CEDIA 2017

The triple highlights of the Parasound booth were a new ZoneMaster two-channel amp, new five-channel amp, and new phono preamp, all designed with a knack for combining performance and value.

The ZoneMaster 2350 ($1295) musters 350 watts times two into eight ohms, 600 into four ohms, and is stable down to two ohms, which helps when you install a bunch of speakers in parallel. Its predecessors boast a failure rate of one-tenth of one percent. Parasound says this compares favorably to competitors.

The Halo A 52+ five-channel amp ($2995) is rated at 180 watts per channel into eight ohms and 255 into four, with a mixture of Class A and AB operation. Direct-coupled audio path and hand-matched JFETs and MOSFETs make it sing. The beefier A 51 five-channel amp, with 250 watts per channel into eight ohms and 400 into four, remains in the line.

Also shown was the Halo JC 3 Jr. phono preamp ($1500), a slimmed-down version of the existing JC 3.