About the Parasound Halo JC 3+
Refined, powerful phono preamp
Refined, powerful phono preamp
Parasound's JC 3+ brings out warm, rich detail in your vinyl, above a near-silent noise floor. This is Parasound's best phono stage, and it's an improvement over its predecessor, the JC 3, which was itself famously well-regarded in high-end audio circles. You can make the most of your moving magnet or moving coil cartridges by using the left- and right-channel 3-way gain selection switches — with knob-controlled adjustments for moving coil cartridges. And you get balanced and unbalanced outputs for connecting to your favorite amplifier.
Strong, silent type

Elegant design under the JC 3+'s hood shows dual mono circuitry in discrete aluminum enclosures, and low-carbon steel partitions isolating the power supply.
Everything about the Parasound JC 3+'s topology tends toward a dead-silent background. Each channel is isolated inside its own aluminum enclosure. The R-core transformer has the advantages of low noise, low loss, and high efficiency. There's even a built-in AC line conditioner.
Parasound brought its A-team to create the JC 3+. John Curl's elegant circuit design, Carl Thompson's efficient circuit board designs, and Bob Crump's premium internal component choices all work toward the same goal — vanishing noise.
The legacy of John Curl
The JC 3+ features circuitry designed by by John Curl, a legend in audio engineering. He started his career in the 1970s, designing tape and video recorders at Ampex, and he had a hand in building the Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound. Curl has worked with Parasound since 1989, designing all of their high-power amplifiers and more. The power supply, transistors, capacitors and other parts in the JC 3+ were chosen to offer high performance at a reasonable price.
Product highlights:
- compatible with moving magnet and moving coil phono cartridges
- dual monaural design — each audio channel separately enclosed in an extruded aluminum enclosure
- 3-way cartridge select switch for each channel:
- moving magnet: 47k ohm
- moving coil: 47k ohm
- moving coil: variable 50-550 ohms — independent knob adjustment in 10-ohm increments for each channel
- signal-to-noise ratio: 87dB (MM)/87dB (MC)
- total harmonic distortion: < 0.01% at 1 kHz
- selectable mono or stereo output
- R-core power transformer
- low-carbon steel partitions isolate power supplies and AC wires
- built-in AC line conditioner prevents AC noise
- AC polarity reverse switch can reduce hum in many systems
Connections:
- 1 pair unbalanced RCA inputs
- 1 pair unbalanced RCA outputs
- 1 pair balanced XLR outputs
- 3.5mm 12V trigger input and loop output jacks
Dimensions and warranty:
- 17-1/4"W x 4-1/8"H (with feet) x 13-3/4"D (2U rack spaces)
- rack-mountable with the Parasound HRA 2, sold separately
- weight: 19 lbs.
- warranty: 5 years
- Our 60-day money-back guarantee
- MFR # JC 3+ SILVER
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Features & specs
Features | ||
---|---|---|
Cartridge Type | --- | |
Subsonic Filter | --- | |
Adjustable Resistance Load | --- | |
Adjustable Capacitance Load | --- | |
Vacuum Tube | No | |
Connections | ||
RCA Inputs | --- | |
XLR Inputs | No | |
RCA Outputs | --- | |
XLR Outputs | No | |
USB Output | No | |
Specs | ||
Signal-to-noise Ratio (MM) | --- | |
Signal-to-noise Ratio (MC) | --- |
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