you, I'd research room acoustics. There are several informative sites. I know from experience that this is not what you want to hear right now. Trust me, this will be the best (free) upgrade you'll ever make! You may find, that what you have will be very satisfying!

Happy listening!!
By the way,... I just wish that I'd had this forum to refer to when I was at the stage you are now. Good luck!

(You made a very smart choice by posting here for help.)