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| Parasound Halo P5 Front Panel |
I don’t understand why high end audio has to be so expensive. While expensive is a relative term, for the sake of this discussion, let’s say expensive is anything over $1,000. When I was in college, I purchased a truly fantastic NAD stereo preamp for a few hundred dollars. I don’t remember the exact price but I sold it on eBay many years ago for over $250. I think I sold it for close to what I paid for it.
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| Parasound P5 Rear Panel |
The only company that comes close in features is Emotiva with their XSP-1 differential preamp. It’s similar in many features to the Parasound as a 2.1 preamp. However the Emotiva is purely an analog preamp with no DAC at all.
On the one hand, I’d like to applaud Parasound for coming in under the $1,000 mark for this product. It’s clearly a significant feature upgrade to it’s predecessor but at a less expensive price point. On the other hand, the Parasound P5 makes me lament a more nostalgic time when high end audio seemed a bit more accessible to the “average person”—especially the college student.
Parasound has added a new 2.1-channel audio preamplifier to its high-end ‘Halo’ product family. The new Parasound Halo P 5, which replaces the popular and long-lived Halo P 3 stereo preamplifier, adds a high-quality DAC (digital-to-analog converter) with coaxial, optical, and USB inputs, subwoofer outputs with analog bass management, home theater bypass, moving-coil capabilities to the phono stage, and a precision, motorized volume control.
“For 10 years, the Halo P 3 has been a mainstay of our line for value-conscious audiophiles,” said Richard Schram, the founder and president of Parasound. “However, new technologies have changed the ways audiophiles connect to and enjoy their music. So, the addition of a high quality DAC was an obvious choice for the P 5. There has also been a resurgence in turntables, so we upgraded the MM-only phono stage to also handle moving coil cartridges with a choice of load impedances. While the P 3 has outstanding two-channel sound, many audiophiles today have 2.1-channel stereo speaker systems with robust subwoofers. The P 5 actually creates a sub channel output for the 2.1 listening. The P 5 also makes it easy to integrate audiophile stereo speakers with a home theater surround system. The addition of a balanced XLR subwoofer output and variable low frequency and high frequency crossovers makes the Halo P 5 uniquely capable in these configurations.”
The Parasound Halo P 5’s state-of-the-art DAC can process a wide range of digital sources with its coaxial and optical inputs accepting up to 192 kHz rates, and the USB input accepting up to 96 kHz.
The Halo P 5 inputs include one pair of balanced XLR, phono, five RCA line-level stereo inputs and a front panel 3.5mm mini jack for portable MP3 players or smartphones. Its line outputs are balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA, plus a choice of balanced or unbalanced subwoofer outputs. The main and subwoofer outputs can be run full range or placed under the careful regulation of variable frequency analog high-pass and low pass crossovers.
The phono input is compatible with all moving magnet cartridges, and virtually all moving coil cartridges, with a 100 ohm/47k ohm switch to select the appropriate load impedance matching.
The front panel has a headphone jack, controls for source selection, level, bass, treble, tone defeat, balance, and subwoofer level. There is an auxiliary input with an additional 12-dB gain stage to compensate for typically low output of portable devices. An included remote control duplicates these functions. The IC volume control of the P 3 has been replaced with a premium Alps motorized potentiometer.
In addition to upgrades to the analog audio circuitry, the P 5 features a 0.5 watt standby power consumption to meet the new Energy Star requirements. A 12-VDC trigger circuit and a IR connection and loop-out make it easy to interface with sophisticated AV systems.
The Parasound Halo P 5 audio preamplifier will be offered in both black and the traditional Halo silver finish. It will be available in September with a suggested retail price of $950.
| Parasound Halo P 5 Audio Preamplifier Product Features | |
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Parasound Halo P 5 Audio Preamplifier Specifications
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| Frequency Response 10 Hz – 100 kHz, +0/-3 dB Total Harmonic Distortion < 0.01 % Crosstalk > 70 dB at 20 kHz Input Sensitivity 300 mv: 1 Volt Out Total Gain: 10 dB Maximum Output: 7 Volts Input Impedance Unbalanced: 24 kohm Balanced: 100 kohm per leg Output Impedance Unbalanced: 100 ohm Balanced: 470 ohm per leg S/N Ratio – Line Inputs 1-5 > 108 dB, input shorted, IHF A-weighted > 88 dB, input shorted, unweighted S/N Ratio – DAC Inputs > 108 dB, input shorted, IHF A-weighted > 90 dB, input shorted, unweighted |
S/N Ratio – Phono Inputs MM > 80 dB, input shorted, IHF A-weighted MM > 70 dB, input shorted, unweighted MC > 67 dB, input shorted, IHF A-weighted MC > 55 dB, input shorted, unweighted DC Trigger Requirements +9 Vdc to +12 Vdc, 2 mA XLR Pin Identification 1 = Ground (Shield)  2 = Positive   3 = Negative (Return) Dimensions Width: 17-1/4″ (437 mm) Depth: 13-3/4″ (350 mm) Height, with feet: 4-1/8″ (105 mm) Height, without feet: 3-1/2″ (89 mm) Net Weight 14 lb. (6.3 kg) Shipping Weight 21 lb. (9.5 kg) Power Requirement Standby: 0.5 Watts Power On: 20 Watts 100-250 Volts, 50-60 Hz (Automatic) Suggested Retail Price: $950 |
What about the Peachtree Nova Pre ($799)? Or the Benchmark DAC-1 ($999)? As these examples demonstrate, I think the problem in the preamp category is its impending obsolescence. Line level and digital sources don't need any "preamplification", and if all you're after is switching and volume in the under $1000 price range, that functionality is either absorbed into the DACs or into the integrated amps. Tough to see why you would expect a lot of investment in new stand-alone preamps by manufacturers. On the other hand, in the DAC world, the options under $1000 are exploding, and most include headphone amplifiers, volume, and source switching (like the Peachtree). Of course, if you're after a traditional pre-amp (with phono), the used market has lots of great options under $1000, as people unload their older preamps. In fact, there is a beautiful Audible Illusions Modulus 2D on eBay right now, almost certain to go for less than $1000…
Fred, that's simply an excellent point you make! As you point out, it's really fascinating to see this entire category go through this transformation. There's been a tremendous (and great explosion) in the headphone amp category and also newer players (like Schiit) who are bringing great value and great sound to the categories they are tackling. The problem I'm personally looking at is if you want a true 2-channel preamp and you also want digital sources, your pickings are seemingly getting slimmer and slimmer in the more "affordable" or value-oriented price ranges. Sure, if you want to spend 3k, 5k, 7k, there's some great stuff out there. There's no question that the used market offers great bargains. I'm simply lamenting the changing landscape and the fading affordability and feature set in the sub-$1,000 preamp market for someone who only wants 2-channel. As a new product, from a price/performance/features/value, I just don't know a product better than the Parasound looks on paper.
By the way, I neglected to properly welcome you to the Poor Audiophile 🙂 Love your comments!
I'll throw the emotiva DC-1 into the mix. While it's mostly a DAC, it does have a single analogue input. It has a headphone amp but it does not have a phono pre-amp. That same company also has an XDA-2 DAC and USP-1 preamp that together are less than $1000 and still fulfill all of what the parasound does, just in two boxes instead of one.
I do wish however that there were more affordable pre-amps. This hobby of ours seems to be growing more expensive although audio quality is improving. I love what parasound is doing with this and their Z line.
Ray, great points and agreed.
NAD C 165BEE MSRP $999. Any amount of negotiation skill can get it below $1.
I'm a big fan of NAD gear and owned a couple of integrated and preamps in my day.
The Nad Pre has no bass controls.. I would love the Nad if it did
Head's up, I carry the P5 and it has some wonderful competition now with the Rotel RC-1570. No separate sub out or crossovers built in, but has two each of toslink and coax digital in. Both are wonderful sounding pre's for no money. FYI
Nothing even comes close. Parasound has been putting out some astounding quality from their manufacturer in Taiwan. I have their A23, and sold the A21 because the A23 powered everything I needed it to, including ATC SCM11s, and Dynaudio x18s, with absolute authority. Now, the P5 does everything from Sub processing, xover, and DAC with a top notch preamp to boot. Once I get my bonus in February, I’ll definitely be picking this up.
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