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Odd question... power compared to?

I am saving monies for a high power 2 channel amp and am close to a Parasound A21... I have a Mac pre but can't afford a big boy Mac amp. A21 400ish per... would a lower power Mac do the same job as the big boy A21? I understand current ect. but I am hoping a more reasonable Mac would be in the same park... I had a 7100 Mac and my speakers ate it for lunch . What say ye?
128x128captbeaver
captbeaver's avatar
captbeaver OP
167 posts
 
Aerial Acoustic 10T.... 
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 
I'd go with the A21, certainly not the A23. A McIntosh amp capable of driving those speakers will cost at least twice as much. Also, first time I hear bright and lean in the same sentence with a McIntosh amp unless the amp was way underpowered for the pairing speakers. If anything, they tend to be more on the warm side of the scale, at least the ones I've heard/owned.
captbeaver's avatar
captbeaver OP
167 posts
 
I would buy the 21 as I need the power... just a curiosity question really... I sooooooooo want the pretty blue party lights but ... :)
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
For the money you can not beat the Parasound. It has the same effortless nature heard in the JC1. Nothing bothers it. Frankly there is no Mac amp that I would take over it. Macs have a way over smoothing over fine detail giving them a warm easy to listen to character that appeals to a lot of people but the fine details get glossed over. It may be the output transformers which they insist on using in all their designs. They isolate the amp from stuff like back EMF and the amps are indestructible. The transient response and dynamics of the Parasound will blow you away.
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