Parasound JC 1 or Musical Fidelity KW 550?

IMO ...Again ,I cant stress enough about factory warranty..I bought a new X.5 amp and it went to factory 3 times in a 5 month period..Was bad out of the crate,had distortion in one channel,and no it wasnt something I did on my end..It was repaired correctly the 3rd time but still it cost me over $125 to ship to them (3 times)plus the down time in my system.I moved away from Pass simply because I lost faith in their product.Im sure there are more with postive comments about Pass and a few like myself with a bad taste.I would never buy an older 250 or 350 without having the current owner send it to the factory and have them run it through the paces(cost on the seller of course),I would contact Pass and verify the process before laying down cash.Buying something on the used market is risky,better through this site but still risky.Thats just my mindset on used gear.Good luck in your purchase

I had the Mac 501's in my system, and the Pass 350 and didn't like either of them nearly as well as the JC1's. The Mac sounded muddy and slow, and the Pass seemed way too bright. It could just be the other equipement and my speakers (Magnepan 3.6r's) didn't match with them as well, but I didn't like them together. Both of those amps went to people I know and they both work well in their systems.

Back to the initial question, I think you would like the JC1's with your 802's.

Choose the JC-1, sound and build is far superior to me.

M-F changes model lineup and component content like we change our socks, though great at marketing though.

I've owned the JC 1's and Pass X 350. I liked the JC 1's better. The JC 1's do take a very long time to break in and don't sound good until they do. They're a bargain for the sound that you get. Better still is the Gryphon Encore but it's about $8500.00 used.

Frank

Pcs,

I have a Musical Fidelity A308cr paired with my Dynaudio S3.4 and it's excellent, very neutral. I'm not sure if this carries along to Marantz's separate amplifiers, but when using internal amplification, I found my Marantz receiver to tone down the highs a bit. I actually preferred it over my old Rotel when I had B&W 602s.

Dave