Which Power Amplifier to buy: Sunfire or Parasound

THX certification is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. I`m not a digital amp fan yet. Never heard the Sunfire. As a satisfied owner, Parasound gets my vote.

THX "feature" means nothing.

This is my chance to get even for the very poor service I have had from Parasound. I admit I am biased between these two amps; have owned both. sunfire is the way to go for sure. More pride of ownership, better quality, ownership of a product made by a legend. But most surley way better reliability period. Both sound great though.

THX rating is important when dealing with companies that design and sell borderline equipment. For well designed, quality amps it is meaningless - it just adds to cost due to licensing expenses. Both Parasound and Sunfire meet or exceed THX specs, so I would be comfortable with either company's products. Enjoy! :o)

If you choice is between the Sunfire Sig. and Parasound 2205 I would definately go with the Parasound. Not only will you save $600 to $800 but it will more than likely sound better. The Sunfire Sig. is a good amp but it never distinguished itself when I tested it with the Parasound, Aragon, Classe, ADA and EAD amp shoot out. I did this over a week and my conclusions were as follows: 1) EAD PM2000 2) EAD PM1000 3) (Almost tied for second) Classe CAV-150 4) Aragon 8008X3 5) Parasound HCA-2205a 6) ADA PTM-6150 (this is a very good amp that if I could save $200 or more on the Aragon or Parasound I would select) 7) Sunfire Signiture Grand.

I will say that the Sunfire did have different speaker outputs and one did sound better for music than the other (I can't remember if it was the current or voltage outputs) but against the other amps listed it never won out, just tied in some areas.

If you were thinking of spending the $1,750 + for the Sunfire Sig. I would definately look for a used EAD PM1000 that can be had for about $1,500 to $1,700 on the used market. If not then the Parasound would be a great choice and you would save some money to boot.

As far as THX is concerned I would never use that as the deciding factor, your ears are the best certification around.

Good luck

Mike

I would have to say Parasound from my experience.

Never had a Parasound. Have owned 3 Sunfire pieces and still own 2. Current and voltage outs on the front 3 channels give an almost "tube-like" sound with lots of power. Unmatched at its price-point IMO. Service is excellent and so is build quality.

My vote would also be Sunfire since I chose to buy it over the parasound. Their service has been good when I had a problem with their recieve.

Mjaudio: was the Sunfire signature you tested the first edition, or the second (there's a signficant difference) and was it burned in (it takes a sunfire amp more time than others to run in, and get musical and deep bottom end)?

I've owned two Parasound amps with no problem. Also getting ahold of a real person at the Parasound technical dept is easy.

Sunfire Grand Signature I highly recommend.