Call me jaded. Call me cynical. Call me downright Antisthenian if you're in the mood to adjectivize a proper noun. But when Parasound originally announced the new Halo Integrated amplifier, I immediately assumed that the company had simply soldered its excellent P 5 2.1-channel stereo preamplifier and A 23 amplifier together inside one unified chassis--which, when you think about it, wouldn't have been a horrible idea. Sure, the P 5 is a USB Class 1 Audio device, which limits it to 24-bit/96-kHz files via USB; but, that aside, it's a stunning-sounding, feature-packed preamp with one particular feature that few stereo preamps in its price range deliver: an LFE output and really superb analog bass-management capabilities. Had Parasound simply stretched the box of the P 5 and thrown in some solid amplification, it would have had quite a robust integrated amp on its hands.

As you've probably either guessed or read elsewhere, though, that isn't the route that Parasound decided to take. While the new product's analog preamp section remains the same as the P 5, the company decided to build the Halo Integrated on a foundation of ESS's top-of-the-line SABRE32 Reference 32-bit DAC, instead of the Burr-Brown PCM1798 DAC chip utilized in its 2.1-channel preamp. As such, the Halo is capable of decoding PCM at 32-bit/384-kHz, as well as native DSD256 and DoP DSD.

Also, while the topology and design of its Class A/AB amp section is the same as the Parasound A 21 and A 23, the Halo Integrated's amp isn't an exact match for either in terms of power. It's rated at 160 watts RMS per channel into an eight-ohm load with 0.05 percent total harmonic distortion (180 watts times two at eight ohms with 0.9 percent THD), both channels driven. With a four-ohm load, those numbers jump to 240 and 270 watts RMS, respectively. All of which pretty much splits the difference between the output capabilities of the A 23 and the much, much pricier A 21. And yet, the Halo Integrated ($2,495) sells for only a few hundred more than the combined price of the P 5 and A 23 combo, making it a pretty spectacular value overall.

In terms of controls and industrial design, the Halo Integrated is, unsurprisingly, a near-twin for the P 5 when viewed from the front, aside from the obvious size difference. Input selection is straightforward, the volume knob is a silky-smooth treat for the digits, and overall the device looks and feels worth every penny of its price tag.

The Hookup
Around back, things also remain remarkably similar, despite the addition of speaker outputs and an AV voltage selector. The Halo Integrated sports the same complement of digital inputs (one USB, one optical, one coax); standard analog inputs (five stereo RCA); a phono input (with a toggle switch for selecting between 100-ohm Moving Coil, 47-ohm Moving Coil, and 47-ohm Moving Magnet cartridges); home theater bypass; dual RCA subwoofer outputs (with low-pass control); stereo RCA preamp outs (with high-pass control); balanced XLR stereo ins, stereo outs, and subwoofer output; 12-volt trigger inputs and outputs; and a mini-jack IR input and loop out.

The back panel is arranged spaciously enough that I had no trouble connecting both sets of speakers I used to audition the Halo Integrated. I started off with a pair of GoldenEar Triton One towers, connected via a pair of Kimber Kable 12TC speaker cables. That setup remained in place for the bulk of my testing; however, near the end, I did switch to a pair of Bryston Mini A bookshelf speakers, mated with that company's Model A subwoofer, to test out the integrated amp's bass management.

Despite the ease of the speaker setup, the configuration process as a whole isn't quite so straightforward--especially if, like me, you plan to rely primarily on the Halo Integrated's USB input as your main source of music. As I said above, the P 5 preamp only supported USB Class 1 Audio, and it required no drivers when used with Windows. The Halo Integrated does require drivers, and installing them isn't quite as simple as most USB devices you've probably used. After installing the typical drivers suite, you have to run a separate ASIO utility to unlock DSD playback capabilities, then set (and leave) the Halo Integrated as your default playback device. In other words, you effectively have to set up the Halo Integrated amp twice.

I did run into some problems with the setup process at first, mainly related to how I tend to use digital audio systems in my home office. I usually run one preamp, Emotiva's XDA-2, as the main source for all of my system's sounds, YouTube videos, gaming audio, movies, etc., and another, separate system purely for music. Going this route, with the XDA-2 set up as my default DirectSound device and the Halo Integrated driven directly by JRiver Media Center, I often suffered hard crashes and reboots of my entire system. After some discussion with Parasound's Director of Product Development Bob MacDonald and some serious digging through my crash logs, I decided to uninstall the Parasound software completely, reinstall it, and skip the last step: the activation of the ASIO utility. That totally did the trick. The crashes stopped altogether. MacDonald pointed out that leaving the ASIO utility out of the loop may prevent me from playing back native DSD files, but it doesn't seem to have impeded my ability to play back DSF and DFF files. So, whether or not you find the above to be troubling (or an issue at all) probably depends largely on how much you value the Halo Integrated's native DSD playback capabilities and how dependent you are on your computer as a source.

Performance
DSD or not, there's no denying that pretty much anything you pump through the Halo Integrated's speaker outputs sounds downright sumptuous. Detailed. Airy. Engrossing. Even stuff that you wouldn't normally think of as audiophile fare.

I'm thinking specifically of songs like "I Hear the Sparrow Sing" from The National Bank's self-titled debut album (Press Play Recordings). If you're not familiar with the band, it's a Norwegian super-group of sorts, made up of members from the electronic-jazz-rock outfit Jaga Jazzist, with vocals from singer/songwriter Thomas Dybdahl. The sound is pretty much exactly what you would expect from that aggregate: ethereal and soulful, but heavy on the synths.

"I Hear the Sparrow Sing" begins with a percussive synth melody, surrounded by a sort of ambient haze of background accompaniment. The first thing that struck me about the Halo Integrated's delivery of the track is just how three-dimensional that background haze is. It seems, almost, like twisting columns of nigh-tangible ephemera. Like the smoke monster from Lost pumped full of Methaqualone, not necessarily reaching out into the room, but undulating and lazily folding over itself in real three-dimensional space. When Dybdahl's voice joins the mix, the depth of the stereo image becomes even more striking.

The fact that the Halo Integrated can eke such depth out of such a minimal mix says to me that its jitter must be exceedingly low. Unfortunately, Parasound doesn't report just how low, but maybe they don't need to. It's pretty plain to hear.

At any rate, the Halo Integrated's performance with The National Bank put me in the mood to explore some of the more stripped-down tunes in my collection, like "Lies" from The Swell Season's equally excellent self-titled album (Overcoat Recordings). The mix here consists primarily of the perfectly synchronized voices of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová--accompanied at first by solo piano, then an intermittent string section, and eventually acoustic rhythm guitar as the tune reaches a fevered crescendo.

Again, what strikes me most here is the stunning precision of delivery. The nuance. The unveiling of even the tiniest details buried in the mix. And yet, the Halo Integrated never borders on what you might describe as "overly analytical." It somehow manages to shine a light on beautifully recorded albums like The Swell Season, without punishing you for listening to the fun tunes in your collection that might not expect to hold up well to close scrutiny.

I'm thinking, in particular, of "Down on the Corner," from the 24/96 HDTracks.com download of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Willy and the Poor Boys (Fantasy Records). No doubt the album has its rough edges here and there, but the Parasound Halo Integrated manages to tap right into every last ever-lovin' ounce of fun to be had with this record. Every element of the mix is plopped into space exactly where it belongs, from the multi-tracked vocals emanating from the center of the thick soundstage to the oodles of percussive elements that seem to stretch out from here to the edge of town.

What's more, I noticed during this track that one of the few minor reservations I had about the P 5/A 23 combo definitely isn't a concern with the Halo Integrated. With the smaller separates system, I felt like I was missing something in terms of dynamics. That certainly isn't the case here. Not with the CCR tunes; not with The Black Crowes' "Descending," which features an explosion of Dobros and drums at around the 0:28 mark, after a delicate piano intro; and not with "Rosalee," from Chris Robinson Brotherhood's Big Moon Ritual album (Silver Arrow Records).

That last song is a bit thickly mixed, an unabashed mélange of trippy, southern-fried, soulful jam-band rock with a side order of funk. And whether played through the Triton Ones or the Bryston Mini A/Model A combo (making use of the company's excellent analog bass management), the Parasound Halo Integrated delivers it with perfect tonal balance, a gorgeous soundstage, and every ounce of oomph one could hope for. The one thing I've noticed about this track when listening to it through a variety of gear is that Robinson's voice can be a bit harsh and brittle. A little hard to listen to. I never found that to be the case via the Halo Integrated, though. The edge that I've noticed with certain other electronics isn't there, yet it lacks for nothing in terms of detail.

I only wish my music collection were as well-populated with DSD tracks as it is with southern rock albums and Grateful Dead bootlegs, but I did have the opportunity to spin a few cuts from David Elias' Acoustic Trio - DSD Sessions album (Sketti Sandwich Productions), as well as from James Englund and Bobo's Blue Coastal Special Event 29 (Blue Coast Records) in both DSF and DFF file formats. This was my first opportunity to hear both recordings, so I can't speak to how they sounded on the Halo Integrated versus other DSD-capable systems, but both played beautifully and sounded incredible present, detailed, and engrossing.

The Downside
Which is more than I can say, sadly, about anything played through the Halo Integrated's headphone output. The fact that the only headphone output is an eighth-inch mini-jack is troubling enough. More troubling still is the fact that, no matter which headphones I connected to the Halo Integrated, it simply sounded weak, constricted, confined, and rather bland. Since reviewing the P 5, by the way (which I had the same complaints about), I've upgraded my desktop PC. When I reviewed Parasound's P 5 preamp, I noted that its headphone output did sound better than the onboard sound of my computer. This new rig, with its RealTek onboard sound solution, quite frankly blows the headphone output of the Halo Integrated out of the water. Perhaps not in terms of clarity, but certainly when it comes to dynamic punch, tonal balance, and soundstage.

Honestly, the only way I could eke any enjoyment out of the Halo Integrated's headphone amp, with anything and everything from large planar magnetic cans (Audeze LCD-2, HiFiMan HE-400) to custom IEMs (Westone ES50, Ultimate Ears UE RM Studio Reference), was to engage the amp's tone controls and crank the bass up to about three o'clock. Still, I felt underwhelmed at any volume, which is a shame for an one-piece sound system that delivers such exceptional performance otherwise.

Comparison and Competition
The market for stereo integrated amplifiers seems to be exploding at an exponential rate these days; so, if you're in the market for such a product in the $2,500 range, you're not without choices. NAD's C 390DD Direct Digital Powered DAC Amplifier comes immediately to mind as a likely competitor, as does Marantz's PM-14S1. Of those, the former lacks DSD capabilities, and the latter lacks a built-in DAC altogether. Truth be told, I haven't auditioned either of them.

I have spent a lot of time with Peachtree Audio's $2,000 nova220SE Integrated Amplifier, though, which served as my main reference throughout this review. That probably isn't overly fair, since the two integrated amps are quite different in terms of design philosophy, architecture, and sound. The nova220SE relies on Class D amplification, with a Class A preamp and optional tube buffer. It does produce a more dynamic sound than the Halo Integrated, and I do prefer its sound when listening to my 80 gigabytes' worth of Grateful Dead live recordings, but it isn't as detailed, nor is its soundstage as deep or expansive. It also lacks the Parasound's analog bass-management capabilities, but it features one of the best integrated headphone amplifiers I've found in any product. And, of course, the Peachtree taps out at 24-bit/192-kHz via its USB input and 24/96 via its two optical and one coaxial inputs, whereas the Parasound accepts up to 24/192 via its coax and optical inputs and 32/384 (plus DSD) via USB. The Peachtree also lacks the Parasound's wealth of analog inputs, including its feature-rich phono input and preamp.

Conclusion
As I said in the intro, I (reasonably, I think) expected Parasound's Halo Integrated 2.1-channel amplifier to perform pretty much identically to its P 5 preamp mated with one of its own amplifiers...and I would have been quite happy with it had it done so. In practice, though, the Halo Integrated is so much more than the sum of its parts with a few extra bits thrown in. Its performance blew me away, and its incredible bass-management capabilities make it stand apart in what is slowly but surely becoming a crowded integrated amplifier market.

Yes, it's a shame that the headphone amp isn't more robust, especially given the all-in-one nature of this integrated amp, but you could always plug a dedicated headphone amp into the Halo's preamp outputs. Still, if that's the only significant thing I have to complain about (and it is; even the tricky USB setup is easy to forgive, given its DSD and ultra-high-res audio support and the complicated nature of computer audio), I'd say Parasound has a winner on its hands here...especially for the price.

Additional Resources
• Parasound Introduces New Halo Integrated Amplifier and DAC at HomeTheaterReview.com.
• Parasound Ships New Zdac V.2 DAC/Headphone Amp at HomeTheaterReview.com.
• Check out our Stereo Amplifiers category page to read similar reviews.