parasound 3500 verses parasond jc1

try and audition the Simaudio W-5. I have heard both and for coherence and musicalilty the W-5 sounds better. Admitedly the JC-1's had not had there 1400 hours of break in time.
One of the dealers has both amps and he is of the same opinion.

The 3500 is a stereo JC-1 is about the only difference worth noting in the electronic design. The 3500 has a ton more 2nd harmonic due to the International Rectifier devices in the driver circuit in lieu of the better mannered Harris devices in the JC-1 so the JC-1 is a much smoother amplifier without the glitz and glimmer in the 3500's sound. You are never going to get the 3500 as smooth as the JC-1s due to the devices as well as the layout.

Bob Crump
CTC Builders

I have to disagree with Downunder, I have heard the JC-1 at a friends house multiple times and owned the SIM W-5, and there is no comparison in my mind. The bass authority and the 25watts of Class A make for a very musical amplifier, versus the detailed stark presentation with lite bass (sorry it couldn't drive or control my NHT 3.3's (4-6ohm speaker) to 21hz.

The JC-1 is more refined than the 3500 or two 3500's

"You are never going to get the 3500 as smooth as the JC-1s due to the devices as well as the layout."

Bob - I have to repectfully disagree. These things can all be fixed with the right mods. The 3500 and JC-1's end-up very close IMO. The 3500 has replaced rectifiers in it, although this seems to mostly improve the bass tightness.

Steve, we are talking about different things.......The IR devices that need to be repaced with Harris are not rectifiers, they are Mosfets used in the input section and this is the cause of the huge amount of 2nd harmonic distortion in the 3500 over the JC-1.......This amount of 2nd harmonic comes across as brightness in the upper midrange which can be tamed with two parts and about ten minutes of work.........The Harris diodes used as rectifiers in all three bridges in the 3500 will allow for improved bass tightnesss as well as a much better stage......

Bob Crump
CTC Builders