Review:

They have a strong reputation for products whose performance seems to surpass their cost. Their aforementioned reputation was forged with their Classic product line and was then followed by the introduction of their higher end Halo line a few years ago. Parasound has recently introduced their New Classic product line, which consists of a surround controller; several two-channel preamplifiers, two multichannel amplifiers, and four two channel amplifiers.

I have been a Parasound fan for quite some time and have owned two of their “ old “ Classic line power amps (which I have reviewed here at the HTS). You can imagine my excitement when Parasound contacted me and advised that they were forwarding me the New Classic 7100 Surround controller and 5250 amplifier for review.

The 7100 is a THX Ultra 2 certified system controller which is fully capable of running a 7.1 channel surround sound system as well as a second two channel zone. The 7100 is a processing tour deforce and comes loaded with the following: Dolby digital/DTS 5.1, EX, Pro logic II x, DTS ES matrix/Discrete 6.1, Neo: 6, 96/24. THX Ultra 2 certification and post processing. Digital signal processing is handled by Motorola’s latest chipset the Symphony 56367-7. Digital to analog and analog to digital signal conversion duties are covered by Wolfson WM8770 codecs.

The Model 5250 is a five channel THX Ultra 2 certified amplifier rated at 250 watts per channel at 8 ohms and 385 watts per channel at 4 ohms.

I received the units from Parasound and was not surprised to find them double boxed and safely secured. Unpacking gear like this is always fun. The first thing I like to do upon getting everything unpacked is to examine both the front and rear panels. The New Classic look is rather reserved and a bit understated. Please don’t take that to mean that it is in any way unattractive, because it is nothing of the kind. It is pure Parasound. The black faceplates with gold lettering and the always-familiar “P” in gold on the mauve background above the Parasound logo are beautiful.



The 7100 has a large multi purpose volume/select knob along with four smaller control push buttons and a headphone jack along the middle of the panel surrounding the front display window. Along the bottom of the panel are three larger push buttons marked Source, Surround and Zone. The unit’s Standby/power button rounds things out.



The rear panel is busy but laid out very well. It offers 3 component video inputs/1 output, S video and composite video for all connected sources. There are 4 each of coaxial and optical digital inputs and 1 optical digital output. There are unbalanced preamp outputs for 7.1 channels and a 7.1 multichannel input with bass management. Three 12-volt triggers are provided, two IR control jacks, and an RS-232 port for system control or PC based setup. The removable IEC power cord jack and an expansion port rounds things out. I would like to point out that the 7100 lacks a tuner section. Those who need one will have to purchase it separately.

The Model 5250 has a power push button and a display with green LED’s numbered 1 through 5 for each channel. The rear panel offers 5 unbalanced RCA inputs along with corresponding sets of 5 way heavy-duty gold plated speaker terminals. There is a ground lift switch, 12-volt trigger input with looping output, an auto turn on switch with three settings marked Audio, Manual, and 12V, and an Audio sensitivity dial. The removable IEC power chord jack rounded things out.





The units came supplied with heavy-duty power cords and several 12-volt trigger connecting cables and mini plug adaptors. The 7100 came supplied with a custom version of the URC-100 universal and learning remote control. Both of the supplied owners manuals are comprehensive to say the least and should allow even a novice user to set up the system with little trouble.

I connected my Denon DVD-3910 universal DVD Audio/Video/SACD player to the Model 7100 using 5.1 channel analog cables and a coaxial digital cable. I ran a coaxial digital cable from my high definition DVR/STB, and a set of two channel analog audio and an optical digital cable from my Sony DVD/CD 400 disc megachanger. I connected the Model 5250 to the 7100 using five 1 meter interconnects. I set the 5250 to power on using the 12-volt trigger input and connected one of the supplied 12-volt trigger cables.

I connected both units to my Panamax MAX5510 Pro AC line conditioner. The 7100 has a power toggle switch on the rear panel which when set to ‘On’ puts the unit in standby mode. When in standby mode the front panel power switch glows red. The 5250’s front panel power switch does the same thing when it is connected to an AC line. I powered both units up and checked for any above average noise in the system. The 5250 runs dead quiet in all five channels, nice.

The owner’s manual supplied with the 7100 is comprehensive to say the least and offers instructions for Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced setup as well as how to use the remote control. I ran through the usual setup routine, which included settings for the speaker size, distance, and levels with no problem. The unit allows speaker distance settings to be adjusted in feet or meters. Crossover points are adjustable from 20 to 200 Hz in 5 Hz increments. The default setting is the THX recommended crossover point of 80 Hz. All digital inputs are assignable as are each source.

I was anxious to jump right in and see what things sounded like. I popped in Madeleine Peyroux’s Careless love CD and had a listen. Right off the bat the Parasound combo provided me with a glimpse of what I would come to expect each time I visited with them. Her voice was airy and smooth with no reticence or grain. Detail was aplenty and highs were clear and textured with no edginess. The acoustic bass on “ Don’t wait too long” was rendered smoothly and with plenty of tightness. Mid bass reproduction was excellent. Wanting to see how the 5250 handled classical arrangements I reached for “The Firebird” by Stravinsky on Telarc. The “ infernal dance of King Kastchel” reached down deep when played back through the 5250. Low-level detail was excellent with bass that was tight and controlled. Sound staging reached out enough so that the individual pieces in the orchestra could easily be discerned within it but not so far that imaging suffered.

I was impressed with the Parasound combo right from the start and decided to give both pieces some break in time before doing any more critical listening. I was not surprised to see that after 75 hours the sound of the system had stayed relatively the same. The 5250 is a large amp that features two large Toroidal transformers capable of 45 amps of peak current per channel. It’s A/B operation and fully discrete circuits help keep it running cool. Two-channel red book CD sound quality was excellent. Stereo SACD offered results which were the same. Norah Jones’ “Come away with me” sounded every bit as warm and richly revealing as I have heard it. The Yellow Jackets “Altered State” SACD is a great blend of jazz fusion with a mixture of textured jazz vocals. Its layers were peeled back and it’s many subtleties exposed.

Next up was multi channel high-resolution audio. Diana Krall’s “When I look in your eyes” is one of my favorite SACDs and one that I use for evaluation due to my familiarity with it. Track 6, “I’ve got you under my skin” features her sultry voice out in front along with piano and the orchestra accompany. Her voice was rich, full bodied, and warm as it filled the front sound stage. The piano never sound tinny or thin but airy and full bodied. Mid range texture was sweet and liquid without a hint of edginess or grain. Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, XXL features plenty of dynamics and can usually weed out amps that run out of steam when pushed too hard. I set the speakers to full range without a subwoofer and gave it some volume. Track 2 “A game of inches” features brass, bass, and drums. Played back through the Parasounds this recording rocked. Bass reproduction was tight, deep, and effortless even at ear ringing sound pressure levels. Trumpets and saxophones were rendered with clear intelligence and never became fatiguing. Dynamics were punchy and quick without sounding boomy or bloated.

The 7100 offers bass management for it’s 7.1-channel analog input. There are three settings for speaker setup, All large, All small, and L&R large. The crossover setting is fixed at 80 Hz. The All-large setting sends signals through without applying processing. All small sends all signals below the crossover point to the subwoofer output. L&R large sends full range signals to the front speakers while those below the crossover point are directed to the subwoofer. The system worked as advertised and the results were excellent in all cases. I set my Denon 3910 universal player to pure direct mode and used the 7100’s bass management set to All small.

Movie soundtracks were up next. I was excited at the thought of hearing what the Parasound combo could do with digital movie sound tracks. The 7100 is an extremely full-featured surround controller. It offers full THX Ultra 2 post processing which includes playback and enhancement of movie soundtracks, games, and music. For a full description of THX certification and it’s pertinence to home theater applications please visit their website at www.thx.com.



Operation of the 7100 was a breeze. The remote is fully backlit and can be setup to control all of the devices in most systems. The unit can be operated from the front panel if need be however use of the remote keeps it much simpler. The remote has individual buttons for each device/source as well as for trimming the levels of the surrounds, center, and sub. Switching between modes (stereo, THX, surround) is handled with two up/down toggle buttons. I found it annoying that I had to cycle through several modes if I wanted to change from 5.1 to PLIIx etc. Having direct access buttons for this would makes things quicker and avoid having to go from surround to mono to stereo to PL to get to PLIIx. This is a minor complaint however.

The unit offers several options for playback of 5.1 channel encoded surround material. The options are Direct, PLIIx, THX surround EX, THX Ultra 2 Cinema, and DTS Neo:6. There are also 4 preset surround modes which are labeled Natural, Club, Concert, and Party. Of the four additional modes I thought that Natural, which adds subtle spaciousness by generating a 7.1 channel sound field from two channel sourced material, sounded the best. Party is an all channel stereo playback option while the other two add different flavors of reverb to the signal.

I found that the unit’s display window is just too small. In my room I sit approximately 15 feet from my audio rack. From that distance I could not see what the surround setting or volume setting was. This was further exacerbated by the fact that the 7100 has no on screen display, that would contain that info. Most processors, which have an OSD, have an option that could be overlaid on screen to show the unit’s current mode selection, source and volume.

I loaded Terminator 3 into my Denon 3910 and went right to the chase scene with the crane truck. This scene really runs the full gamut as it has plenty of low level, high level and mid level sonics. From the dialogue in the truck between Claire Danes and Nick Stahl to the whirling of the sirens to the thunder provided by the crane as it smashes through buildings, light poles and other vehicles, the Parasound duo produced clear, intelligible, and detailed audio. Dynamics were down right skin tingling as the vehicles ripped through my theater room. The light saber battle between Obie wan and Annakin from Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith was simply awesome. Fine details were clearly evident throughout and when it was time for room shaking bass the 5250 was up to the challenge and seemed to have plenty of gas left.

I added my subwoofer to the mix and loaded up the great highway chase scene from the Matrix Reloaded. Once again the Parasounds failed to disappoint with excellent imaging and great surround sound envelopment. The addition of the subwoofer had no outward effect in terms of the amplifier’s dynamic range from what I could hear. I attribute this to the shear brute strength of the 5250.

I added two channels by connecting my B&K amp to the rear surround channels to complete the 7.1 channel configuration. I then loaded the same three discs with the additional rear surround processing. The 7100 produced a very pleasing and enveloping rear sound field. It handled the forced 7.1 on 5.1 channel material with excellent precision whether I used PLIIx, DTS Neo: 6, matrix, or EX processing. I engaged the THX Ultra 2 Cinema processing and the results were superb. The THX post processing as well as the additional Ultra 2 Advanced speaker processing added tighter focus and directionality to the rear surround field. The results were similar with two channel broadcast television audio as well as Dolby surround encoded DVDs.

I think it is fair to say that I was extremely impressed with the Parasound combo. There are a few advanced features that the 7100 offers that are worth mentioning.

The Input monitor - This allows the user to visually compare the input levels from each digital audio source and each analog source. This enables adjustment of analog levels so they won’t overload the analog-to-digital converters, and to adjust each analog source so volume levels do not shift when going from digital to analog sources.

Lipsync - This adjusts the audio to the video onscreen. This occurrence can be very annoying when watching programming and the person’s lips while speaking don’t match the sound coming through the speakers.

Advanced 12-volt trigger setup - The 7100 allows for the triggers to be set to delay turn on/off, duration of the signal, and signal polarity.

RS-232 control - This permits two-way communication with software based home automation and control systems like AMX, Crestron etc.

PC based setup software - Parasound provides software via download from their website which allows the user to configure the 7100’s settings using a PC. This is done by connecting a serial cable to the 7100’s RS232 port and the serial port on the PC. All settings can then be uploaded to or downloaded from the 7100 and saved for later use if need be.

I did use the setup software and found that It worked as advertised. Parasound also provides CCF files for Philips Pronto users. This simplified things for me when I needed to switch between my reference SSP and the 7100.

Conclusion:

Parasound is to be commended. As a Parasound proponent and someone who has recommended their products for some time now I am extremely pleased that they have once again proven that quality products can be had for much less than a king’s ransom.

The New Classic Model 7100 surround controller and the Model 5250 five-channel amplifier have lived up to their heritage and have in fact taken it to the next level. They offer excellent sound quality, ease of use, and can be had for much less then their abilities would dictate. It is my recommendation that if you are in the market for a new surround sound processor and amplifier that you give these an audition at your nearest Parasound dealer. My guess is that they won’t be going back.

Ratings:

New Classic 7100 surround controller

Value: 5 Paws
Performance: 4 Paws
msrp: $2999

Specifications:

Inputs:

• (4) Coaxial Digital Audio Inputs (assignable to Multiple Sources)
• (4) Toslink Digital Audio Inputs (assignable to Multiple Sources)
• (6) Specific Stereo Analog Audio Inputs
• (4) Digital Audio and Video Inputs (inputs 7-10)
• 7.1 Channel Analog Inputs with analog bass management
• (3) Component Video/High Definition (up to 1080i) Inputs, assignable to any source
• (4) S-Video Inputs, assignable to any source
• (6) Composite Video Inputs, assignable to any source
• Video Signals including OSD are up-converted to component
• Two-Way RS-232 port for home automation control
• Two External IR remote control repeater inputs
• Three 12V Triggers for external control; two are programmable

Outputs:

• 7.1 Main Analog output
• (1) Main Component Video Output
• (4) Main S-Video Output
• (3) Main Composite Video Outputs
• (1) Optical Digital Audio Output
• Fixed and Variable Audio Zone Outputs
• (1) Composite Video Zone Output
• Audio Record Output
• (W x D x H): 17.25” x 16” x 5.875” / 5.25” without feet

Dimensions:

• 3u chassis; RMK33 rack mount kit available
• (W x D x H): 17.25” x 16” x 5.875” / 5.25” without feet

Function:

• 7.1 analog input includes bass management
• DSP engine with Motorola 56367-7 supports all major formats
• Full suite of THX Ultra2 processing modes and features
• Multiple Wolfson WM8770 codecs used for signal conversion
• Volume and level trim accomplished in the analog domain
• Patented analog / digital hybrid bass management system
• Enhanced Bass setting routes bass to sub with full range speakers
• (5) assignable customized Presets
• Presets contain bass & treble adjustments, center, surround & subwoofer trim, AV sync delay or "lipsync" adjustments
• Adjustable Bass, Treble and reverb for music surround modes
• Customizable input names
• 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo headphone jack with auto downmixing

Model 7100 includes a custom version of the powerful URC-100 universal and learning remote control.

Its buttons are back-lit so you actually see them in a darkened theater room. It controls the main and remote zones for the Model 7100 and up to six other components in your home theater system.



New Classic Model 5250 five channel amplifier:

Value: 5 Paws
Performance: 5 Paws
msrp: $2499

Specifications:

• THX Ultra2 certified
• 250 watts rms per channel into 8 ohms;, all channels driven
• 385 watts rms per channel into 4 ohms;, all channels driven
• 45 amps peak current per channel
• Fully discrete circuitry with two toroid transformers
• Efficient, low heat design
• DC Servo and relay protection circuits
• Automatic on/off by DC trigger with looping output
• Automatic on/off by audio signal with adjustable sensitivity
• Gold-plated RCA input jacks
• Heavy duty 24k gold-plated 5-way speaker terminals
• Ground lift switch
• Standby, channel status, high temperature indicators
• 4u chassis with carry handles; RMK44 rack mount kit available
• (W x D x H): 17.25” x 18.5” x 7.63” / 7” without feet



Evaluation system:

Philips ProntoNG TSU3000 Remote control
B&K Reference 50 Series 2 System controller
B&K Reference 200.7 S2 7 Channel amplifier
Denon DVD3910 DVD Audio/Video/SACD player
Sony DVP-CX995V - 400 disc DVD/SACD Changer
Paradigm Reference speaker suite - 7 channels
SV Subwoofers 20-39 PC Plus powered subwoofer
Audioquest, Wireworld, and Belden/Canare interconnects
Esoteric Speaker cables - Canare connectors
Sony VPL-HS51 LCD Front projector

Features: