Parasound AUX Input Adapter for Amplifiers

Parasound Zpre3 Stereo PreamplifierI use a high power integrated (preamp & power amp in one case) stereo amplifier to drive some large stereo speakers; I don’t use a subwoofer in my setup. The speakers take a lot of power, and my 35+ year old amp, while still working well in the power stage, was experiencing issues with worn switches and potentiometers for the volume & balance controls and input selections, and it was impractical to repair those issues reliably. Because replacing the entire integrated amplifier was going to be quite expensive at this power capacity, and because the integrated amp DID have provisions for isolating the preamp and power amp sections, I decided to shop for a suitable stereo preamplifier. I determined that I needed four line-level inputs, plus it would be nice to be able to plug in my handheld digital stereo recorder (by TASCAM) or my smart phone’s output, or one of my MP3 players. I also desired a front panel headphone output, and the ability to control input selections and volume by remote control. On the other hand, I had no use for having an integral DAC, or memory card reader, or optical digital input like some other preamps have these days, and I certainly did not want to pay for those features. At the same time, I wanted a high quality, serious piece of gear.After much searching, I settled on this “Zpre3” model made by Parasound, a US company in the San Francisco area which designs their products in the States but apparently has their designs fabricated in Taiwan. Initially, I was a bit put off by the normal $550 ‘street price’, but realized that today even a fairly pedestrian stereo integrated receiver, without having this Parasound unit’s quality, costs over $1000, so I hoped that one gets what is paid for.The unit is housed in an all-metal cabinet. The front panel appears to be made of metal, although it might be a plastic façade over a metal structure. In close external and interior inspection, it gives every indication of being well engineered and fabricated to high standards. Circuit board assembly is exacting and very neat, and all wiring is also done in a tidy, quality manner. All components seem to be quality parts.The front panel has, from left to right:- Power button (push on/push off) with a bi-color LED surround ring that is red when off and green when on. This button does NOT actually switch the AC power, it just wakes up the preamplifier circuitry and display.- Headphone jack (1/8”/3.5mm, stereo phone type); when headphones are plugged in here, the variable level outputs are muted. The volume control also adjusts the headphone listening level.- AUX jack (1/8”/3.5mm, stereo phone type); this input shares a ‘channel’ with line-level Input 4 on the rear panel, and when something is plugged into the jack, it cuts off whatever line-level source is connected to Input 4. However, an extra 12dB gain is applied to the signal coming in via the AUX jack, to compensate for typically lower levels on the outputs of MP3 players, etc.- Display; this is a two-line, backlit LCD display. The brightness of the LED backlight can be selected from a Normal preset and a Dim preset, using a button on the remote control. Normal brightness is appropriate for well-lit rooms, while Dim is better for darker rooms. The display normally shows which input is selected and the current volume setting; it can also display the treble, bass, and balance settings while making changes to those, and it also displays other things while performing some of the programmable presets (e.g. selecting a default Turn On volume) procedures.- Mute button (push on/push off) with an LED surround ring that is normally off but which lights up red when Mute is active. Mute only affects the Variable level outputs.- Volume/Select control. Normally this adjusts the volume of the headphone output and the stereo line-level “Variable” outputs on the rear panel. When the knob is pressed once, the display changes to allow selecting any of the stereo line-level inputs, 1 through 4, OR the “Bypass” input. When the knob is pressed again, the display allows using the same knob to adjust treble, bass, and balance, before cycling around to change the volume again. If no action is made after a few seconds, the knob reverts to changing the volume. The volume level is represented by a number from 0 to 100.The rear panel has, from left to right:- Stereo line-level inputs, using normal RCA jacks, for Inputs 1, 2, 3, 4 and also the “Bypass” input. As already mentioned, the Input 4 channel does double duty by also serving the front panel AUX input, with that jack taking precedence over the signal connected to the rear panel Input 4 RCA jacks. The “Bypass” input’s signal is not affected by any of the front panel controls, e.g. the Volume control, and simply passes through to the output jacks; this allows chaining this preamp with another one to get more inputs, or with the output of some other kind of preamplifier, or from some other kind of line-level source that has its own volume (etc) controls and does not need THIS unit’s controls in that regard. Also, when this unit is turned OFF, the Bypass inputs are connected directly to the output jacks, so that signal can pass through even while the preamplifier is turned off.- Fixed stereo line-level outputs, via RCA jacks. The signal coming out here is whichever input is selected, WITHOUT being affected by Volume, tone, or balance controls; it is intended to be connected to the input of some other device which has its own variable controls for things like Volume. There is also a Fixed mono output which is the result of summing the left and right signals from the Fixed level stereo output jacks.- Variable stereo line-level outputs, via RCA jacks. The signal coming out here is whichever input is selected, and is also influenced by the volume, tone and balance controls. If headphones are plugged into the front panel jack, the signals at these jacks are muted. These signals are intended to be connected to the line-level inputs of a power amplifier that is driving stereo speakers (or some similar application). There is also a Variable mono output which is the result of summing the left and right signals from the Variable level stereo output jacks; this output is intended to be used for a subwoofer having its own associated power amplifier. However, there is no equalization on this signal.- 12V Out jack (1/8”/3.5mm, mono phone type, i.e. TS or Tip-Sleeve). When this unit is turned on, a 12V DC signal comes out of this jack and when this unit is turned off, no voltage is present here. This is intended to be connected to a power amplifier equipped with a “12 trigger” input, so that the power amplifier turns on and off in sync with this preamplifier. Two cables are included for use with this jack; one cable ends (at its opposite end) in another 1/8”/3.5mm mono phone plug, and the other cable ends in a sub-mini 2.5mm phone plug.- IR In (1/8”/3.5mm, mono phone type, i.e. TS or Tip-Sleeve). Although this unit’s front panel infrared receiver (for the remote control) is designed to have a wide-angle reception, in some installations this unit might be located out of sight of the remote control, or perhaps inside an A/V cabinet or other furniture. This jack allows connecting an external IR receiver/repeater, replacing the one integrated into this unit.- RS-232 (9 pin D-sub connector). This serial port connector allows integrating this preamplifier with home automation and control systems such as Creston, AMX, Control4, Savant, and Elan, so that it may be controlled from keypads or touch-screen panels located elsewhere in the home or office. The programming of this unit, to work with such equipment, is not described in this product’s User Manual, although Parasound has some downloadable information on their website, which any qualified person familiar with those automation systems should be able to use for programming this unit.- IEC type AC power cord socket/connector. The included AC power cord plugs in here (this unit does NOT use a “wall wart” type power supply). The unit works with any AC power source between 100 and 250 Volts, 50/60Hz, and it requires 5W of power when turned ON, otherwise it pulls 0.5W in “Standby”, i.e. when it is plugged in but turned off.The remote control supplied with this unit can come in two forms, either the ZP3 or the newer ZP3A. The ZP3 is a smaller palm sized controller, while the ZP3A is larger, more like a normal remote control for a “smart TV”. Both models have the same number of buttons and functionality, except that the ZP3A has an extra button which toggles on and off the blue LED backlighting for all the other buttons, to improve visibility in darker rooms. The remote controls are:- OFF and ON buttons; these perform the same function as the single push on/push off Power button on the unit.- Volume UP/Down buttons, duplicating the action of the front panel Volume knob.- Bass UP/Down buttons, duplicating the action of the front panel Volume knob after it has been pressed a couple times to put the unit into Bass set mode.- Treble UP/Down buttons, duplicating the action of the front panel Volume knob after it has been pressed a few times to put the unit into Treble set mode.- Balance LEFT/Right buttons, duplicating the action of the front panel Volume knob after it has been pressed a few times to put the unit into Balance set mode.- Five buttons (IN1, IN 2, IN 3, IN 4, Bypass), duplicating the action of the front panel Volume knob after it has been pressed once to put the unit into Input select mode.- Mute button, duplicates the action of the front panel Mute button.- Flat button; pressing this sets the Bass and Treble tone settings back to their default values of 0 (no boost or cut). There is no duplicate of this function on the front panel.- Dim button; pressing this repeatedly cycles between the Normal and Dim settings of the display backlighting. There is no duplicate of this function on the front panel.- SET and MEM buttons; these are used to program the unit in a few ways, for example, storing a volume setting so that it is automatically applied whenever the unit is turned on. The SET button is also used to allow the user to select from a list of approximately 25 input names, so that the display shows not only the currently selected input number but also shows the name of the currently selected input’s source, e.g. “CD” or “DVD”; the user cannot make up ANY name, and must select from the predefined list of names. There is no duplicate of these functions on the front panel.There is nothing in a unit such as this one that would color the signal in any way, other than to apply volume, bass & treble boost/cut, and balance. Ignore any reviews that insist that this unit affects the color of the sound, or makes the bass richer, or makes certain nuances of sound seem better; this is a flat response device.I am very pleased with this product, its build quality and its audio performance. I also appreciate that with its deep housing and significant weight, it feels stable when operating the front panel controls; it does not move or even budge. I like that it has its own integrated power supply, instead of needing an external “wall wart” power supply. I do wish that it were possible to create custom input names, rather than needing to pick from a predefined list. I found the programming of the input names to be a bit odd, and confusing, due to the way the display responded during the programming process. While the printed User’s Manual is pretty good, I found it to be lacking in some areas in regard to clarity. I had reason to communicate with Parasound a couple times when I did not understand some aspects of this unit, and I am pleased that I received prompt, detailed replies, even rather later at night after I had though them to be closed for the day.Here are the published specifications:- Frequency response 10 Hz - 40kHz- Total harmonic distortion (20Hz – 20kHz) < 0.015% (i.e. insignificant)- Input sensitivity 250mV = 1V output, total gain = 12dB (with volume set to 100, or Maximum), unity gain = Volume set to 88, maximum output = 3.5V- Input impedance = 24k Ohms- Output impedance = 470 Ohms- S/N ratio: >100dB with input shorted (IHF A-weighted), and >90dB with input shorted (unweighted)- DC Trigger output = 12VDC, 50mA- Dimensions: 8.5” (220mm) wide, 10” (254mm) deep, or 12” (205mm) deep with AC power cord and cables connected, 2” (51mm) height with feet installed, or 1.75” (45mm) with feet removed- Weight: 4 lbs (1.8kg)Parasound has available a kit of rack mounting ‘ears’ or brackets for this unit.

Wow, the PROS:- sound quality, sound quality, sound quality- left/right balance is great for centering the phantom center vocalist, which opened the soundstage, and in turn improved depth and instrument placement.- tone controls (bass/treble)- lighted remote control- 6 inputs in the back, 2 in front- trigger outputs- home theater bypass mode, and it works even when the Parasound is off.

I purchased a Zpre3 and a Zphono for my home hifi setup. The Zphono is great and I'm keeping it. The Zpre3 has loads of great features but I eventually returned it and instead I am using a Tisbury Audio mini passive preamp. Why? Although the Zpre3 has loads of great features, sonically, it flattened the sound. My records lost their oomph. I suddenly was not enjoying the sound of my system anymore. After checking all my components, it ended up being the Zpre3 that was hurting the sound. It's too bad because it has lots of inputs, a remote, tone controls, memory functions, RS-232 connections, etc., etc. All the things the Tisbury doesn't have. My only conclusion is that there's too much in the box for too little a price. Sonics were sacrificed for function. It would be good for a home theatre setup, perhaps, but for hifi, it falls short. Sticking to the simple but clean and dynamic Tisbury pre.

I purchased this for my office, its well built and sounds good. I needed a unit that worked as a preamp-processor to switch between 3 analog inputs, and have outputs for 2 full range speakers and a sub. I use external amplifiers in this setup.We are an audio engineering company, the unit is in my office where listen to music, review some edits our team makes, and do other non-studio stuff. Our team is fairly picky on the sound quality of products in the office. None of us had any issues with the sound quality of this item - I think some of the reviews on amazon saying this made their system sound dull are pretty inaccurate. We did not detect any significant change in quality through this product.It switches between inputs no problem, RS-232 commands work as they should, no significant noise floor or other audio issues. My complaints about this product is that inputs cannot be re-named, and the sub-woofer output is simply a mono sum of the stereo outputs, no crossover or processing is available on the unit. That's my mistake for assuming the unit would have a variable crossover on the sub out, as it does specify that in the manual - but it is still something I wish was included.

Nice performance for the money, very pleased. The seller delivered on time and the package arrived safely. Thanks to Audio Advisor for a great product at a great price!

When you hook a Sonos Port directly to your amp, you typically get very low volume output and you need to turn your Sonos app volume past 50 to barely hear it. This is because the Sonos Port has a very low output signal. But, the Sonos Port teamed up with this preamp is incredible. Hook the outputs of your Sonos Port to the Aux input of this small Parasound Preamp; hook the variable outputs of the Parasound to your amp inputs; set the gain to 85, 90, or 95; and the enhancement of sound quality and volume is incredible! I was originally driving my 6-channel outdoor system, just with the Port and Amp, but, adding this Parasound Preamp just made a world of difference! And, the price? Wow--buy one now! Nothing beats this quality at this price point.