Review: A Parasound Stack | JC 5 Stereo Amplifier, JC 2 BP Preamp, JC 3+ Phono Stage

Sometimes it takes time for the stars to align.

Parasound’s JC Stereo Power Amp pumps out 400 Watts into 8 Ohms and 600 Watts into 4 and 2 so my thinking was—I need to put this power to the test! My reference DeVore Fidelity O/96 offer a friendly 96 dB/W/M, 10 Ohm load so writing a review about the JC 5 using just the O/96 would be like reviewing a Bugatti Chiron Supersport 300+ without going over 10 miles per hour.

As scheduling would have it, it has taken real time for the stars to align but that time has come courtesy of the Perlisten S5t (more info) and the Dynaudio Contour 60i (more info). You can follow those links to learn a bit more about each of these floorstanders, but the S5t clock in at 89.5dB (2.83V/1.0m) and the Contour 60i at 88dB (2.83V/1m), so while not super demanding, having three speakers in Barn will allow the JC 5’s to more fully strut its stuff.

Every piece of this Parasound stack features circuits designed by John Curl, who ranks among hifi’s most vaunted designers, and bear his signature center stage on the front faceplates. As I mentioned in my review of the Parasound JC 3+ Phono Preamplifier (review), I’m a fan of bringing the people behind the products to the forefront for many reasons, chief among them being it reminds us that hifi gear is designed by people for people.

The JC 2 BP Preamplifier ($3999) houses a number of performance features hidden inside including dual-mono left & right channel circuit boards, hand-matched complementary FETs, direct DC servo-coupled design with no capacitors in the signal path, premium 4-gang motor-driven analog master volume control, separate TKD brand analog gain controls for L & R channel, and 3/8″ thick aluminum shielding around audio boards. To name just a few. The front panel comes in black or silver, as is the case with every Parasound component under review, offers a back lit power button, left and right gain controls, an input selector button that steps through the options, and volume control knob that moves with reassuring resistance. You can also perform these functions using the included remote and tie your Parasound stack’s remote control functionality together using the 12V Triggers. That RS-232 Serial Port is for tying the JC 2 into home automation systems.

The JC 2 BP has your music sources covered with 6 line level inputs. Input 1 and 2 include both Balanced XLR and Unbalanced RCA connections while the remaining 4 are RCA-only. There’s a pair of Inverted RCA Outputs that reverse signal polarity, fixed level Record Out, and Balanced XLR and Unbalanced RCA outputs. When you first power on the JC 2, it goes through a 45 second warm up process to “stabilize its circuits so you don’t hear any turn-on transient”, after which there’s a 4-5 second delay each time you turn her on. A row of blue LEDs sit under each input indicating which is selected.

I recommend a trip to my review (link) of the JC 3+ Phono Preamplifier ($3199) for the nitty gritty on its specifics and sound. In brief, the JC3+ can handle the output from Moving Magnet (MM) and Moving Coil (MC) cartridges, offering adjustable input impedance for the latter by way of back panel mounted knobs. The rest of the business end of the JC3+ offers single-ended RCA and balanced XRL outputs, a screw-down Ground terminal, AC Polarity switch (Invert/Normal), optional 12V Trigger control, the power button and IEC inlet.

The JC 5 Stereo Power Amplifier ($6499) packs a walloping 400 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms upping the ante to 600 Watts per channel into 6 Ohms. The thing about power, this kind of power, is it doesn’t come in a cigarette pack-sized case. The JC 5 is big and heavy (73 lb.), with heat sinks running down either side of its 7”+ high chassis that’s fronted by a black or silver faceplate. The font panel has but one power button, what more do you need?, and sports the centered signature of designer John Curl.

Offering single-ended and balanced inputs, selected with a flick of those toggle switches, the JC 5 also has a pair of knobs around back for adjusting gain. From the JC 5 manual: Note: The Balanced/Unbalanced switch is not an input selector. Its function is to optimize the signal to noise ratio for each type of input. The JC 5 can be run in Bridged Mode or Bi-amped, “Bridging offers a massive power increase but It is often more power than your speakers need or can safely handle. Bi-amping is an alternative to bridging and many people report greater sonic improvements. Like bridging, bi-amping will require a JC 5 amplifier for each speaker.”

All told, the Parasound stack comes in at $13,697. As we’ll soon see, I paired the stack with three different speakers, while the sources remained the same and included the Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC/Streamer (review) and the Michell Gyro SE turnable with a Michell TA8 tonearm mounted with an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge, AudioQuest Thunderbird and Firebird balanced interconnects and Robin Hood speaker cables. All of the gear was plugged into an AudioQuest Niagara 3000 power conditioner using the company’s Thunder High-Current AC power cables.

I don’t know anyone who is at their best the moment they open their eyes after a long night’s sleep and I also don’t know any hifi gear that’s at its best the moment after you power it on and run music through it, even with a 45-second warm up. While I know some people are skeptical about equipment burn in, there are also people who are skeptical about evolution (that’s the end of my rebuttal). So I let each piece of the Parasound stack play for weeks and weeks before sitting down to write this review.

The DeVore O/96 / Parasound stack pairing checked most boxes in the music reproduction department—clarity, control, nice tone color, great imaging—but in the end it left me a bit cold. Both the JC 5 and JC 2 offer gain controls, around back and up front respectively, and backing down from Max on both produced a preferable sound, and I settled on 12 o’clock for the JC 5 and 0dB for the JC 2 as my happiest settings. But I prefer a more lush sound through the O/96, as evidenced by my integrated amp of choice the Leben CS600, and I’ve also enjoyed the O/96 with any number of integrated amps of all stripes including hybrid designs like the Riviera Labs Levante (review), ModWright KWH 225i Hybrid Integrated (review), the powerful-sounding solid state Audia Flight FLS 10 (review), and the smooth switching Mola Mola Kula (review). All to say I am not a tube-or-die kinda listener, but to my way of hearing the JC 5/JC 2 BP combo with the Mola Mola Tambqui DAC made music sound a bit harder and a touch flatter than I enjoy.

I will say that I reviewed the Parasound HINT 6 Halo Integrated Amplifier (review) with the DeVore O/93 and I’ve also heard the HINT 6 with the O/96 on a number of occasions and very much enjoyed these pairings. Based on memory and what I wrote about the HINT 6, I enjoyed it more with the O/96 than the JC 5 / JC 2 BP combination. That being said, let’s move on to greener pastures.

There, that’s better. With the JC 5’s gain control at 12 o’clock and the JC 2’s at their minimum setting, music eased out of the Perlisten S5t with a fuller, richer sound as compared to the O/96. I know what you’re thinking—More drivers = more full-range sound. And in some ways that may be part of the reason for my preference for this pairing but in hifi, like life, things aren’t that simple. The O/96 can sound perfectly lush with musical life, just not with the Parasound stack, so I want to be clear that when reviewing any component or speaker, it is part of a system (in a room), making every review a system review when you get down to it.

Ethel Cain’s Preacher’s Daughter from last year has a lovely quirky magic about it coupled with big, bold sound. Lots of reverb trailing off her voice fading into a cavernous space with fat fuzzy guitar, bass, piano, pounding anthemic drums and string accompaniment, think drama. With the Parasound stack pushing the Perlisten S5t around with ease and superb control, Ethel Cain and Co. were embodied in Barn, singing and ringing out within a vast sound image that extended well beyond the confines of the Perlisten speakers in every direction.

Nuha Ruby Ra’s Machine Like Me, released last month on the aptly named Brace Yourself Records, is another big, bold production but here we’re talking about a bass heavy, electronic noise vibe, strings need not apply. This is also hard driving music with big, fat infectious beats and opener “My Voice” gets thing started with a driving bass groove laying the foundation for Ra’s voice to slink and slide over the ride. This song builds to crescendos, swelling up with drums, electronic effects, screaming guitar and layered vocals only to subside back into the bass and vocal focus. Moving. With the Parasound stack handling the S5t, I found myself hitting “up” on the remote’s volume until the Barn and me were rocked by waves of big, bold music energy. All of the sounds that make up the whole force of Machine, with tiny sounds whirring around like mini-drones, muted trumpet blurted out with startling presence on “Self Portraiture”, and that pounding, driving bass propelling Ra’s vocals like waves under a vessel was the perfect showcase for the Parasound’s bold and in control strengths.

As I listened through Machine, enjoying the ride with ever increasing volume, the density and drive of the Parasound stack came into focus with each player carved out in space and feeling perfectly solid and stable like living sound sculpture. There’s lots of drama, one big slow-driving climax on “6 In The Morning,” and the Parasound stack driving the Perlisten S5t drove it all home with aplomb. Clarity, control, and endless power on tap made for a wonderfully harrowing listen. Picture my lighter lit as Machine Like Me came to an end.

Waxahatchee’s Saint Cloud from 2020 is Katie Crutchfield’s fifth album and it’s a beautiful spring morning of a record, with cool fragrant breezes blowing on folk inspired country waves. The LP is a lovely slice of sonic heaven and the JC 3+ joined the Parasound stack party with its superb see through to the source of the music sound, letting this joyous music fill the Barn with effortless grace. There are some records, like Saint Cloud, that I enjoy so much I limit how many times I listen to it. Otherwise, I’d wear out the welcome surprises, the endearing twists and turns of Crutchfield’s way with words in song. I can tell you that playing Saint Cloud through the Michell/Ortofon/Parasound/Perlisten/AudioQuest system was well worth the wait, and I hung on every word, taking in the full voice of Katie Crutchfield and the band. Simply lovely.

Woof! Sometimes bigger sounds bigger.

Debby Friday’s GOOD LUCK sounds like a relative of Nuha Ruby Ra’s Machine if more complex, with more layers of sounds and glitches and chinks in the lines of driving rhythm. I found myself reaching for that remote (volume) control again (and again) for more GOOD LUCK playing back with the Parasound stack’s now familiar see through clarity and tight-gripped control. The Dynaudio Contour 60i are bigger than the Perlisten and they sound it, filling the Barn with seemingly limitless powerful sound energy that shook anything that can shake, including me.

“Big ol’ ego / Red blood libido / I love to love and I love to leave / I’m the master baby / I said ‘faster baby’” from “I Got It” is pretty clear about its intentions and with the Parasound stack pumping this hard driving music into the Barn through the Contour 60is, the place felt more like some edge of downtown club than quiet in-the-woods retreat. Monstrous bass, electro-industrial noisesounds, and Friday’s cooing wooing and at times sinister vocals in their natural state and processed to crunchy baritone growls, I was immersed, mentally and physically in this captivating sound world with Hendrix-like guitar acting as foil on “What A Man,” screeching and howling alongside Friday’s straight up funk-inspired vocals bringing to mind Betty Davis, one-time Mrs. Miles Davis, at her nasty-est.

It’s not often I go down the Schumann path, but his Geistervariationen (Ghost Variations), as performed by András Schiff beckon now and again for their beguiling beauty. This is grand music in scale and emotional scope, and the Parasound stack/Dynaudio combination proved the perfect vehicle for bringing grand into the Barn with stunning control, clarity, and effortless power coupled with nimble dexterity and speed that allowed Schiff’s mastery to dance in air. This is the kind of presentation that turns hifi into music machine, a clear and unobstructed view onto the performance regardless of the music in play. Bravo!

When it comes to hifi, system building can take time, attention, and maybe even a hint of tenaciousness. Once settled in with the Perlisten S5t and Dynaudio Contour 60i, the Parasound stack offered a beautiful balance of force and grace, turning music reproduction into moving performance.

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Parasound JC 3+ Phono Preamplifier: $3199
Parasound JC 2 BP Preamplifier: $3999
Parasound JC 5 Stereo Amplifier: $6499
Stack Price: $13,497

Company Website: Parasound

Parasound JC 3+ Phono Preamplifier Specifications

Parasound JC 2 BP Preamplifier Specifications

Frequency Response: 5 Hz – 100 kHz, +0/-3 dB
Distortion

THD: < 0.003% at 100 Hz
THD: < 0.005% at 20 kHz
IM: < 0.003%

S/N Ratio

> 116 dB, input shorted, IHF A-weighted
> 104 dB, input shorted, unweighted

Crosstalk

> 100 dB at 10 kHz
> 90 dB at 20 kHz

Gain: 14 dB, maximum
L, R Gain Control Range: – 10 dB
Input Impedance: Unbalanced: 30k ohms | Balanced: 30k ohms per leg
Output Impedance: Unbalanced: < 60 ohms | Balanced: < 60 ohms per leg
Input Sensitivity: 200 mV for 1 V output
Total Gain: 14 dB
Maximum Output: 8 V
XLR Pin Identification

1 = Ground (Shield)
2 = Positive
3 = Negative (Return)

AC Power Requirement

110 – 120 V or 220-240 V, 50 – 60 Hzs
(Set AC Voltage switch on rear panel)
25 watt standby; 30 watts when turned on

Dimensions

Width: 17 1/4″ (437 mm)
Depth: 16″ (406 mm)
Height, with feet: 5 7/8″ (150 mm)
Height, without feet: 5 1/4″ (133 mm)

Weight: Net: 24 lbs. (11 kg)
Shipping Weight: 36 lbs. (16.4 kg)
Rack Mount Accessory: HRA 3 (May be purchased separately)

Parasound JC5 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
Power measurement parameters are at 120 VAC: 0.05% THD, RMS continuous power, full audio band (20 Hz – 20 kHz)
Current Capacity: 90 amps peak, per channel
Slew Rate: > 130 volts per microsecond
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 %
TIM: Unmeasurable
Inter-channel Crosstalk: > 87 dB at 1 kHz | > 72 dB at 20 kHz
Input Impedance: Unbalanced: 33 kΩ | Balanced: 66 kΩ,(33 kΩ per leg)
Total Gain: 29 dB
Input Sensitivity for 28.28 V Output into 8 Ω: Unbalanced: 1 V | Balanced: 1 V per leg
S/N Ratio: > 116 dB, input shorted, IHF A-weighted | > 111 dB, input shorted, unweighted
Damping Factor: 1000 at 20 Hz
DC Trigger Requirements: +9 Vdc to +12 Vdc, 5 mA
Audio Trigger Requirements: 2 mV – 10 mV
XLR Pin Identification

1 = Ground (Shield)
2 = Positive
3 = Negative (Return)

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)
Depth with cables: 21-1⁄2″ (546 mm)

Net Weight: 73 lb. (33.1 kg)
Shipping Weight: 90 lb. (40.8 kg)
Power Requirement

Standby: 1 Watt
Idle (no music playing): 225 Watts
Typical listening levels: 400 Watts
Maximum: 1500 Watts