Parasound has released details of its Z Custom Series, a range of hi-fi separates with new compact dimensions.
Measuring just over 20cm wide and under 5cm high, the line-up is a fres design for Parasound, a high-end audio specialist from the US.
The silver Z Custom Series features a Zamp v.3 power amp, a Zpre2 preamp and a Zcd CD player, with a Zdac due to follow in December.
The new components are pitched as a premium desktop or mix and match with multiroom kit for a whole home solution.
The Zamp V.3 is a two channel amplifier rated at 45W per channel and features an auto on/off via a 12V sensor or signal, level controls for each channel and fully discreet circuitry with toroid transformers.
The Zamp can be used with an AVR to power a second zone, to power a multi-room audio system, to partner the Zpre amp and Zcd for a high end desktop system or to connect to a Sonos or similar system for an audio upgrade.
The stereo pre amplifier, the Zpre2 (above), has four line level inputs, four composite video inputs and separate bass and treble controls. There's a two-way RS232 serial port, four unique IR codes to allow up to four units to be used independently within an installation, and auto on/off.
The Zcd completes the current trio. It has a built-in volume control for use without a preamp and supports playback of MP3s from a CD-R or USB flash drive.
There's a composite video output to view MP3 file names, optical and coaxial digital outputs and a rear 3.5mm input for connecting an MP3 player or smartphone. Again, there are IR and RS232 connections for home installation systems.
The Zdac Silver 192 kHz Digital to Analogue converter will follow in December 2012.
The Parasound Zamp is £399, the Zpre and Zcd are £449 each.
