Parasound Halo Integrated Amplifier

[rollo]

  Now that we are suggesting. Jadis of course. One of the best sounds I ever heard was Jadi with Mirage M1si speakers.
   The other was at Hoggs Jadi nd Tannoy oh my !! Rich cozy sound with real life presence.



charles

[richidoo]

Well, tubes... of course! 

Mrs. Claus informed me that Halo Integrated is not on the menu this Christmas, so I just ordered new tubes (and speakers) for stereofools AR amp that's been lying dormant in my house for years on "long term loan." So I do see the light, occasionally. The tubes will last a year or two depending on how good it sounds, and by then I'll either be too spoiled by tubes to go back to SS. Or, someday, inevitably, I'll be so frustrated with tubes that I will run back into my hole of safety with the easy to love Halo Integrated, or something SS. You know how it goes.

[richidoo]

A couple days ago I emailed Parasound with some tech questions about the "HINT," as they call it, Halo INTegrated. I got a quick reply from Richard Schram, president of the company! 


On 11/9/2015 5:19 PM, Richard Schram wrote:

    Hello Rich,
    Thank you for your message and for your interest in the Halo Integrated. I’ll answer your questions in text below:
   
    From: Rich
    Sent: Sunday, November 8, 2015 8:18 PM
    To: parasound_sales
    Subject: Halo Integrated

     

    Parasound Sales,
    You have a nice design there. Congrats.
    Are all the audio circuits in the Halo Integrated of discreet transistor design? Are their any integrated circuits used in the audio signal paths?

    The power amp stage has no ICs in the audio circuit.  There are ICs in other parts of the unit.  It would be virtually impossible to build a fully discrete unit given the vast functionality of the HINT.

    Was the whole amplifier designed by John Curl, or just the power amplifier section? Is the power amplifier section unique to the Integrated or is it of similar design to other Halo amplifiers?

    John’s primary input was for the power amp.  His advice was very helpful in making parts decisions in other parts of the unit. The Integrated’s power amp circuit emplys the same the topology of our A 23 and A 21 Halo amps. The sound is therefore very similar. The biggest difference is that the amp channel circuit boards are oriented vertically, rather than horizontally, as necessitated by available space.

    Are the balanced input and output true active differential circuits, or pseudo balanced with a grounded negative pin?

    A grounded negative pin would be really cheap and (to me) misleading.  The HINT’s balanced input is active with a premium balanced to unbalanced driver opamp. The balanced outputs is active with a premium unbalanced to balanced driver opamp.  This maintains all of the CMRR advantages of a balanced connection.  Please let me know if you have any further questions.

    Kind regards,
    Richard Schram
    President
    Parasound Products, Inc.

    PS: Take a look at our web site. There are some amazing new reviews posted for this model.

[rollo]

Well, tubes... of course! 

Mrs. Claus informed me that Halo Integrated is not on the menu this Christmas, so I just ordered new tubes (and speakers) for stereofools AR amp that's been lying dormant in my house for years on "long term loan." So I do see the light, occasionally. The tubes will last a year or two depending on how good it sounds, and by then I'll either be too spoiled by tubes to go back to SS. Or, someday, inevitably, I'll be so frustrated with tubes that I will run back into my hole of safety with the easy to love Halo Integrated, or something SS. You know how it goes.

   Wimp or whipped whatever you prefer 


charles

[Werd]

If you are in the mood for an integrated, Visions here is selling their M2 digital on boxing day for $2500 CAD approx $2000 USD. Cad retail is $6500 they claim.

http://nadelectronics.com/products/masters-series/M2-Direct-Digital-Amplifier

[jessearias]

I have a HALO P5 and love it. Very nice pre amp for the price range. Matched up with a HALO A21. They complement each other very nice. The features are similar to the integrated model and I find those real nice. From a bang for the buck perspective, I think you cannot go wrong.

[tmazz]

I have a HALO P5 and love it. Very nice pre amp for the price range. Matched up with a HALO A21. They complement each other very nice. The features are similar to the integrated model and I find those real nice. From a bang for the buck perspective, I think you cannot go wrong.

Welcome aboard! 

[Nick B]

I have a HALO P5 and love it. Very nice pre amp for the price range. Matched up with a HALO A21. They complement each other very nice. The features are similar to the integrated model and I find those real nice. From a bang for the buck perspective, I think you cannot go wrong.

Welcome aboard! 

Yes, a warm welcome!