Parasound was established in 1981 in the Northern California Bay Area, and has been respected by enthusiast audiophiles, as well as in the professional audio and video world, ever since. Their longtime founder, Richard Schram, recently sold the company to a new audio enthusiast owner, who has since moved the operation from the Bay Area to Las Vegas. Their long-term designer, John Curl (the guy who designed the ultra-famous Mark Levinson JC-2 preamp in the 1970s), is still on retainer, which is very good for the brand in the modern era. Much like the Los Angeles Lakers went out and traded for the best young player in the NBA while still paying the salary of the best player of the past 25 years, Parasound, under its new management, quickly hired a younger designer, Daren Meyers, away from rival audiophile electronics company PS Audio. Parasound is all-in on engineering products right the first time, as such they can be slow to release new products to the market.
The Parasound JC2BP preamp is a perfect example of the company’s engineering-first outlook. It is also an example of a full-width, somewhat taller audiophile stereo preamp that has passed the test of time and has become a bit of an audio classic that you can still buy today (you can get an ADCOM GFA-555 today, too). There are some top competitors that have come along. How does this classic high-value stereo preamp compete in today’s market? Finding out is our task here …
What Makes the Parasound JC2BP Preamp So Special?
- The Parasound JC2BP is currently the top preamp in the Parasound lineup, despite its pretty approachable retail price. If you own other Parasound components, or simply dig the brand, the JC2BP is the top preamp that Parasound offers. It says a lot that Parasound doesn’t need to make a $20,000 preamp to dare people to buy up in the line. This is their best preamp, and it is priced competitively with other stereo preamps in the market today.
- The Parasound JC2BP was designed by none other than John Curl. Curl has designed more excellent-performing audio products than perhaps most of us have ever owned. Many think that the Mark Levinson JC-2 is considered the real launching point for high-end audio in the modern era and here’s a hint … it wasn’t designed by Mark Levinson. It was designed by John Curl. Mark Levinson JC-2 stereo preamps sell today for nearly $10,000 in the used market, thus they are quite collectable for the vintage audio guy who has it all. The Parasound JC2BP gives you a more updated look into the preamp design world of Mr. Curl and seemingly saves you some bucks in the process, in comparison to his earlier work.
- The Parasound JC2BP preamp offers independent left and right channel adjustments. Not all preamps in this category offer a balance or a level-adjustment feature. I found myself using both more than expected during my time with the Parasound JC2BP. For doing A/B testing, you must have your inputs matched. More and more preamps offer that feature as part of the operations of the unit, as opposed to needing to measure test tones and match levels using a sound pressure meter. This is a way easier solution.
- That BP in the Parasound JC2BP stands for Bypass. The JC2BP does have a true home theater bypass for those who integrate their home theater with their audiophile two-channel system. This makes integrating a surround sound system and/or some video switching a lot easier in the event that you want an all-audiophile signal path in your main home theater system, because many audiophiles do.
- The build quality of the Parasound JC2BP is simply excellent, with a respectably thick front face-plate, heavy-duty gold-plated unbalanced (RCA) inputs, and heavy-duty balanced (XLR) inputs and outputs. I know the back panel isn’t always exciting, but this unit really does have high-quality inputs and outputs, compared to most preamps in this price range.
Why Should You Care About the Parasound JC2BP Stereo Preamp?
A stereo preamp is often the central nervous system of your audiophile rig. In many regards, you just need a preamp to do its job and not add a whole lot of anything sonically. When allocating funds for your system, sometimes it is hard to justify spending a huge portion of your budget on the preamp. The flipside of this is that a poor-performing preamp affects everything else in the chain, leaving you questioning every component, speaker, and ultimately your total cash outlay.
Having spent several months with the Parasound JC2BP, I now know why this modern classic is still in the Parasound lineup all of these years later. The value of a classic design always has a strong audiophile appeal and the Parasound JC2BP is a perfect example. Also, it is hard not to love a product that is priced the same as it was roughly a decade ago.
Some Things You Might Not Like About the Parasound JC2BP Preamp
- The Parasound JC2BP preamp does not offer room correction or a built-in DAC. Many stereo preamps in this price range now offer one or both features. Some even offer AES-EBU and I2S digital inputs when they have an internal DAC included. Other audio-oriented stereo preamps now offer HDMI inputs that allow for HD video, as well as HD audio inputs, which is a pretty new development. The Parasound JC2BP offers a fully traditional stereo preamp feature set. It takes inputs, and it sets volume in its most basic description.
- The Parasound JC2BP is on the larger side physically, compared to many other modern audiophile preamps. The Parasound JC2BP is taller than many preamps today, which might be an issue for some.
- The remote on the Parasound JC2BP is underwhelming. It is a “get the job done” unit at its best. Many audiophile preamps today, particularly from more boutique manufacturers, are built from a solid block of aluminum. Many are so solid that, if you found yourself under attack, you could knock the attacker out cold using your remote (like the remote from my Pass Labs XP-12). Other streaming audiophiles opt to use their tablet or iPad to control their music’s volume from there, simply setting the preamp at unity gain and just leaving it fixed, so that your app of choice controls the volume level.
Listening to the Parasound JC2BP Stereo Preamp …
The Parasound JC2BP, as well as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ album MOJO, were released in 2010, so I thought it an appropriate album to use in this review. The most commercial of the tracks on the album is “I Should Have Known It.” As is the case with the Mojo album overall, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers chose a more bluesy feel. Mike Campbell opens with a slightly more distorted, full-sounding riff right off the center of the stage that kicks in bigger than anything I can remember since “Honey Bee” on the band’s Wildflowers album. Petty’s familiar and slightly nasal drawl jumps front and center, and the JC2BP has everything sounding like it is in the right place in the mix. As compared to other preamps in this class, the Parasound JC2BP has a nice wide soundstage, with solid depth.
I wanted to listen to an artist with a huge range in their voice, along with a cleaner sound than MOJO from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Annie Lennox and her Diva album fits the bill perfectly. The track “Little Bird” is largely an electronic, synth-driven song, similar to many of the Eurythmics’ biggest hits. Playing through the Parasound JC2BP, the opening synth bass was appropriately deep and big-sounding, as the producer intended. Lennox’s voice is out front as it should be, not overwhelmed by the synth bass. Her range from delicate to powerful on the track has a feel like you are listening to the master tape versus a reprint. Lennox sounds “right,” and her voice is the star of the show, as it should be. As this track is largely electronic and synth-driven, it is simply not the track to judge spacing. However, I have heard her voice sound strained, thin, or even bright at louder volumes with lesser preamps. The Parasound JC2BP is absolutely not bright-sounding. I would place it just on the warmer side of neutral, which is a comfortable place to listen.
My daughter is a classically trained pianist, and we have had a grand piano in our home for years. Due to this, I feel I have a good grasp of what a grand piano should sound like on an audiophile-grade music playback system. That said, the grand piano is a notoriously difficult instrument for even the best systems to reproduce. “Baby Grand” by Billy Joel with Ray Charles is exactly as the title suggests: Joel, Charles, and a couple of baby grand pianos (along with a small backing band that happens to also includes strings). I know that my Paradigm Founder 120H speakers (read the review) can do justice to the recording. The track starts out with Joel and Charles trading off piano riffs. The Parasound JC2BP showcases these riffs nicely, doing a very good job of reproducing the proper depth and decay from each note as they are played. When Joel starts singing, he is off to one side of the stage and sounds like his younger self, as this track is from 1986, and when Charles on the other side of the stage comes in moments later, you can hear the gravel in his voice as if he is right there in the room with you. The strings sound clean and clear, having the proper depth behind the performers with the Parasound JC2BP. The strings are not strident nor thin. When swapping out amps, you could hear the effect sonically, but I felt like the Parasound JC2BP delivered a consistent sound without ever trying to put its signature on it. For me, that’s just how I like a stereo preamp to perform. Others (think: tube lovers) might want to add a heaping helping of warmth to the sound, but that’s not my thing.
Will the Parasound Stereo Preamp JC2BP Hold Its Value?
Absolutely. Parasound is an established name in the audio business, with an excellent reputation. Its lack of a DAC or room correction may be seen by many as a positive in the long run, as you run no risk of paying for a DAC or software now, which will become outdated down the road or limit your path for future system upgrades.
While there have been some understandable changes in the Parasound distribution chain with new ownership and direction, there are thousands of audiophiles out there who are Parasound owners and Parasound fans. If a Parasound JC2BP preamp were to become available on the used market, it would be hard to argue that there would not be a great deal of interest immediately. Parasound gear has always sold well and quickly on the used market. Simply put, your investment should be pretty safe in a product like the Parasound JC2BP preamp.
What Is the Competition for the Parasound JC2BP Preamp?
The SPL Elector stereo preamp, at $2,699, recently received an outstanding review from Jerry Del Colliano who bought the unit. From a form factor standpoint, the SPL Elector could not be more different than the JC2BP. It’s small, is available in three colors, and is modern/retro-looking with its small gauges on the faceplate. Interestingly, both preamps have tape loops. Jerry is a fan of components that are full-width. The SPL Elector is not that, but it has an amazingly transparent in-the-studio, get-out-of-the-way-of-the-music sound that many audiophiles seek from their preamp. The Bryston BP-19, at $5,200, is pricier than the Parasound JC2BP, but is similar in its feature set. The Bryston BP-19 is shorter in stature than the JC2BP, and just about everything about it screams neutral. Andrew Dewhirst raved about the performance of the BP-19, specifically its neutrality.
The Pass Labs XP-12 ($6,100 – read Greg Handy’s review) is a Wayne Colburn design, and is also a standard stereo preamp like the Parasound JC2BP. Colburn’s name isn’t on the logo at Pass Labs, but he’s one hell of a competitor for Curl. I was able to compare my Pass Labs XP-12 with the Parasound. While the Pass Labs XP-12 is significantly more money, you do get a more noticeably neutral and three-dimensional sonic performance with it in the loop, as you should for the extra money. The Pass Labs XP-12 doesn’t have a DAC or a phonostage (that’s its own product, designed by Mr. Colburn), and it has a Cello-like feel in its stock silver aluminum metalwork.
The PS Audio Stellar Gold Preamp, at $3,999 (read the review), is perhaps the closest comparable to the Parasound in the audiophile world. It was designed by Darren Meyers when he was at PS Audio. It aims for the same level of sonic transparency that a lot of the top-performing preamps on this list do. There is no internal DAC or phono section, but the unit is a full-width, big-boy component that belongs sonically as well as physically in a more advanced music playback system.
Final Thoughts on the Parasound JC2BP Stereo Preamp …
Parasound makes audiophile equipment for real-world enthusiasts who seek big-dollar performance, but might not have the money to invest to get into that next class of much more exotic, low-volume production audiophile gear. They know their lane, and we are happy that they drive in it, because regardless of what you read in the audiophile print magazines, not everybody buys $10,000-plus preamps for their systems – nor do they have to.
The Parasound JCB2BP is a simple, well-designed stereo preamp that does a great job at switching your inputs and controlling your volume. And that is what preamps do in their most basic form, which is a beautiful thing. There are other audiophile preamps in the market that have more bells and whistles, but for the money, the Parasound JCB2BP is a proven, well-engineered audiophile workhorse that will be a welcome addition to many high-performance audiophile systems in this price range.
