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One channel to rule them all

Parasound's monolithic 83-pound JC 1+ can kick out the jams with absolute authority. It delivers a whopping 450 watts into a single channel at 8 ohms, and it's stable down to 2 ohms, offering flexibility to drive even the most demanding speakers.

Class A/AB operation for smoother sound

The JC 1+ uses Class A/AB amplifier technology, which we don't see every day. So let's talk about what that means.

Engineers and audiophiles generally agree that Class A designs offer the purest sound, but they tend to run hot and take up a lot of space. As a result, home audio amplifiers often use a compromise known as Class AB, which hands off part of the audio signal to a different set of output transistors at high power levels. AB can sacrifice a bit of signal purity, but it lets the amp run cooler and more efficiently. 

So this Class A/AB amp operates in pure Class A mode up to a higher power level than most other amplifiers in its price category, before the second set of transistors kick in. The result is a sound that's smoother, less fatiguing, and more natural. This amp includes a bias switch that can be set to "low" to reduce heat output and power consumption. When it's set to "high," the amplifier delivers up to 25 watts of pure Class A power.

Convenient connections

On the back panel are single balanced mono XLR and unbalanced mono RCA input and output with switchable gain. There are also a pair of speaker binding posts, with the second pair allowing easy bi-wiring. The amp can be rack mounted using the included ears.

Features:

• Circuitry designed by legendary John Curl
• Ultra-high bias Class A/AB operation
• 25 watts of pure Class A power
• Stable with speaker impedance dips below 1
• Bybee Music Rails - active high frequency filters for input stage
• New John Curl driver stage employs a cascode circuit for greater open loop bandwidth & superior linearity
• Gain switch to select 29 dB or 23 dB gain for optimum compatibility with high gain preamps or extremely efficient speakers
• R-core transformer for input stage suppresses noise on power line
• 6 massive 33,000 uF Nichicon Gold Tune filter capacitors for output stage
• 22,400 uF input stage power supply filter capacitors, independent of the main power supply
• Dual CHK Infinium, custom 5-way speaker binding posts for easy bi-wiring
• Neutrik locking XLR balanced input & loop output jacks
• Vampire 24k gold-plated RCA input & loop output jacks
• Direct-coupled signal path, no capacitors or inductors in the audio path
• JFET input stage, MOSFET driver stage
• 24 beta-matched 15 ampere, 230V, 60 MHz bipolar output transistors
• 2.1 kVA shielded toroid power transformer with premium H18 grade core
• Independent power supplies for input stage, driver stage & output stage
• Full power is rated all the way down to 2Hz for unrestricted low-end bass
• Harris hyper-fast soft-recovery bridge diode rectifiers
• REL & Nichicon Muse capacitors
• DC servo & relay protection circuits
• AC turn-on inrush surge protection with relay bypass
• Automatic turn-on by 12 V trigger or audio sensing
• 4 rack space chassis with rear carry handles
• Rack mount hardware is included