This is the take that Steve at Empiracal Audio has always had. If you have read his posts in the past, he has alwasy said this. I am most likely going to have his mods done (This will be the first time I have givne any equipment to Steve). He has both units, and said taht after the mods, the jc-1 is superior in every respect. If I had to complain about my jc-1 (they are a great amp, but not perfect...what is?), my complaints would almost perfectly align with what Steve has written. Alot of it has to do, imho, with a lack of enegy in the mids and highs (and perhaps a little less transperancy), compared to other amps I have liked. In most ways, the jc-1's are a phenominal amp for the price(I must think so..I own them), but as with any product it has it's short comings. If steve can really do what he says (I confirmed what he says with one of his customers who had the mod done and was floored by the improvments), then it really might be my permanenet amp for a long while.
Parasound HCA-3500, Am I Crazy?
Hello to all,
I recently borrowed a friends Parasound HCA-3500 power amp just for the heck of it. [I was always curious how this amp sounded].
I unhooked my Parasound Halo JC-1's and hooked up the Parasound HCA-3500 in its place.
Much to my shock, there were some things that the 3500 seemed to do better than the JC-1's in my system:
The HCA-3500 actually sounded more transparent, open, and more extended on top than the JC-1's! This was especially true at lower volume levels.
The HCA-3500 also seemed to have a deeper soundstage, and a blacker background.
The JC-1's seemed superior in most other regards, however.
The JC-1's sounded smoother, cleaner, had slightly more body, more detail, and better bass control than the 3500.
The 3500 did sound a touch etched and slightly grainy, but it sure sounded damn clear, open, and transparent!
How could this be?
Anyone else out there experienced this?
Break-in is not an issue. My JC-1's have close to 1,800 hours on them.
I am just puzzled folks, thats all.
audio_girl
I recently borrowed a friends Parasound HCA-3500 power amp just for the heck of it. [I was always curious how this amp sounded].
I unhooked my Parasound Halo JC-1's and hooked up the Parasound HCA-3500 in its place.
Much to my shock, there were some things that the 3500 seemed to do better than the JC-1's in my system:
The HCA-3500 actually sounded more transparent, open, and more extended on top than the JC-1's! This was especially true at lower volume levels.
The HCA-3500 also seemed to have a deeper soundstage, and a blacker background.
The JC-1's seemed superior in most other regards, however.
The JC-1's sounded smoother, cleaner, had slightly more body, more detail, and better bass control than the 3500.
The 3500 did sound a touch etched and slightly grainy, but it sure sounded damn clear, open, and transparent!
How could this be?
Anyone else out there experienced this?
Break-in is not an issue. My JC-1's have close to 1,800 hours on them.
I am just puzzled folks, thats all.
audio_girl
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- 24 posts total
- 24 posts total