Opinions on Parasound A21 & A21+

Hi ribd11, I received my a21+ a month ago and agree regarding how it draws you into the music.  I have an older pair of speakers that are 2 1/2 way with 7" scanspeak mid/woofers made in Denmark by a company named Avance.  I have not posted remarks regarding how good it sounds because I really don't have the experience with other amps as you and others.  I have used Museatex-Meitner mono blocks, Dynaco ST70 series one and series two, and most recently a Nuforce STA200.  I have paired the amp with a very nice sounding Copland CTA305 preamp which uses 12ax7 tubes. There is just a rightness to the way my system sounds now.  

I have PM you with a couple of questions.

I find this discussion very interesting.  I have an old Parasound H2200 which is getting a little long in the tooth and may be in need of a refresh (It sounds good to me but I reently had a hum - not through the speakers that was resolved by tightening all the screws I could reach and the right channel positive output is fussy about how the speaker lead is inserted - banana ).  It seems it is the predecessor to the A21.  I am thinking to upgrade.  I have a tube pre-amp and a pair of Magnepan 1.7i's

From a look the A21 seems to have similar specs but a cleaner layout (not so many caps strewn about the place)  From the specs, the + adds about 25% more power,20% more uF (whatever that does for you) 50% reduction in THD at full power and small increase in signal to noise ratio.

I also have an opportunity to purchase 2 A21's (not plus) for 1380 each.  I could use them as mono's or use them to bi-amp my Maggies.

I don't know I could use them as monos.  My HCA2200 is not rated to drive a 4ohm load in bridged mode, if I remember correctly.

What say you?

I had Parasound A21 (not A21+) for few weeks attached to my system. I listened to it with Benchmark DAC3 + ATC SCM19 speakers. It came across as neutral, clean and detailed. But it sounded a bit flatter and as a result less involving/engaging. I like the sound staging and tonality of my other amp (Benchmark AHB2) much much better than A21. If you are still looking for the amp (and do not need more than 100watts), you should definitely give AHB2 a try. Its about the same price point as A21. Good luck.

@markainsworth,
Search for "Club Halo Parasound" on Google and the first link will be a Parasound forum. Tons of the folks there are using the Halo amplifiers to power their Maggies. You would get tons of information on the EXACT combination of your loudspeaker and Parasound A21 combo.
Good luck.

Fwiw I've been running an A21+ for about 2 months now.  The right channel is almost completely dead now.  After 2 weeks it would take a long time for the right channel to start playing after system power up.  Now it just randomly cuts in and out.  I'm attempting to return it to my dealer, I want nothing to do with this.  So irritating given the price.