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A Budget Amp Comparison


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.


snapsc
snapsc OP
681 posts
 
Maybe this will help get the thread back on track...for me, the big takeaway is that there can be a surprising sonic difference between budget amplifiers...therefore, listing as many budget amplifiers as possible (that people have lived with in their own systems) along with their sonic characteristics could be helpful to those trying to decide "what do I try next...or which amps should I compare"?
michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio
1,019 posts
 

Hi snapsc

That question can probably be answered from a few points of view. Most of my clients I would say, have either had it with HEA or suspect there is something wrong with this HEA picture. Or have heard about me and what I do, either by reading a review or article then they get a hold of me and start their next chapter. Or their friend has converted and let them listen and borrow stuff. There actually was a time when the whole shipping issue was discussed among brands (obviously they have known about units built to ship vs units at their best state of performance). But most companies just want to make the sale and are glad they are in business. There are some designers who have tried to say they make their components that way on purpose, but these guys have been proven wrong by those of us who actually test these issues.

There is a way around some of these issues that designers can, and some do, implement. If you look inside of components many times you see ties, but you will also see some use supports for their wire runs instead of ties. A wire support lifts the wire from the chassis and doesn't put tension on the wires. On these supports is a clip where you can easily get the wire out, without having to snip anything. As far as transformers, many companies make their transformers so they can be easily loosened. There are a bunch of these tweaks (resets) you can do to the right component, and you never have to be concerned about warranty issues.

Here's the deal though. Since designers know this is "Audio" shouldn't they be making components already this way? They shouldn't be asking you to pay these outrageous prices and yet not even supply you with the opportunity to reset your component to it's original design. HEA should mean advanced, but we can all do these tests and see that we are not getting the bang for our buck.

One of the reasons so many are turning to these receivers and other products is because of the build. For example if you look inside of the Sherwood, you will see an amazing layout. The mass companies have really done their homework. One of the first comments I hear when someone goes to the Sherwood or other well done modern products is "my soundstage really opened up and is more detailed".

I think people should keep in mind too, that I have and continue to bring in a lot of high end gear so I don't make these observations without merit. I don't mention a lot of brands simply because my job is to point to the good and not put down anyone's specific brand. That's not what I'm about. However, I also feel responsible to tell the truth and the fact is HEA is no longer ahead of the curve.

Michael Green

www.michaelgreenaudio.net

loomisjohnson
1,951 posts
 
cj, i do not perceive michael's very cordial posts as any form of sales pitch--he expressed an opinion and responded to a question regarding a piece of budget gear, which he doesn't even sell. one might choose not to buy into his tuning blocks or other esoterica, but he registers as a well-informed gentleman and is entitled to his views.
cj1965
124 posts
 
@ loomis

Michael has been cordial and certainly is entitled to express his views. Unfortunately, the nature of his post wasn't to talk about the subject of the thread - budget amps - but a budget receiver that was made for one year back in 2012. Bringing up budget receivers (current production or obsolete) in a budget amp thread is a classic case of sidetracking. It is also a convenient way of introducing Mike's "tweak" products which he didn't wait to talk about - mentioning it in his first post.  Sidetracking is one issue. Mixing discussion about standard (widely accepted "technology") products with "tweak" (considered by a large percentage of people to be sales hyped nothingburger) is a prescription for fireworks. In every thread, you will have skilled, knowledgeable people participating down to complete novice and everything in between. You will also have people who are purely objective down to purely subjective and everything in between with regard to how they evaluate audiophile equipment. "Tweaks", by their very nature, belong squarely in the "subjective" camp. Most of the purveyors of "tweaks" scoff at the notion of any attempt to objectively measure performance to back up or denigrate claims that are made for said products. When tweaks and their purveyors  enter thread discussions where some level of objectivity is expected, they appear to expect that "objectivists"  or those who rely on both subjective and objective criteria, should suspend all judgment or skepticism of the "unproven" claims associated with tweaks. This is an unrealistic and unfair expectation. Similarly, it is unreasonable, inappropriate, and unfair for a pure "objectivist" to barge into a thread within a "tweak sub- forum" and ridicule participants therein for their "unproven" beliefs or "audible experiences".Basically, what I'm suggesting is that there should be some "safe space" allotted for the purveyors of "tweaks" that is free from the ridicule and judgment a lot of us possess. Likewise, the "tweak faithful" should respect the rights of pure or quasi objectivists to be critical of tweak claims when participating in "non tweak" item discussions. In every case, the thread starter should have the final say as to what is appropriate and what's not in terms of relevance to the subject matter originally introduced - aside from the role that site moderation plays. In this particular case, snapsc might not care one way or the other. But I can assure you, a high percentage of people (myself included) who participate here will be turned off if a budget amp discussion sidetracks to the claimed effect of blocks of wood versus plastic feet on an aging budget receiver.  Site moderators, for whatever reason, have not seen fit to draw borders in terms of forum subsections that delineate subjectivist and objectivist subject matter. I'm sure they have their reasons. I will say, however, that if such lines were drawn, threads like the  one long time member Elizabeth recently bemoaned that featured "never ending" debate, would likely cease to exist.
michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio
1,019 posts
 

Hi Loomis

Thanks, I appreciate that! Yep, my point may have been taken a little out of context by cj. Or I wasn't being clear enough. I can also see why folks would get rattled when that sales pitch line gets rolling. Sometimes it's hard to see excitement vs salesman, especially in this hobby lol.

My comment was based on this from the OP

"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."

Without going overboard I was trying to say how we all have a different point of reference when we talk about our setups, and how we evaluate sound from components. My conclusions on what is good or not so good is from a certain method of listening, and I felt it important to include that.

So thanks again, I didn't want to respond to cj and come off rude.

Michael Green

www.michaelgreenaudio.net

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