Parasound Halo A23 paired with Peachtree Nova 125

Dhl93449 - I totally agree with you. After I paired the CM10s with the Rotel separates, the brightness went away. Unfortunately, I just didn't agree with Rotel's so-called 'house sound'. This is not to say there's anything wrong with Rotel gear, as they do sell quite a bit, and most reviews I read were positive. But perhaps, not my cup of tea.

I wish I could move up the Parasound chain to JC2 and JC1, but I just don't have the funds for it presently. Besides, my better half, who's already a bit leery of this expensive hobby, will give an earful to me - and that too in a very bright, unbalanced tone :)

Hi Paraneer, yes I did pickup the A23 from a local buyer. It turned out to be a pretty good deal. The amp is a little over two years old and in pristine condition. Besides, he knocked down the price even lower. I just couldn't refuse.

Unfortunately, I was pretty busy the last few days so the A23 is still sitting in my closet. I'll probably hook it up today or tomorrow.

So my current plan is to pair it with the Peachtree and listen to it for a few weeks. If a used P5 becomes available in the meantime, I'd probably jump on that one. But in the meantime, I figured why spend money on buying a new P5. I'm sure something is bound to show up soon here at agon.

As always, your valuable advice is greatly appreciated. After I hook it up with the Peachtree, I'll post my findings here.

Yep, you may not even need the P5. Until you connect the A23 into the system and compare, hold off on a purchase would be my advice. B&W can be bright, but the right electronics and or cables can help. I found that cheap brass gold plated banana plugs on my speaker cables reduced the brightness.

Well Arafiq, now I know you haven't heard the A23 yet, I agree with Runnin. Connect that A23 first and you may find the Peachtree as a preamp is all you need.

Let us know how everything sounds as you move forward. Good luck!

I hooked up the A23 to the Peachtree a few days ago. I was a little disappointed that the A23 seemed lifeless and not much power. I had to crank up the volume quite a bit to make it sound even halfway decent. I just couldn't believe that it could sound this bad with the Peachtree.

Then I found out that there were level controls in the back of the A23 marked 'THX Reference'. As per the manual, I had to turn them to their maximum clockwise position. Once I did that we were back in business.

In short, the improvement is NOT subtle in any way, it's night and day. Overall, a very balanced and natural sound, with controlled and punchy base. I realized that with the Peachtree, the upper frequencies were favored at the expense of base. This is no longer the case. The A23, at least in my system, sounds amazing. One thing I really love about it is the way it handles the lower frequencies. The base doesn't necessarily sound louder than the Peachtree, but I can feel it in my chest. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's good in a very satisfying way. Lastly, the brightness has been tamed. I listened to my music for a good 3 hours yesterday and absolutely no fatigue whatsoever.

About the only criticism I can come up with is that the amp seems to struggle a bit at higher than moderate volume. There were times when I was expecting the amp to pick up steam but it didn't, at least to the level I was expecting. Don't know, maybe there's an A21 in my future? ;)

Anyways, I was so impressed with the Parasound Halo sound that I sold my Peachtree at a very good price. A new P5 is on its way now, should be getting it sometime next week. A really cool feature that I was missing on the Peachtree is HT Bypass as well as balanced connections. I am hoping for even better synergy between the P5 and A23 compared to the Peachtree combo.

So all in all, this little experiment proved to me that not all watts are the same. Spec-wise, both the Peachtree and A23 give you 125 watts per channel. But the authority and ease with which the A23 is driving my CM10s sets them apart by a considerable distance. I can only imagine how sweet an A21 would sound in this mix.