★Carried & Installed
Parasound amplifiers · Kansas City.
IntegrateIT carries and installs Parasound across the Kansas City metro — the power amplifiers behind a theater processor, the stereo electronics in a listening room, and the zone amplifiers in a rack that feeds the rest of the house. One precision first, because the trade is sloppy about this word: Parasound is a line we carry and install under distribution, not one we hold our own dealer agreement on, so we do not call ourselves an authorized Parasound dealer. What we are is the people who size the amplification to the speakers, build the rack, wire it and commission what we install. Phone: (913) 804-7575 or office@integrateit.tech.
What we carry and install from Parasound
Parasound lists its amplifiers, preamplifiers and zone amplifiers together on one page, and the groups below follow its model names. Names and channel counts are Parasound’s own. We specify, install and commission to order, so the exact units for your room come off the room plan.
- HALO amplifiers. The A31 (three-channel), A51 and A52+ (five-channel) and A23+ power amplifiers, with the HINT6 integrated amplifier and the P6 preamplifier. Parasound pitches the A51 at home theater: it works with any AV receiver or processor that has pre-outs. That is the case for a separate amplifier in a home theater, where the receiver or processor does the processing and the power behind the front and surround speakers comes from a chassis built for it.
- JC amplifiers. The JC5 stereo power amplifier, the JC1+ and JCM250 single monoblocks, and the JCA100 Tribute Monoblock, sold as a matched pair. A monoblock is one amplifier per speaker, which is how a stereo pair or a set of front channels can be driven when each speaker gets its own chassis.
- NewClassic electronics. Parasound’s NewClassic (NC) series: the NC 2250v2, NC 2125v2 and NC 275v2 power amplifiers, the NC 200INT integrated amplifier, and the NC 200PRE preamplifier, which Parasound calls a true two-channel control center for records, streams, TV and movies. This is the stereo end of the range, for a living room or a listening room.
- ZoneMaster zone amplifiers. The ZM12, ZM4 and ZM2350. Parasound describes the ZM12 as a 12-channel zone amplifier in a compact 2U rack unit: six zones, each switchable between stereo and summed mono, with a speaker-level input for sources that have no pre-outs and a 12V trigger input for each zone. It is the amplifier a rack-fed whole-house audio system is built around, and it goes in the rack build beside the network and the sources.
- ZC models for control systems. The ZC ZPre3 is a compact stereo preamplifier that Parasound lists as Control4-ready, with two-way RS-232 and volume feedback, a 12V trigger output, an IR input and a Control4 driver. The ZC ZAmp V3 is a compact stereo amplifier in a 1U chassis with a 9 to 12 volt trigger and audio-sensing turn-on. They are the parts that let a small stereo zone sit inside a smart-home system rather than beside it.
- Phono stages. The JC3+ and JC3Jr phono amplifiers and the ZC ZPhono and ZC ZPhonoXRM. A phono stage sits between a turntable and the rest of a two-channel system, and a room with a record player needs one somewhere in the chain.
How we put Parasound into a room
- Count the channels first. An amplifier is sized to the speakers: how many channels, how hard they are to drive and where the amplifier will sit. We settle those from the room plan, then choose the model.
- Pre-outs and the signal path. A power amplifier needs a source with pre-outs: a receiver, a processor, or a preamplifier or integrated amplifier that has them. We confirm the pre-outs on the receiver before the rack is drawn.
- Zones on a trigger. Zone amplifiers switch on from a 12V trigger or by sensing audio. We choose which, so a keypad press in the kitchen wakes only the amplifier it should.
- Control by driver where there is one. Parasound lists a Control4 driver for the ZC ZPre3. Where a unit has none, we use triggers and IR, and the proposal says which units are driven by software and which are not.
- Rack, air and the record. Rack-unit height, airflow, labels and settings go into your project record, so the next person to open the rack knows what each unit does.
Where Parasound sits beside the other lines we carry
Parasound is the answer when a receiver’s own amplifiers run short or a rack needs a zone amplifier, and the other lines answer different questions. McIntosh is the choice when the electronics are part of how a listening room looks; Parasound is the choice when they live in a rack out of sight. NAD Electronics is the other rack answer, from the whole-house audio side. And a room whose speaker count fits in one chassis may need no separate amplifier at all; a Denon receiver on its own covers that room.
Common questions
Who installs Parasound in Kansas City?
IntegrateIT (Overland Park, KS) carries and installs Parasound across the Kansas City metro — theaters, listening rooms and whole-house audio racks in homes on both sides of the state line, from Leawood and Prairie Village to Mission Hills and out to Lee’s Summit. To be precise about the relationship, because the trade is sloppy about this word: Parasound is a line we carry and install under distribution, not one we hold our own dealer agreement on, so we do not call ourselves an authorized Parasound dealer. What we do is specify the amplification against the room, wire it, commission it and document it. Phone: (913) 804-7575 or office@integrateit.tech.
Why add a separate power amplifier to a home theater?
A receiver or processor does the thinking; the amplifier does the pushing. A receiver puts the amplifier for every channel in one chassis, which is why a room with many channels or hard-to-drive speakers can run a receiver out of headroom. A separate power amplifier takes over the front and surround channels while the receiver’s pre-outs feed it. Parasound pitches the HALO A51 for this — it works with any AV receiver or processor that has pre-outs — and lists three- and five-channel HALO amplifiers. We check that the receiver has pre-outs for every channel before the rack is drawn.
What are the ZoneMaster models for?
Parasound describes the ZM12 as a 12-channel zone amplifier in a compact 2U rack unit, for music or voice across multiple rooms in homes or businesses. It has six zones, each in stereo or summed-mono mode, a speaker-level input for systems without pre-outs, two bus inputs that can be routed to any zone, and six 12V trigger inputs, one per zone. Parasound also lists the ZM4 and the ZM2350. A zone amplifier fits a house that wants music in several rooms from one rack; the zone plan comes first and the model second.
Does Parasound work with Control4?
Parasound lists the ZC ZPre3 as Control4-ready, with two-way RS-232, volume feedback and a Control4 driver. The ZC ZAmp V3 and the ZoneMaster models are switched by trigger rather than by a driver: a 9 to 12 volt trigger and audio-sensing turn-on on the ZC ZAmp V3, and a trigger input per zone on the ZM12. We say on the proposal which units are driven by software and which by trigger, so the keypad on the wall does what you expect.
Does Parasound make anything for a turntable system?
Parasound lists the JC3+ and JC3Jr phono amplifiers and the ZC ZPhono and ZC ZPhonoXRM beside its preamplifiers. A turntable needs a phono stage in the chain — a separate box, a preamplifier or integrated amplifier that has one, or one built into the turntable — and we decide which when we plan the room, so there is not a spare in a drawer.
What happens after the install?
Every unit is labelled and its settings are recorded in your portal with the room plan and the model list. Levels are set at the listening seats, the triggers and any control-system programming are tested room by room, and the rack drawing is kept with the project. Our installation carries a five-year workmanship warranty from the final invoice.
Tell us the speakers and the rooms. The amplifiers follow.
Or read about whole-house audio · home theater · rack builds
Written by Daniel Alon, founder of IntegrateIT LLC, with twenty years in IT and AV integration — Control4 Platinum Dealer, Crestron Elite Partner, Lutron Certified Installer, CEDIA member, HTA Certified. Overland Park, KS.