Budget Amp Comparison –
Crown, Nuprime, Parasound
Everyone who begins their
journey to audio nirvana probably begins the same way; with a bunch of research
and wondering if they have spent “wisely”.
For those just starting out
or just looking to make a change, this is a comparison of three budget
amplifiers. All three seem to have found a pretty good
market following which probably means their price/sound performance is
acceptable. Hopefully this comparison/thread
will be helpful to new people entering the hobby…and hopefully this thread will
invite comments from others who might have additional ideas about starter amps
around/below $1000.
The three amplifiers are:
Crown XLS 2000/2
Class D ProAudio Amp - $499 new
Nuprime STA9 Class D Home Audio Amp with a Class A input
stage - $649 new
Parasound Halo A23
high bias Class A/B Home Audio Amp -
$995 new
(The most obvious amp
missing from the group is the Schiit Vidar at $700 which also has a pretty good
reputation and deserves consideration)
The other equipment these
amps were paired up with during the comparisons include an Oppo 103, Parasound
2100 preamp, Tekton Lore loudspeakers, Blue Jeans RCA Cables and homemade OFC
stranded, twisted, shielded speaker cables.
Crown XLS
2000/2002
The entry end for a new amplifier is probably $4-500 and the
Crown is a pretty interesting amplifier at this price level. Designed by Harman International for pro
audio applications but with consumer audio connections included as well (RCA
inputs & banana/spade/bare wire speaker connections). This is a class D amplifier which Harman
engineered to be powerful, reliable, clear, stable with tough loads and stable
with crappy AC line voltages that might be found at a music venue.
The XLS 2000/2 has a surprisingly powerful low end, very
wide soundstage extending 3’ beyond the speakers (but not very deep), decent
midrange and top end. The Crown is
silent with a black background and relatively musical overall.
A couple of great and really appreciated features include
“no speaker thump” turn on and gain controls located on the front of the amp. The gain controls are fantastic when you have
98db efficiency speakers like the Lores.
With no gain controls, you often only have the preamp/DAC at the 8-9
o’clock position and the loudspeakers are screaming…but if you also have a
subwoofer that is connected to the preamp, you likely have to turn the sub gain
controls all the way up which can sometimes compromise the sound. With the Crown XLS2000 you set the amp gain
down allowing you to set the preamp volume up and your sub will sound its best. (You can also use the gain controls to
equalize the left right volume if need be without the degradation you can
sometimes get from balance controls).
This amp is insanely powerful…1050 watts into 2ohms per
channel, 375 watts into 8 ohms and 650 watts into 4 ohms…bridgeable to mono
with over 2000 watts. The input voltage
required to drive to full output is 1.4 volts so it can pretty easily be driven
directly by most CD players and DACs without a preamp.
On several occasions I emailed Crown with questions and
always received a prompt reply that was helpful.
My overall feeling is that this is a really good starter amp
for someone on a budget, for a second system, for a college kid, etc. Pretty good sound, bullet proof, tons of
power, lots of connections, and all the connections needed for double duty use
in dj applications and other pro audio type gigs as well as home audio…and less
than $500.
Nuprime STA9
The amp is beautifully packaged and this by itself gives you
a certain level of confidence as you open the box. In most (but not all) areas, the STA9 is a
step up from the Crown. Although the
soundstage presented is not as wide, it is deeper and more dimensional. Although the bass is not as powerful, it is
more tuneful (better pitch). The
midrange and top end have better definition with slightly better instrument
separation. Head to head, the Nuprime
sounds more musical.
Both the Crown and the Nuprime are class D and weigh about
10lbs…but the Nuprime is about half the overall size. Nuprime says it designed this amp with a
Class A input favoring 2nd order harmonics. This may explain why the Nuprime idled at 103
degrees and ran at 107 degrees while the Crown remained at room temperature and
the fan never kicked on. Like the Crown, the Nuprime is also dead
silent and has a very black background.
A couple things I didn’t appreciate so much about the
Nuprime: the on/off switch is on the
back, it frequently thumped my loudspeakers when turning on and of (as well as
when the oppo or the preamp turned on and off) and it didn’t have gain controls
which made it much more difficult to integrate with the subwoofer.
The Nuprime is rated at 120 watts into both 4 ohms and 8
ohms and bridgeable to 290 watts mono.
Like with Crown, my email correspondence with Nuprime was
always answered in a timely manner.
Based on sound alone, this amp is worth a try. You may not experience some of the things
that bothered me…or they may not bother you.
If you don’t need the power of the Crown and you have a little more
money to spend, this might be a good choice.
Parasound Halo A23
The Halo was also beautifully packaged (double boxed) with a
very clearly written manual included.
Parasound describes this amp as high bias Class A/AB…meaning that for
the first watt or two, it operates as class A and then operates as A/B as more
watts are used. (Pass labs has a very nice description of what actually happens
http://www.firstwatt.com/pdf/art_leave_classa.pdf
) I can’t say that I actually noticed any
difference or if there was actually a change from Class A to A/B but I can say
that in my system in my room, the Halo sound was a pretty big step up from the
Nuprime (which was a step up from the Crown).
The soundstage can best be described as immersive (deep and wide) with a
strong, detailed low end, detailed and silky mids and highs with good
instrument separation and very musically engaging.
Like the Crown and Nuprime, the Halo has a black background
with no speaker hiss whatsoever. The
Halo has a very effective relay that never thumped my loudspeakers. The operating temperature remained under 90
degrees for the first hour and then gradually climbed to 105 degrees by the
third hour so ventilation may be needed.
The Halo has gain controls on the rear and the on/off switch is on the
front.
The Halo is rated at 125 watts into 8 ohms, 225 watts into 4
ohms, is bridgeable and will drive 2 ohm loads but not at full power at
20hz. Email response from Parasound was
also quick.
If you can afford $1000 (new) or $700 (preowned), this is
the best sounding amp of the group and deserves strong consideration. Another point worth mentioning is resale;
Parasound has a good reputation and their products seem to resell pretty
quickly on Audigon with prices that hold up pretty well over time.
Final Thoughts
Until you have a chance to try a piece of equipment in your home
in your system in your room, you can only speculate as to what it will sound
like and what quirks will drive you crazy. No matter how good the reviews and forum
comments are its definitely worth the price of return shipping to try equipment
for a few weeks before deciding.
