“WHAT 2125v2? Yes, I thought when ordering this I'd have it by now, but it hasn't even been shipped yet. I understand that back orders occur, but after specifying that this was expected to be in stock by 8/16, it would have been nice to have been advised of the delay. This wasn't done. When I called to inquire, I was only told that they "thought these had been shipped to them on 8/26." Again, no confirmation or other follow-up, and I still don't know what's going on. This is exceptional customer service?”
“Having owned a Parasound 2100 Preamp for 7 years, I appreciated the style, quality, simplicity, and transparency provided from Parasound. It drove my 28 year old Carver PM-600 "professional" amplifier that powered my MartinLogan Motion 12's. The speakers sound great with 300/channel, but the Carver missing something. It has excellent woofer control, but overall fidelity is lacking and transformer hum is becoming audible. So I spent a few weeks auditioning amps in the same power range. I found nothing I liked locally in my budget, and started looking on line at Parasound. I initially looked at a 2250 to match (exceed) the Carver's power, but decided it wasn't necessary.
After reading reviews of the 2125v.2, I was sold and found this amazing deal on AA. It was $100 off the already great AA price and arrived promptly. After hooking it up and letting it play for a few hours in the background, I carefully selected about 10 of my "reference� songs. Right away it was clear that this amp was QUIET and exceptionally transparent! I used to spend about 20 minutes finding ideal speaker placement and listening position and 20 more making minor adjustments to get the perfect balance of imaging and bass response. With this amp, as soon as I up the volume after simply bringing the speakers out from the wall 18" and toeing in, I could see the depth that the artists and production engineers aimed for.
The 5.25" paper cone midrange is very fast and in a semi-dipole setup for fantastic sound-stage and a depth I've only experienced with electrostats or high end full-range drivers. The tweeter is a silky smooth folded ribbon (AMT) style. Previously, the mids were powerful but "distant" where imaging required some mental 'forced focusing'. The highs could also get fatiguing. With the 2125v.2, the speakers disappear. Female vocals are soft and life-like. You can hear string instruments being plucked, strummed, and pressed on the fretboard. Piano is the instrument that made it really sink in that this amplifier will stay with me for years to come. With the speaker placement and seating position honed in, I can close my eyes and hear every hammer pressing the string. I can hear the echoes and reverberations in 3D throughout my listening room -- in front of me, behind me, to the left and right. It truly brings joy to the hobby again. Also, the quoted 1.3dB headroom is very believable. With this amp, I noticed that playing music as loud as I comfortably can, it never seems thin or strained. When running the exact same setup through the Carver, continually loud music with a small change in dynamic range was noticeably compressed sounding. One second, the thump of a kick drum and bass guitar sounded extremely clean and powerful like being in the studio. But as soon as the rest of the instruments joined in, it got muddier and seemed to lose resolution.
These days I take every chance I can get to have my own personal concert in my family room. This weekend I was playing an album my wife and I both like and she actually said that she never noticed Norah Jones' breath between words before. That's saying something because she has never been one to take that much of an interest in music reproduction!
The only "negative" changes I noticed are woofer control and lack of the LED power indicators. Something about the old "professional" amp (meant to power PA speakers, etc.) had an authority over the low end that felt like the woofers were being mechanically moved. Not only can the Carver powerfully play deep, audible tones, the floor enthusiastically shakes through the seat and anything in the surrounding rooms. The Parasound seems to be more sensitive to speaker placement for the same effect (made up for in spades every other aspect.) The front panel LED level indicators on the Carver are a bit ugly, but they're a nice guideline for how loud to play without damaging the speakers. With the headroom of the 2125v.2 and much lower THD (<.1% @ 300W: Carver vs. <.025% @ 225W: Parasound), I'm not worried. Highly recommended!”
“Amp is still being broken in but already it shows high accuracy even at low volumes-am using with a pasive preamp and the power on tap translates to more detail with bass and treble-rock solid build-and of course it came with the wonderful audio advisor customer service-a real peace of mind experience.”
“Although this one is ranked as a budget amp it does not offer budget sound. Makes me want to listen to more music than other amps I've tried near this price. Sounds warm with good bass, easy on the ear. For the price you can't go wrong with this amp.”
“This amp has beautiful sound - warm and neutral. Bass line is amazing - both deep and tight. Running with Ryan Acoustic tower and they sound fabulous. Mids are beautiful. Highs are clear but never bright. Great imaging. The 2125 reproduces subtleties so well that I can hear things I've never heard before. Build quality is top notch with a massive power supply. Other great features include 20/40Hz filtering, line level output adjustments, input loop and auto-on. ONly rated for 125 watts it nevers seems to run out of juice. I plan to keep for at least ten years”
“Top knotch build quality and this amp has a beautiful sound. Incredibly warm and natural. The bass is just amazing, deep and tight. I have them running a pair of Infinity Beta 50 speakers and they sound fabulous. The midrange is beautiful and the highs are not too bright with great imaging. This amp sounds warm at any level. It never sounds like it's starving the speakers during songs with heavy bass and the dynamics are also wonderful. It should be powerful enough to drive almost any speaker. I used to be suspect of reviewers who say that they can hear more detail in their songs with the addition of a new component, but I can honestly say that the 2125 can reproduce subtleties so well that I can hear things I`ve never heard before.”
