# Parasound A51 vs Outlaw 7900



## Blackdevil77 (Feb 16, 2012)

Greetings all, I'm new to these forums but am no stranger to home theater.

I am currently in the process of building a home theater room in my basement. For the time being, I will be using my Marantz SR7500 as a pre amp, and will be eventually upgrading my speakers from my Paradigm Monitor 7's CC-370, ADP surrounds to Paradigm Signature S8's, C-5 center and ADP-3 surrounds. I'm looking for a multi-channel amp for under 5k and have been looking at the Parasound A51, which I have heard before with my current speakers and I thought it sounded phenominal. I heard a suggestion for the Outlaw 7900, and better specs on paper and a more atractive price, I'm torn between the two. 

My question is, how do the A51 and the 7900 compare? I'm sure the 7900 has more power and more current, but since Outlaw only sells their products online, I am unable to audition them anywhere without having to have them ship it to me and paying shipping on that 145 pound beast. How do these two amps compare in terms of sound quality? Has anybody heard/owned both of these? The fact that the 7900 is a 7 channel amp doesn't matter to me, if I have to add an A21 for more channels down the road, I'll do that. I'd just like your opinions on the two amps since auditioning them for myself would be somewhat of a challenge.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Blackdevil77 said:


> Greetings all, I'm new to these forums but am no stranger to home theater.
> 
> I am currently in the process of building a home theater room in my basement. For the time being, I will be using my Marantz SR7500 as a pre amp, and will be eventually upgrading my speakers from my Paradigm Monitor 7's CC-370, ADP surrounds to Paradigm Signature S8's, C-5 center and ADP-3 surrounds. I'm looking for a multi-channel amp for under 5k and have been looking at the Parasound A51, which I have heard before with my current speakers and I thought it sounded phenominal. I heard a suggestion for the Outlaw 7900, and better specs on paper and a more atractive price, I'm torn between the two.
> 
> My question is, how do the A51 and the 7900 compare? I'm sure the 7900 has more power and more current, but since Outlaw only sells their products online, I am unable to audition them anywhere without having to have them ship it to me and paying shipping on that 145 pound beast. How do these two amps compare in terms of sound quality? Has anybody heard/owned both of these? The fact that the 7900 is a 7 channel amp doesn't matter to me, if I have to add an A21 for more channels down the road, I'll do that. I'd just like your opinions on the two amps since auditioning them for myself would be somewhat of a challenge.


Hello,
I am a huge Parasound fan, but if it was me I would go with the 7900. It is an absolute beast and while either will give you more power than you ever would need, the 7900 has 2 additional channels, an even larger Power Supply, and costs less.
Cheers,
JJ


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
Also, I would audition Focal, Dynaudio, B&W, and Thiel as well as Paradigm Signature. The Focal Beryllium Tweeter is my all time favorite Tweeter and while the Signature also uses one, the Focal's Inverted Dome Tweeter is really special.
Cheers,
J


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## Blackdevil77 (Feb 16, 2012)

Thanks guys for the great and quick responses. I know the outlaw seems to offer way more bang for your buck, but I wasn't sure if there was a catch that you can't see on paper. Both amps would have enough power for me, so its really down to which has better sound quality. 

I will certainly look into those speakers, thanks for the recommendations! As long as they are the same/similar price, they are certainly going to be considered!


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Blackdevil77 said:


> Thanks guys for the great and quick responses. I know the outlaw seems to offer way more bang for your buck, but I wasn't sure if there was a catch that you can't see on paper. Both amps would have enough power for me, so its really down to which has better sound quality.
> 
> I will certainly look into those speakers, thanks for the recommendations! As long as they are the same/similar price, they are certainly going to be considered!


Hello,
There are no gotchas with the Outlaw. It is truly a well made Amplifier. Outlaw has really stepped up their game of late. To be honest, I never thought I would be advocating Outlaw Amps over Parasound Halo, but the latest designs are quite impressive. Especially in regards to the Transformer size and Capacitor Banks.

With well designed Solid State Power Amplifiers, the differences are quite difficult if not impossible to discern. The 7900 has won Awards and I have not read a single negative User Review as well.
Cheers.
J


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## Blackdevil77 (Feb 16, 2012)

Jungle Jack said:


> Hello,
> There are no gotchas with the Outlaw. It is truly a well made Amplifier. Outlaw has really stepped up their game of late. To be honest, I never thought I would be advocating Outlaw Amps over Parasound Halo, but the latest designs are quite impressive. Especially in regards to the Transformer size and Capacitor Banks.
> 
> With well designed Solid State Power Amplifiers, the differences are quite difficult if not impossible to discern. The 7900 has won Awards and I have not read a single negative User Review as well.
> ...


Wow this amp sounds like a great bargain then. A thousand dollars less then the A51, 2 more channels and more power. Only negative thing I read about the 7900 was something about a hum that randomly comes out of it and it's think top and sides that resonate a bit. As long as the speakers don't have a resonance lol. I still can't figure out why it's less then the Parsound, maybe the name.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Blackdevil77 said:


> Wow this amp sounds like a great bargain then. A thousand dollars less then the A51, 2 more channels and more power. Only negative thing I read about the 7900 was something about a hum that randomly comes out of it and it's think top and sides that resonate a bit. As long as the speakers don't have a resonance lol. I still can't figure out why it's less then the Parsound, maybe the name.


Outlaw is Internet Direct whereas Parasound has a traditional Distribution Model. ID provides huge savings over a Dealer Network. Also, Parasound Employed John Curl who has Designed for Mark Levinson and many, many others for the Halo Series and many of the earlier HCA Series which they were based from.


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## Blackdevil77 (Feb 16, 2012)

Jungle Jack said:


> Outlaw is Internet Direct whereas Parasound has a traditional Distribution Model. ID provides huge savings over a Dealer Network. Also, Parasound Employed John Curl who has Designed for Mark Levinson and many, many others for the Halo Series and many of the earlier HCA Series which they were based from.


oh okay I see. Maybe I'll give that 30 day trial a shot and bring it to my local hi fi shop who sells Parasound. It's a small shop and the owner is a really cool, knowledgeable guy who knows his stuff. Maybe he'll be okay with me bring in the Outlaw so we can make a direct comparison to the A51. Hell, he would probably be just as curious and enjoy doing it more then I would lol. 

Basically, the way I like my sound is clean, crisp, smooth. I like a warm sound, but I'd like it to be also very clear, crisp and detailed, if that makes any sense. Basically I want the sound to be as accurate and natural as possible, if that makes any sense lol. It's hard to describe in words. I noticed the A51 has a higher damping factor, if that makes a noticeable difference, I'm not sure.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Bring a friend as the 7900 weighs almost 150 pounds out of the box. The A51 weighs about 60 pounds less.
The one thing you might notice with the Parasound is that John Curl's Designs are biased into Class A Operation for around the first 10 Watts. With the higher powered 2 Channel and Monoblock Amplifiers, it is as much as 25 Watts. (JC-1/HCA-3500) They do tend to run hotter than some amplifiers as a result, but I have had mine for over a decade and run them 24/7 with zero issues. Not exactly Greenpeace Approved I know.


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## richsb (Feb 25, 2013)

I can get an A51 for about $700 more than a Outlaw 7700.

I am wondering if it is worth it if I listen to music in the 80 DB range almost all the time.

I wonder if the A51 will run too hot since it must be below my AV8801 preamp.

Is it worth it?

Thanks,

Rich


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