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Parasound Halo P 7 preamp for analog purists in a multichannel world
Parasound certainly has a contingent of audio-only fans amongst its customer list, but even the 2-channel crowd must get curious about all this recent multichannel craze that just isn't fading away. And that must be who the new P 7 preamplifier is targeted at. Either that or the company just really, really wants to define a new product category. In the case of the P7, that would be the "7.1-channel, analog-only preamplifier" category. The back panel tells the story on this unit -- a gaggle of RCA inputs (seven L/R stereo pairs and two 7.1-channel sets), with XLR and RCA outputs. No digital audio goes in, and none comes out. Bass management is done the old fashioned way, in the analog realm. Might we suggest that you spend that $2,000 on a "lowbrow" AV receiver instead? Just put it off to the side of your audio-only rig, right next to the popcorn. Let's face it -- you're slumming it with multichannel anyways, right?
Parasound's Zhd HDMI switcher
HDMI is all the rage right now and will be for some time thanks to HDCP and AACS, so we're expecting to see more of these switchboxes. Parasound is the latest to jump on the bandwagon by adding the Zhd HDMI Switcher to their Zcustom line earlier this week. The Zhd will set you back $600 (MSRP), but how else will you connect up to five HDMI sources to a single HDTV set? We don't own five HDMI-enabled devices just yet, but we're working on it. In the meantime, you can rack mount the svelte half-width Zhd in your A/V closet for future use. HDCP compliant and HDMI 1.3 certified, the Zhd includes an RS-232 port and IR remote, making it handy for home control products too.
