Parasound A23
 

What are your thoughts on the new Parasound A23+, paired with the LRS or possibly 1.7i ? Would it be an acceptable compromise from the A21+ for the sake of saving a few $’s or would it end up being one those “should have gone big from the beginning” moments.

Thanks.
RC.

I use an A23+ on my Revel F228Be's and am very happy with it, but I have a small listening room. I have no experience with the A21+, but I have some with the JC5 and of course the JC5 outpaces the A23+. But, the A23+ is no slouch .... it is a wee bit warmer than the JC5 (everything is a bit rounded off compared to the JC5) and has a touch less control in the bottom end. Also be aware that Parasound has had some QC issues with the A23+. They just sent me a new one (my second one) as the left channel on mine went out after about 4 months .... AND the left channel on the first A23+ that I received was DOA. My dealer has, of course, kept me supplied with a loaner amp during these snafus, but ???? Parasound claims that they have found the source of the defect and are making sure the "issue" does not exist before sending out amps at this point. So, you may want to be sure that any A23+ you buy is coming from Parasound and not from dealer inventory that may have been sitting in inventory for a few months. Great amp for the price though.
I also tried out the Schiit Aegir (as mono blocks) and preferred them over the A23+, but they didn't like the load presented by the F228Be's and would shut down on larger bass transients whereas the A23+ handles all such transients without complaining even a little bit :-)

Get the A21+.

Yeah... it’s what I think also, I’m kinda looking for less bulky amp due to the space that I have available and being a second system trying not to spend too much. I considered the class D route, but as I research I’m not sure if it’s a good idea. I wish the current output of an amp. was among the common specs published by manufacturers since it seems to be what to look for to properly drive Magnepans.

ACT2, I listen to Magnepan 1.7. After failing with Class D and learning an expensive lesson I looked for two things, Capacitance and Current. At 108,000 AuF and 60a the A21+ should be fine. I drive mine with 180,000 AuF and 60a from an Odyssey Stratos Extreme and the amp never breaks a sweat or struggles. Since the maggies dip below 4ohm during dynamic passages, the capacitance is important. Best of luck!

Thank you...

A quick update regarding the A23+. My third A23+ dropped a channel (left side again as were the others) while it wasn't even "in use" - just didn't work the next time I played music after idling for 2-3 days. Parasound was great as always and they got me a new amp within 5 days. So we'll see if amp #4 actually has the "problem" fixed. It seems to sound a tiny bit better - which I was not expecting. It seems a touch more open and "airy". Then again my ears don't work very well anymore (Meniere's) so take that with a grain of salt.

Thanks for sharing this. It helps me a lot since I’ve been considering one of these for some time now. Good to hear that Parasound came through and did the right thing. However it’s obvious that they need to take a look at a recurring problem. Hope this amp holds up as expected.

ATC2,
I forgot about this thread some time back. Shortly after my post, I purchased a new 4B3. The improvement was nothing short of spectacular, my choices having been reduced to the JC5 and the 4B3. With 19 year of remaining warranty I will not be in the market again for a very long time. Best of luck to you.