Parasound Halo Integrated vs Yamaha AS2100

I ended up with an A-S1100 after all. I noticed I was suffering fatigue anytime I listened to Halo for about an hour or more, which never happened with my A-S500. So I bought another 1100 and all has been well. Now that the amp has broke-in, I couldn’t be more satisfied. The second time I compared it to the Halo, i did notice a larger soundstage and greater instrument separation with the Yamaha. The Halo still had a meatier sound, only slightly, but was still fatiguing for whatever reason - maybe something drifted out of spec.

The fatigue is puzzling. I had the Halo playing Maggie 1.7I for hours always sounded great, even my classically trained musician friend would listen and express amazement at how good it sounded.

The fatigue is puzzling. I had the Halo playing Maggie 1.7I for hours always sounded great, even my classically trained musician friend would listen and express amazement at how good it sounded.

Very puzzling. It made no sense because the Halo is really quite a smooth amp, even smoother than the Yamaha. I also had Maggie 1.7is with the Halo for a while. 

I can only guess it may have had something to do with the noise floor - it always produced a low-level buzz through the speakers, something the Yamaha doesn't suffer from. I believe they claim to have lowered the noise floor with the Hint 6. 

@helomech Smooth does not mean fatigue free. I've never been able to listen to "smooth" DACs for any period of time for example. Something is just off and my brain tires. Give me any of the Chord DACs that many people find bright, but I find the timing is just right. "Smooth" DACs and amps mess with timing and wear me out.

On the other hand, I never found either my Yamaha A-S2110 or Parasound A51 to be particularly smooth. They both seem to reproduce whatever you feed them fairly neutrally with Yamaha having a tiny edge on overall detail.