Parasound Halo P 7: Pure Stereo and Sensational Home Theater Sound

Two channel aficionados seek pure, unprocessed sound and often find it only in analog components and vinyl recordings. By comparison, the very essence of home theater is digital signal processing and decoding and often the two are seen as incompatible. As a result, it is not unusual for serious enthusiasts to have two entertainment systems, a pure two-channel system and a dedicated home theater system. Until now, this is often thought to be the only way to get the best of both worlds. The Parasound Halo P 7 shatters this myth and introduces an elegant way to get the best of both worlds from the same system.

The P 7 is an analog control amplifier from Parasound's flagship line of Halo components. It is designed to be the centerpiece of a high-end stereo system and a control center for a multichannel home theater system. The P 7 is both a two-channel pre-amplifier and a multichannel control pre-amplifier.

As a two-channel component, the P 7 has seven RCA analog inputs including a switchable moving magnet/moving coil phonograph input and a tape loop for analog recording equipment. It also features left/right balanced-line inputs for a CD player or other component equipped with XLR outputs. Balanced-line connections are important for a lower noise floor and longer cable lengths. The P 7 also has dual eight-channel analog inputs, one set for a multichannel source component (A Blu-ray player with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding and analog outputs, or an SACD/DVD-A player) and the other set for connection to a home theater system.

Other features include analog bass management for two channel and multichannel, an input renaming function (very useful for switching between stereo and home theater), headphone level, maximum volume setting, balance and tone controls, trim controls for speaker levels and an input assign mode for linking the pre-amp with Parasound's optional HDMI video switcher. The setup menus are simple and the blue front panel display lights are clear and easy to read.

There are two ways to connect the P 7 as a two-channel and multichannel pre-amp:

• The first method uses a separate two-channel power amp for the front stereo channels and an existing AV receiver to power the center and surround and/or surround back channels. In this configuration, the front and subwoofer pre-outs of a home theater receiver connect to the front and subwoofer multichannel inputs of the P 7. The front amp outputs of the P 7 then connect to a two-channel amplifier to power the front stereo speakers and the sub output is connected to a powered subwoofer system. The receiver's surround (surround and surround back channels) and center channel amps power the rest of the system.
• The second method uses an existing AV receiver and either a two-channel amp for the stereo speakers and an additional three or five-channel power amp for the rest of the system. In this scenario, the pre-outs of all channels of the receiver are connected to one of the multichannel inputs of the P 7, which then connects to outboard power amps. In both setups, the Parasound P 7 handles the two-channel analog signal and the receiver handles the digital audio and video signal processing.

Both connections methods use the Theater Bypass Mode in the P 7 for home theater listening. When Theater Bypass is activated, the pre-amp outputs of the P 7 are fixed and the receiver's volume control is used to adjust playback level. The Theater Bypass mode affects only the multichannel inputs of the P 7. When listening to two-channel sources the P 7 volume control is used.

If my descriptions sound a little awkward, its implementation is simple and straightforward. In both examples, stereo reproduction is optimized and home theater can easily be integrated into the system. The best amp and speakers are used for pure stereo reproduction and the receiver handles digital processing for home theater sound. It's an elegant solution and provides the best of both worlds in a single home entertainment system.

I chose setup method two for evaluating the Parasound P 7. I connected the pre-outs of my Yamaha 5.1 channel AV receiver to one of the multichannel inputs of the P 7 and the pre-amp outputs to a Parasound 5250 five-channel power amp I am using for another review. I connected the multichannel outputs of my Blu-ray player to the other multichannel input on the P 7 because my receiver doesn't have Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio decoding. The output of the player is fixed and I activated the Theater Bypass Mode on the P 7 so my AV receiver controlled the volume. This setup used a boat-load of cables, but was easy to connect. The P 7's well-written owner's manual includes easily understood explanations and connection diagrams.