New Parasound Halo JC1+ monoblocks just released!!!

Hello All,
I have great appreciation for Parasound/John C amplifiers. I am sure that the new JC1+ would be an outstanding amplifier. However none of the John C amplifiers are balanced design unlike Pass Labs and many other more expensive brands. How much of this balanced design with common noise reduction functionality leads to sonic benefit? Would that be a key criteria when you are evaluating a solid state amplifier?

How much of this balanced design with common noise reduction functionality leads to sonic benefit?

Not much as I’ve found, only the noise "can" be a touch lower if the interconnects are unshielded or 10mts or more long.

In fact many pieces of equipment’s with balanced inputs and outputs are fake and sound worse, being just balanced opamps in front of or after the main single ended amplification circuitry.

And then 99% of amps are SE output anyway to the speakers the black "negative" speaker terminal is at earth potential so not being balanced output.

The new JC1+ monoblocks have got balanced inputs.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/parasound-halo-jc-1-monoblock-power-amplifier-0

Cheers George

GeorgieBOY

Shills get paid. I never got a penny off, nor any incentive$ to push Rics wonderful class D amp

Can I expect an apology too?

Hello Georgehifi- Thanks for your response. JC1+ indeed supports balanced inputs like the old JC1 but the circuit inside is not balanced which is where you get the most benefit out of a pure balanced design. Just having a balance input with a single ended circuit inside, at least in theory, doesn't have much benefit. More on this balanced design, people argue that if you are having a fully balanced upstream component like a Bricasti DAC or any other such products it sound the best when you connect it to a downstream component[s] like pre-amplifier and/or directly to a power amplifier which is also fully balanced. Does anyone have any comment on this design?

but the circuit inside is not balanced which is where you get the most benefit out of a pure balanced design.

Sorry indran didn’t read your post right on this. Indeed the voltage amplification section of the JC1 ’s old or new may not be balanced I don’t know, as I have no circuit diagrams on them.
But you’ll find that if model of Pass Labs you mentioned has a true balanced voltage amplification stage (not just a tacked on balanced to se), the output stage is still single ended, like just about every other amp.

Just having a balance input with a single ended circuit inside, at least in theory, doesn’t have much benefit.

Yes because to listen to the balanced input on those, it’s just more components (sometimes an opamp) then they run into the single ended voltage amplification stage anyway, so your better off just listening to it.

And like I mentioned, it’s only a noise benefit, if there’s no noise it’s just extra components in the signal path that aren’t needed.

Cheers George