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When Parasound announced yet another upgrade to the Halo Preamplifier line with the P6, and…. with the earlier announcement that John Curl was leading the design of a new Halo JC 5 stereo amplifier mimicking the coveted JC 1 monoblocks in one chassis, well, I just, how shall I say, needed them.

Halo P 6 Preamplifier

Halo JC 5 Stereo

I’ve used the Halo P 5 (and P3 before) preamplifier and Halo A21 amplifier in my reference system for some time. I’ve always admired Parasound’s hands-off, neutral signature sound – bold yet articulate, achieving finesse in a wide dynamic range. I also think the Halo line offers an amazing price/performance ratio.

Halo P 6 Preamplifier Front

The P 6 is a 2.1 channel preamplifier/DAC with a series of significant improvements over the P 5 that I’ll be discussing. The Halo JC 5, 400 watts per channel (8 ohms rated) stereo amplifier, combines class A/AB power in a slick new chassis.

Halo P 6 Preamplifier Close Up

Parasound P6 Preamplifier Specifications

Frequency Response

  • 10 Hz – 100 kHz, +0/-3 dB
  • 20 Hz – 20 kHz, +0/-0.5 dB

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)

  • < 0.01 %

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S/N Ratio – Line Inputs 1- 5

  • > 108 dB (shorted, IHF A-weighted)
  • > 88 dB (shorted, unweighted)

S/N Ratio – DAC Inputs

  • > 108 dB (IHF A-weighted)
  • > 88 dB (unweighted)

S/N Ratio – Phono Input

  • MM > 80 dB (shorted, IHF A-weighted)
  • MM > 70 dB (shorted, unweighted)
  • MC > 67 dB (shorted, IHF A-weighted)
  • MC > 55 dB (shorted, unweighted)

Phono Stage Sensitivity / Input Impedance

  • MM: 38 dB / 47 k Ω
  • MC: 52 dB / 47 k Ω or 100 Ω

Input Impedance

  • Unbalanced: 24 k Ω
  • Balanced: 100 k Ω per leg

Preamplifier Output Impedance

  • Unbalanced: 100 Ω
  • Balanced: 470 Ω per leg

High & Low Pass Crossover Slope

  • 12 dB per octave

Supported DAC Sampling Rates

  • USB: up to 384 kHz / 32-bit PCM
  • DSD Native: DSD 64, DSD 128, DSD 256
  • DSD over PCM (DoP) at 384 kHz
  • Coax/Optical: up to 192 kHz / 24-bit PCM

Digital to Analog Converter

  • ESS Sabre32 Reference ES9018K2M
  • 384 kHz / 32-bit

USB 2.0 Controller

  • Savitech SA9227, 384 kHz / 32-bit

Headphone Amplifier

  • Texas Instruments TPA6120A
  • Output Impedance 10 ohms

Dimensions

  • Width: 17-1/4″ (437 mm)
  • Depth: 15″ (381 mm)
  • Depth, with cables 17″ (432 mm)
  • Height, with feet: 4-1/8″ (105 mm)
  • Height, without feet: 3-1/2″ (89 mm), 2U

Net Weight

  • 14 lb. (6.3 kg)

Power Requirement

  • Standby: 0.5 watts
  • Power On: 15 watts
  • 100-250 VAC 50/60 Hz (automatic)10 Hz – 100 kHz, +0/-3 dB
  • 20 Hz – 20 kHz, +0/-0.5 dB

MSRP $1,495.00

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Parasound JC 5 Stereo Amplifier Specifications

Power Output – Both Channels Driven

  • 400 watts x 2, 8 Ω
  • 600 watts x 2, 4 Ω

Power Output – Bridged Mode

  • 1200 watts x 1, 8 Ω
  • Bridged 4 Ω operation is not recommended

Frequency Response

  • 5 Hz – 100 kHz, +0/-3 dB
  • 20 Hz – 20 kHz, +0/-0.25 dB

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)

  • < 0.05 % at full power
  • < 0.03 % at typical listening levels

IM Distortion

  • < 0.04 %

Dimensions

  • Width: 17-5⁄8″ (448 mm)
  • Height without feet: 7-1⁄8″ (181 mm)
  • Height with feet: 7-3/4″ ” (197 mm)
  • Depth: 20″ (508 mm)
  • epth with cables: 21-1⁄2″ (546 mm)

Net Weight

  • 73 lb. (33.1 kg)

MSRP $5,995.00