2. amps-preamps
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Mcintosh vs Parasound

I'm considering going from a YBA Passion integrated amp at 100wpc to either the new mcintosh MC402 or the Parasound JC1. I'd likely get a matching preamp from whichever amp mfg i get. I'm driving Talon Peregrines with all of the upgrades. They are pretty efficient, but I'm trying to get a bigger sound. The YBA sounds clean and great, but doesn't move a lot of air. Opinions please?
sea2
aball
1,994 posts
 
I believe the JC1 needs 10000000 hours of break in, at least. However, 20000000 hours is best.

The MC402 is one of the best amps I have ever heard. Looks knockout too. Arthur
budrew
467 posts
 
The Mcintosh stuff is very nice! Not finicky, does not need hours of break in.
As Aball says, looks good too. Give it a listen. It's probably close to your YBA
sound but better and trust me it will move a ton of air.
sean
6,229 posts
 
If you want delicacy, air, sweetness of sound, separation of instruments, expansive sound stages, etc... you need to look at either Pass Labs or Ayre Acoustics. Like most high bias amps, they too benefit from being powered up 24/7 and may consume a good amount of AC, even at idle. This is obviously just my opinion and may not be worth the paper that it isn't printed on : ) Sean
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superhonestben
171 posts
 
I second the Mac thing, I own a c2200 a mc275 a 252 and their cd205..its gooood stuff,sounds excellent and musical, their build quality is probably second to none. Break in time is nil, sounds great right out of the box. So sick and tired of amps needing 6.9 trillion years to break in and sound good, I mean c'mon. Mac is the real deal.
essentialaudio
1,147 posts
 
Dre_j, the thinness goes away after about thirty days with the JC-1s, and dynamics, weight, air and focus nicely improve a bit further down the road as they become, if you'll pardon the expression, faster sounding - they get out of the way of the music better. Nope, they don't take 10^7 hours to break in :-)

Brian
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