Parasound Halo P 5 Stereo Preamplifier Preview

Looking around at some of the high end two channel offerings available today, it's quite possible you'd think that the zenith of stereo reproduction would be represented by a bare bones analog preamplifier fronted by a fine turntable, feeding a power amplifier, which in turn powered a pair of loudspeakers. While such a system can sound quite good, the fact remains, this is 2013, not 1973. The advent of digital audio and bass management has changed the landscape of audio significantly, and for the better. Fortunately, not all manufacturers opt to stick their head in the sand, case in point Parasound with their new P 5 stereo preamplifier. Priced at $950 and boasting three digital inputs (USB, coaxial, and optical) as well as analog bass management, the P 5 appears to have what it takes to be the brains of a modern, high end two channel system. How does it stand up to a first glance by the Audioholics? Read on to find out.

Build Quality & Feature Set

As most would expect from Parasound's Halo line, the P 5 preamp is (subjectively) a very attractive piece of equipment with a black or silver brushed aluminum front panel, measuring 17-1/4"W x 13-3/4"D x 4-1/8" H with the feet. Presuming build quality carries over from its Halo siblings, overall build quality is likely to be quite good, albeit not quite in the "cost no object" category. The front panel is tastefully laid out, with a headphone output, auxiliary input to connect mobile devices, tone controls & bypass, input selector with blue LED indicators, subwoofer level adjustment, balance controls, and of course, the volume control and mute button.

Moving to the rear panel, you get a useful mix of connection options, including phono inputs (compatible with MM & MC), five unbalanced stereo analog inputs as well as one set of balanced analog inputs (the balanced connection would be substituted for the 5th unbalanced input pair), home theater bypass inputs, and the aforementioned trio of digital inputs. Outputs include a balanced and unbalanced stereo outputs for a power amplifier, a pair of unbalanced plus a single balanced subwoofer outputs, and a pair of fixed level unbalanced outputs. In addition, controls are available for bass management including adjustable & defeatable high and low pass filters.

The back panel of the Parasound Halo P 5.

Performance

In terms of performance, as a general rule Parasound's Halo line is pretty boring inasmuch as there are rarely if ever any big flaws to point out. Frequency response is rated as 10Hz-100kHz +0/-3dB, and total harmonic distortion is specified to be <0.01%, both of which are quite good figures. Crosstalk is listed as >70dB at 20kHz, which is very good, while the signal to noise ratio is >108dB, A weighted with analog and digital inputs (this drops to >88dB and >90dB respectively, unweighted). The phono inputs, as expected, do a bit worse on SNR, with the numbers dropping to >70dB for MM and >55dB for MC, unweighted. Worth noting,the Parasound is not a fully differential design like the Emotiva XSP-1.   Employing full complimentary circuitry from input to output requires greater design complexity and cost.  On the flip side, the Emotiva lacks a DAC and hence associated digital inputs.  So depending on your priorities, you need to decide which features are most important to you.

Summary

Suffice it to say, the Parasound P 5 isn't your grandpa's preamp. While the P 5's feature set pales next to even an entry level AVR, it can handle your turntable as well as your computer, CD player, and iPod. That you can add a subwoofer to the mix with true bass management is just icing on the cake, given that many speakers can struggle being driven full range. All things considered, presuming the P 5 meets its specifications, it looks to be a very capable and attractive high end stereo preamplifier without the extreme high end price.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.