Is Parasound on to something? Or, How important is crossover management in preamps?


How important is crossover management in mid-fi receiver?

I auditioned Parasound separates yesterday — P6 and A23+ and the dealer emphasized how useful it would be to be able to control the crossover *both* for the subwoofer (I have a Rel 328) and the bookshelves (TBD, but I'm looking at Dynaudios and Salk WOW1's). Not many preamps have this, and I'm wondering how important it is. I'm also quite interested in PS Audio's separates (Stellar Gaincell + S300) but they do not have these, nor do they have tone controls.

So how valuable is Parasound's controls? What is the significance (positive or negative) control over the crossover — especially of the *main* speakers themselves? The positive, I read, is that it (a) allows mains to do a more precise job by relieving them of the burden of the bottom end, and (b) it increase the efficacy of the power amp in driving the mains. Is there a negative? Is there something "improper" about limiting the demands on mains, especially given their designed frequency range?

As you can see, the answer to this question helps determine whether Parasound has a major value-adding feature in these crossover controls.

Obviously, at the end of the day, auditioning pre's and poweramps (or integrateds) is crucial, as is match to speakers, etc. But if this feature is very important for fitting sub and mains together — and fitting speakers to room environments — then it will help me weigh the Parasound or any other preamp with this feature.

P.S. To those who keep seeing my newbie questions, I hope they're not irksome. I'm posting so often because I'm researching purchases for a whole system, of some cost, and so I'm really digging into these questions about all aspects. And I'm having a blast.
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Thanks. I’ve written to PS Audio to ask if they have a technical reason not to have this on their unit. I’ve read about the measurement issues, but so many people think it sounds great I’ll probably try it out.
You are conflating a couple of things.

Adding a high pass filter to your mains does reduce the load on the amp, and does make them easier to integrate with a sub, but the Parasound lets you do that without an external crossover. This is to me a big convenience and simplifying feature.

The alternative is you route everything through an external crossover, often in the subwoofer.

Another advantage here is you can use a DSP based EQ on the sub alone, without having your mid/treble frequencies routed through it, they stay pretty much pristine.


If you're upgrading, look for integrated amps first. Ignore features like crossovers. In fact ignore all specifications entirely. Forget watts per channel. Forget whatever nonsense you heard about "matching". Focus on how it sounds. Period. 

Now go back and read the first paragraph again, only this time replace "integrated amps" with speakers.

Now go back and read it again, only this time replace "speakers" with turntable. CD Player. Speaker cable. Power cable.

Got it?

Buy whatever sounds the best.

Oh, and since you said this is for a new system "of some cost" take whatever that number is, divide by 5 for the 5 things you need (source, amp, speakers, cables, and tweaks- cones, rack, shelf, etc) and use that as your cutoff as to what to audition.
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Thanks, Erik. It sounds like all things being otherwise equal, the Parasound feature is a plus.
Thanks, Millercarbon. It seems like if everything sounds good, then the crossover is a plus. (I never said I wanted to make the decision without making listening the highest priority. That would make me a technophile gear head. But I like music.) The division into fifths is something to consider. Thanks for mentioning it.