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Introduced at the 1988 Summer CES, this preamplifier from San Francisco-based Parasound costs $395 and is manufactured in Taiwan. It does away with mechanical switching for source select and tape functions, replacing it with CMOS integrated-circuit switches similar to those used in the British Linn LK1 and Quad 34 and 44 models. Construction is to a good standard and the circuit is carried on two main pcbs and three small ones. Following a signal from the phono inputs, the MM-only RIAA amplifier is based on discrete FETs, its output joining the line-level signals at the switching ICs, these…
Sidebar 1: Review System
Putting my customary preamplifier, the Krell KRS-2, to one side, the references used for this review were the $635 Audio by Van Alstine Super PAS (reviewed in October 1998), and the $659 PS Audio 4.6 (reviewed in September 1988 by Tom Norton) used with its normal external power supply, not the $469 M-500 upgrade (footnote 1). For reference purpose, the RIAA response of the PS 4.6 is Flat through almost the entire audio band, with a well-extended bass response, though it starts to roll off at the top of the top audio octave.
Power amplification was…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
I ran a conventional set of measurements on this preamplifier. This was not so much to find a cause behind any facet of each unit's sound quality, but to see if there were any particular aspects which would lead to system incompatibility problems. At this price level, I would be surprised by any electronic component that didn't depart from neutrality, so careful system matching is even more essential with the Parasound preamplifier than with expensive models.
Fig.1 shows the overall frequency response of the third sample of the P/FET-900 measured via the…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: Solid-state preamplifier with three line-level inputs, one MM phono input, two tape loops, and bass and treble controls. Specifications: Frequency response (line): 10Hz–80kHz ±0.05dB (tone defeat on). Input impedance: 47k ohms in parallel with 150pF (phono), 47k ohms (line). Measured output impedance: 700 ohms (main). Maximum output level: 10V RMS at less than 0.02% THD. Sensitivity (phono): 2.6mV RMS input at 1kHz for 1V output. Sensitivity (line): 200mV RMS input at 1kHz for 1V output. Maximum input levels at 1kHz: 220mV (phono), 2V (line). S/N…
Basically, I have to admit that I am a Valvophobe. I would give you the dictionary definition of that word, but it has been sealed in a mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagnall's porch since . . . Anyway, you get the idea. A Valvophobe is someone who doesn't like tubes in their 1986 stereo systems.
Harvey Rosenberg, the not-unflamboyant President of New York Audio Labs (NYAL), recently sent me a curious little black box he is purveying. Christened with the unlikely name of "SuperIt," this device turned out to be a hybrid tube/MOSFET phono preamp. When I say phono preamp, I mean just that! It…
Manufacturer's Comment
Footnote 1: Harvey Rosenberg passed away in 2001.
Editor, I have a dream. I want the average man to be able to own a reliable/affordable sound system that possesses the quality of the best tube gear. The SuperIt, which exploits our new Moscode hybrid tube/FET hypercascode circuit, is just the beginning. Can you imagine tube gear without tube tremors? There will be a $169 It available in December.—Harvey Rosenberg, Elmsford, NY (footnote 1)
Footnote 1: Harvey Rosenberg passed away in 2001.
Anthony H. Cordesman wrote about the SuperIt in December 1986 (Vol.9 No.8):
After reading GMG's comprehensive review of the SuperIt in Vol.9 No.6, I couldn't resist a second look at this significantly low-priced product.
Ever want to add a second phono input to your preamplifier, have a second hi-fi system for phono only, want to add a phono input to a tape recorder, or simply have a cheap stereo system built around nothing but a phono input? Well, now from the same laboratory that first brought you Shostakovich with digital cannons comes the SuperIt!
If you are…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tube/MOSFET hybrid phono preamplifier.
Price: $269 (1986); no longer available (2018).
Manufacturer: New York Audio Laboratories, Elmsford, NY 10523 (1986); company no longer in existence (2018). Web: www.meta-gizmo.org/index.html.
The outrageous-looking—and outrageously expensive—Kalista CD player from French manufacturer Métronome graces the cover of our September issue, which will hit mailboxes, newsstands, and tablets this weekend. Read Art Dudley's review to find out what he heard.
And there's a lot more in this issue: Herb Reichert auditions a controversial DAC from BorderPatrol—16 bits, no oversampling, and a tube power supply—and takes a listen to the updated Schiit Yggdrasil DAC; Art Dudley reviews a tube amp from Luxman; Ken Micallef writes about a tiny but powerful class-D amplifier from Mytek; John…
Inveterate news junkies of the world, your way out has come. For at least one good hour of your otherwise doom-laden day, you have a reason to turn off Fox or CNN and drift on feathery clouds to a far sweeter place. Your exit has been most graciously supplied by pianist Stephen Hough—he of Stephen Hough's Dream Album—whose latest recorded achievement may well be hailed as the most engaging, charming, and delightful recording of the year... or even the decade.
Hough not only has a special fondness for the little gems of yesteryear; he is also gifted with the ability to imbue pieces that…