Parasound Halo P-5

Parasound describes the Halo P 5 as a "2.1-channel stereo preamplifier," hinting at its suitabilities for use in both a stereo music system and a home theater. The latter is presented in a number of ways, the most apparent being its home-theater bypass circuit, by means of which one can add the P 5 to a multichannel system with a surround-sound receiver or processor, to optimize two-channel listening (footnote 2). (For this to work, the surround-sound component in question must have line-level outputs.) Usefully, whenever the P 5 is switched off, its home-theater bypass is automatically selected, so that the surround-sound system can still be enjoyed without additional drudgery.

Otherwise, the Halo P 5 is optimized for serious music listening, right down to its front-mounted bass and treble tone controls, and a tone-defeat switch for removing them from the signal path. The front panel also sports a nice-feeling rotary switch for source selection, accompanied by a clearly marked row of indicator lights, and an exceedingly smooth, undetented volume control. I was mildly disappointed by the lack of a mono switch but cheered by the presence of a 3.5mm input jack, the latter tailored, by means of an extra gain stage, for use with the analog output of an iPod or similar device. And although I own neither a balanced-out source component nor a balanced-in amplifier, I was impressed that the Halo includes a single pair each of balanced input and output jacks.

The use of a switch-mode power supply—and the consequent absence of a traditional mains transformer—accounts for the P 5's most surprising characteristic: Notwithstanding its abundance of features, its moderately sized case is almost half empty! Beyond that, there's precious little I can tell you about its innards, other than the fact that its seven circuit boards appeared well made. The P 5's casework is nicely done, with a mix of steel and aluminum structures and a textured finish that gives, from a moderate distance, the impression of a high-tech casting. Cosmetics and ergonomics alike were of higher-than-expected quality for this price bracket.