Daniel J SaitParasound has introduced a new flagship stereo power, the Halo JC5.
Designed by the respected audio expert John Curl, the Halo JC5 distils the essence of two top-of-the-line Halo JC 1 monoblock power amplifiers into a single chassis.
The design features a high power and ultra-high bias Class A/AB topography capable of delivering a meaty 400W per channel.
The maker says the high bias class A/AB provides 12W per channel of pure class A power and class AB effortlessly to its 400W per channel 8Ω rating. It can deliver 600W per channel into 4Ω and can be bridged to mono for 1,200W into 8 Ω.
The output stage employs 24 beta-matched, 15 ampere, 60MHz bipolar transistors to deliver a formidable peak current of 90 amperes.
The quality just keeps on coming as the power supply employs a 1.7 kVA shielded toroid power transformer with a premium H18 grade steel core. It has independent secondary windings for its dual-mono power supply.
As with the JC 1, input stage B+/B- rails are 10V above the output stage rails to eliminate distortion caused by voltage sagging when the amp is under load. Independent power supplies for left and right channel input stages employ filter capacitors totalling 8,880µF.
Driver and output stages employ massive Rubicon filter capacitors totalling 132,000µF.
Keeping the balance
The Halo JC 5 is direct-coupled, protected by DC servo circuits to eliminate coupling capacitors, to extend bass response down to 5Hz. Its balanced inputs use discrete circuits with Neutrik locking XLR connectors.
The connecting hardware includes Vampire 24k gold-plated RCA input and loop output jacks. Five-way ‘propeller’ speaker binding posts are custom-manufactured for Parasound by CHK Infinium. They are 24k gold-plated and accept 7-gauge bare wire.
Parasound founder and president, Richard Schram, says, “The new JC 5 is a remarkable amplifier that creates a new sweet spot in our Halo product family. Our customers often tell us they love everything the JC 1 offers while wondering if we could deliver comparable performance in a no-compromise stereo power amplifier, to save them money and space. We challenged John Curl to distil the essence of two JC 1 mono blocks into a single chassis and the result has exceeded everyone’s expectations.”
Parasound has also refined the aesthetic Halo and included it in the JC 5 including slim, hand-milled solid aluminium endcaps with gold highlights. The JC 5 is available in silver or black. Rack mount hardware for its four rack space chassis is included. The net weight is 33kg.
The Parasound Halo JC5 is available now in the UK, with an SRP of £6,999.00 and is available from Connected Distribution.
Full Specification
- 400 watts @ 8 Ω RMS, both channels driven
- 600 watts @ 4 Ω RMS, both channels driven
- 1200 watts @ 8 Ω, in bridged mode
- Circuitry designed by legendary John Curl
- Ultra-high bias Class A/AB operation
- 12 watts per channel pure Class A power
- 90 amperes peak current per channel
- Stable with speaker impedance dips to 1.5 Ω
- Balanced inputs with discrete circuits
- CHK Infinium, custom 5-way ‘propeller’ speaker binding posts
- Neutrik locking XLR inputs
- Vampire gold-plated RCA input & loop output jacks
- Direct-coupled signal path, no capacitors or inductors
- DC Servo and relay protection circuits
- AC turn-on inrush surge protection with relay bypass
- Dual-mono input stages with ±110 volt DC rails
- JFET input stage, MOSFET driver stage
- 24 beta-matched 15 ampere, 60 MHz bipolar output transistors
- 1.7 kVA shielded toroid power transformer
- 8,800 μF Nichicon filter caps for input stages
- 132,000 μF Rubycon filter caps for output stages
- Harris hyper-fast soft-recovery bridge diode rectifiers
- Automatic turn-on by 12 V trigger or audio sensing
- 4 rack space chassis with rear carry handles
- Rack mount hardware included
