Parasound is a household name for the majority of budget-conscious music and home theater lovers. Chances are if you’ve put together a system within the last 30 years you’ve heard Parasound enthusiastically recommended as a solid choice, especially in terms of the price to performance ratio of their high-current amplifiers. The Parasound Halo is their premier product line and the HINT 6 is the new introduction to that line.
Parasound also has a long history of use by Oscar-winning audio engineers at well-known recording and production studios such as Skywalker Sound, Lucasfilm, and Pixar. This “studio pedigree” has a lot of merit. It shows that their products have sonic accuracy, effective thermal management, and long-term reliability to perform in demanding professional environments.
With Parasound’s legacy of catering to home theater, two-channel, and professional markets you’ll typically see elements of all three engineered into the design and features of their products.
A One-Box Solution
The Halo HINT 6, retailing for $2,995, is Parasound’s flagship integrated amplifier. It is a one-box solution that contains both the Halo P6 preamp ($1,499) and the Halo A23+ amplifier ($1,499). Available in black with gold accents or silver, the HINT 6 is aimed at those who want the simplicity of having one piece of equipment versus two or more separate components, it also eliminates the need for additional power and interconnect cables. There’s also a 5-year warranty for the original owner when purchased from an authorized Parasound Halo dealer.
Like previous Parasound products, the high-current amplifier circuit of the HINT 6 is designed by John Curl. It’s a high bias A/AB design operating in pure Class A for the first 2-3 watts. Power ratings are 160wpc into 8 ohms, and 240wpc into 4 ohms, with 45 amps peak per channel.
The preamp section includes analog bass management with a low pass crossover and front panel sub level control, single XLR and dual RCA subwoofer pre-outs, as well as HT bypass for both the full-range left and right channels and two subwoofers. Additionally, there’s a balanced preamp out, a dedicated unbalanced preamp output, and a fixed record output. Lastly, there’s a high pass crossover that affects the dedicated XLR and RCA pre-outs as well as the main speaker outputs. This clever feature means you can stop low bass frequencies from reaching the speakers, sending them instead only to your powered subwoofer.
The design is as if Parasound went down a checklist of features they wished other integrated amplifiers had and made sure to include each of them. This extreme amount of flexibility ensures that the HINT 6 will integrate well into anyone’s system. Your bases are covered for any eventuality.
Attention to Detail
This is a well-designed product, with great care given to its fit and finish. It has classy touches like subtle gold accents, a brushed aluminum faceplate, and a matte texture on the volume knob. I appreciate the attention to detail given to this simple creature comfort on a design element that gets a lot of use. It’s also the smoothest volume control I’ve ever turned thanks to its internal ball bearings.
The design of a preamp’s volume control is of utmost importance. The HINT 6 has one of the most intuitive and well-executed volume controls that I’ve had the pleasure of using. The brain is an analog resistor ladder made by Burr-Brown, but this isn’t just an off-the-shelf implementation. Parasound paid special attention to the shaping of the logarithmic taper, as well as for opting for finer .5db adjustments in the middle range of the volume control where you typically do most of your listening. These thoughtful design decisions result in the ability to precisely set your preferred listening level, as well as ensuring no channel imbalance issues or any other sonic degradation to your audio signal.
The bass and treble tone controls are well-implemented and capable of subtle adjustments. They can be engaged or defeated via the front panel, as well as from the remote control. You might be surprised at how much you will enjoy this simple but useful feature. I’m usually adamantly against tone controls, but I don’t shy away from using them when they are this well done.
Performance
The overall presentation of the HINT 6 is slightly laid back and has a hint of midrange warmth along with rich bass that results in a “more meat on the bone” characteristic to the sound. This provides a straightforward reproduction of music that I didn’t need to think too hard about or focus on to enjoy.
The high frequencies are accurate but slightly dialed back. It would pair well with a treble-forward speaker that might sound bright on other amplifiers. The subtle midrange warmth serves to somewhat bolster those middle frequencies, without making them sound artificially colored. The bass has solid weight and authority, with excellent control. The bass energy scales well, with good presence at low listening levels without getting raucous at higher levels.
The tonality is good, with the aforementioned weight and body providing a heightened sense of realism for well-recorded instruments like a violin, piano, or an acoustic guitar. Timing is spot-on, faithfully reproducing complex syncopated rhythms and never sounding jumbled or slow. This results in good listener engagement, and at most volumes, a fatigue-free sound you can listen to all day long, as I did one Sunday for 9 hours straight, and then another hour after that through the headphone jack! Although it sounds counterintuitive, the high-power amplifier design definitely contributes to the excellent performance at low-to-moderate listening levels.
Although it does occasionally present some 3D imaging effects, they aren’t as expansive or frequent as I would prefer. Instead, it has a somewhat localized presentation but still offers good listener engagement and soundstage depth.
Despite these few caveats, I still believe the HINT 6 has a sound that would please a large number of listeners. It is a significant increase in quality from an AVR or entry-level integrated amplifier.
Speaker Pairings
I used my reference PMC twenty.22 speakers for the majority of my time with the HINT 6. This combo offered great synergy at low to moderate listening levels of 60-75db. However, once I hit 80db or more, the upper treble range began to sound slightly hard and overwhelming, which caused me to want to back off on the volume. In comparison, my PS Audio S300 amplifier seemed to come into its sweet spot when playing the PMCs at these louder levels. Conversely, at lower listening levels the S300 can sound somewhat thin and bass-shy. As a result, I preferred the Parasound when listening at lower levels thanks to the additional body and richness it provided.
My second pairing was the Polk Audio LSiM703 speakers. These large bookshelf speakers had good synergy at low, moderate, and high listening levels. The three-way design with its dedicated midrange driver took advantage of the subtle midrange warmth. The treble was relaxed and free of harshness. The high damping factor of the HINT 6 proved it could fully control these rear-ported woofers, which can have a tendency to get boomy and loose with some amplifiers. When listening to closely miked intimate jazz, there was plenty of texture and nuance to enjoy.
Lastly, I tried out the Epos K1i bookshelf speakers. These simple front-ported speakers were fun and engaging paired with the HINT 6 offering good detail retrieval and musicality. As I turned up the volume, the high-current amplifier design really woke up these 4ohm speakers. They dispersed an impressive amount of energy for their size, and they had good dynamic range.
Additional Features
In addition to the ES9018K2M SABRE32 Reference DAC, the HINT 6 has a discrete headphone amplifier and a phono stage with three separate impedance/gain settings.
The DAC is a logical choice for those interested in making the jump from a laptop’s internal 3.5mm output. Simply run the included USB cable from your computer to the back of the Parasound and you’ll instantly improve your listening experience. I tried both PC and Mac laptops and both worked perfectly with no configuration or compatibility issues.
The dedicated headphone amplifier is also a welcome addition. It drove both my 36 ohm Koss Pro4S and my Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro 250 ohm headphones admirably. There was never any grit or grain to the sound, and there seemed to be unlimited power and headroom.
The feature I enjoyed most was the built-in phono preamp. It’s suitable for both MM and MC cartridges and selected by a toggle switch on the rear. It sounded detailed and honest, showcasing exactly what’s in the grooves. Its smooth and relaxing character drew me in and gave me precisely what I love about vinyl playback, a rewarding sound with good body and texture.
I think the average vinyl enthusiast would be satisfied with the built-in phono preamp’s performance without a huge desire to upgrade to an external phono preamp. The functional standalone equivalent is Parasound’s well-reviewed Zphono preamp. There’s a considerable value added by having it built-in because again you save on the cost of aftermarket power and interconnect cables.
Conclusion
The Parasound Halo HINT 6 has an impressive list of features along with a smooth and engaging sound. It offers do-anything flexibility and a powerful Class A/AB amplifier that can drive any speaker, all in one chassis.
If your priority is sound quality above all else, then a more purist piece that forgoes the Parasound’s broad feature set might be a better choice. However, you’ll be hard-pressed to find another integrated amplifier at this price point that can match the HINT 6’s combination of features, power, and performance.
