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Preamp: Parasound P5 vs Rotel RC1590

Hi everyone!

I have a choice to make between Parasound P5 and Rotel RC1590. Will be using them with Hypex NCore NC500 based monoblock amps and Focal Electra 1008be speakers. Will be using XLR output, and ht bypass is a must.

Out of these 2 choices, which one would you recommend ? Listed some of the pros and cons I am thinking of each model.

Parasound P5:
  • Many positive reviews
  • Subwoofer integration
  • True ht bypass
  • Looks visually better than Rotel.
cons:
  • No torodial transformer, switching power supply instead.
  • Motorized volume control. (possible lack of precise control at low volumes, harder to control via remote probably)

Rotel RC1590:
  • 2 toroidal transforms (1 is dedicated to DAC)
  • Built in DAC is of a higher spec.
  • Digital volume control
  • RS232 connection. I use home automation system (HASS). I could build a device to control the amp in anyway I want.
cons:
  • Fixed gain instead of ht bypass, would need to have balance set to 0 or compensate for it by AVR.
  • No proper subwoofer integration. However I can easily DIY a cross over filter and volume pot, to connect to sub. My sub has independent LFE and L/R inputs.

Now, I know that these items are priced very differently in states. But, in Poland, their retail prices are more or less identical. Rotel seems to be much better of a preamp for the money (speaking only of the components inside: http://www.rotel.com/sites/default/files/rc1590_guts.png). However, there are fewer reviews of it, very few user reviews. Features and spec wise,  RC-1570 or RC-1572 seems to be more comparable to Parasound P5 and they are much cheaper than Parasound here.

Some guidance would be very much appreciated.
denizpiri
denizpiri OP
43 posts
 
Few more thoughts on PS Audio's sound. These are some very early thoughts, I need to do more listening to clear my thoughts on these.

Instruments sounds either panned fully to left, fully to right or in some blurry are in between. Things in between doesn't sound very focused. Don't get me wrong, instruments sound very distinct tonally, so very distinct. However, I don't yet feel positional distinction.

Will do more listening tomorrow and report! :D
denizpiri OP
43 posts
 
@auxinput Yeah, emotiva was quite a disappointment for me :( Gave my system a Car HiFi feel.

I am guessing that Rotel is no slouch in terms of internal components. Some of it's beauty can be seen here. https://youtu.be/zCro9sPHda0?t=24s I can see the advantages of PS Audio's design though, minimalistic, sound focused design.

You are right, PS Audio walks all over Parasound. From my experience they are not even in the same league.
denizpiri OP
43 posts
 
Alright,, pressing Ok button on Harmony for LG TV mutes the PS Audio :D If I would decide to go for PS Audio, I would definitely need to work out some IR control plan :D
denizpiri OP
43 posts
 
Rotel's dealer seems to be closed today :( I won't be able to A/B compare PS Audio and Rotel.

Anyway, I am thinking that I will go for Rotel if I can make sure that it can be noise free somehow. Putting sound quality aside, that IR problem is a big deal breaker for me. I am not willing to change my tv for a preamp. Just bought the tv like 4 months ago. :/ I had one idea to get it working: tape over the IR receiver of LG tv, and use it's own remote instead of Harmony remote (LG remote works via bluetooth as I understand, or some 2.4g rf signal). This way, PS Audio's remote wouldn't be controlling TV, yet I would be able to control the TV. When I tried it, LG remote in some cases still sends IR commands, for example when TV is turned off. Besides, giving up on harmony remote also doesn't sound very nice to me. If PS Audio had RS232 control port, I could use that to make my own IR receiver and pass commands to PS Audio, but no RS232 port on it :/

In terms of SQ, from what I remember of Rotel, I would put PS Audio and Rotel at the same level, Rotel being easier to listen to, PS Audio being more revealing and more difficult to listen to for long durations.

I will be returning PS Audio on Tuesday, probably will go for Rotel purchase right after that. I still have 2 more days to change my mind though :D
denizpiri OP
43 posts
 
Alright! Finally purchased something! :D

I ended up getting an RME ADI-2 DAC and skipping the preamp altogether. I received the unit yesterday only and super happy with it so far! There is absolutely zero background hiss, none of it. Usability wise it is super super nice. Dynamic loudness feature is great, parametric EQ will be very useful for fighting acoustic problems of the room. It has many other great features. Still experimenting with it's filters.

I didn't listen to the combo of RME ADI-2 DAC and Apollon NC800 SLM (hypex nc500) very critically yet. However, if I have anything to complain about so far, it is that both are very transparent devices. There is no softening going on in any frequency range. Therefore any problem in the recording immediately shows up. However, with clean records, sounds super real. I will experiment with opamps in the power amps and see if I can change the sound to be tad bit softer. Regardless of this, I would personally prefer a transparent system over a system with it's own sound any day.

As for the ht bypass, RME ADI-2 DAC itself doesn't have that feature. However, I ordered the necessary things to build a ht bypass box myself. It will basically switch the power amps from RME ADI-2 DAC to my AVR based on AVR's trigger out, using a 12V relay.

Anyway, I am settled with the current system so far. Will continue with some minor experimentations such as acoustic treatment of room, experimenting with opamps, etc... Also now will focus on upgrading my headphone gear for office use :D

Thank you all for help! :D
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