Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Adcom GFA-555 II

Anyone owned this amp or tried it out? I am looking for a 2 channel amp for about $450 and there are a lot of these on ebay. Specs are good 200W@8 Ohms 325W@4 Ohms. I will be using with the M80ti's or possibly with an old pair of Vega's. I am watching 3 units right now. I was wondering mainly about the durability and performance. I want an amplifier that is strong in the bass department, dependable and long lasting. If anyone has used one with the M80's I would like to know how they sounded with this amp. I am sure several people here have owned or currently own this model or one similar to it.

I need more power Scotty!!!

I have had a few Adcom's and I'm not a fan. That however was with my ears. You might love em!

Ever wonder why there are always a ton of these on E-Bay?

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Ever wonder why there are always a ton of these on E-Bay?

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Sine they're durable and are able to last for over fifteen years. Perhaps the user decided to sell it to invest in a multichannel receiver, multichannel amp, or perhaps they just don't have time to listen to music as much anymore. People's audio setups have a tendency to change over a span of twenty years.

Biggsly5000,
I have a Adcom GFA 5802 2 channel amp that is 300 watts per channel. I love my amp it is running with a Adcom GFP 750 peramp and a GCD cd player. Adcom is is considered Hi End Audio and I diffently agree.
Good Luck
Lee

Here is a picture.

Lee

What is that on the bottom shelf? I dont know what it is but I think I want one.

It's a Monster AVS 2000 signature automatic voltage stabilizer.
Lee

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Sine they're durable and are able to last for over fifteen years. Perhaps the user decided to sell it to invest in a multichannel receiver, multichannel amp, or perhaps they just don't have time to listen to music as much anymore. People's audio setups have a tendency to change over a span of twenty years.

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Yes people of course will change out systems on a regular basis but there is always a lot of Adcom stuff floating around for sale verus other brands that have been around a heck of a lot longer then Adcom. I think if anything, it's people not swapping out after 20 years, it's people moving to something else within a much shorter time frame...........and I find that interesting.

Keep in mind the amp we are talking about here has been around forever which also may have something to do with it.

koiman, nice looking system by the way!

Just for the heck of it I went to ebay and did a search Adcom 90 Items, Denon 656 Items Onkyo 341 Items Harmon Kardon 119 Items. This dosen't look like the majority of Items are Adcom..

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Just for the heck of it I went to ebay and did a search Adcom 90 Items, Denon 656 Items Onkyo 341 Items Harmon Kardon 119 Items. This dosen't look like the majority of Items are Adcom..

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Just for the heck of it I did the same thing except this time I kept it specific to what we are talking about here which is amps and not a brand name in general.

Adcom - 33
Denon - 6
Onkyo - 19
HK - 9

.........and that is only the US site. But really, let's relax on this. All I said is there are always a lot of Adcom's for sale versus a lot of other brands. I didn't just throw it out there without some basis before hand. Hell, check out a few of the Adcom auctions currently running, I found two sellers who are actually making fun of it....................and the one below actually made me laugh when I read the description.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=71543&item=5792430024&rd=1

I am also watching some Parasound amps. The HCA-1500A and an HCA-1200.

The HCA 1500A is a great amp!

...........and just because I know somebody is going to come along and say something:

Parasound 7 on E-Bay at the moment.

You may want to consider Rotel RB-1080. It is an awesome 200 wpc @ 8 Ohms.

MSRP USD 999, but you can actually find it used cheaper on Audiogon.

I owned a 555 and a 555 type 11 many years ago and they were both solid amps. I never experienced problems of any kind with either of them. They had limitless headroom and I'm sorry I sold them. That was back before Dolby surround and I used them with a great Lexicon processor. I then decided to sell them and go with a Sony receiver. I've been sorry for that move ever since.

By the way, could it be that there are more Adcoms on eBay because more Adcoms are sold initially than most other brands? I honestly don't know if that's the case but that figure should be considered when trying to evaluate why folks are selling them.

Photodan

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You may want to consider Rotel RB-1080. It is an awesome 200 wpc @ 8 Ohms.

MSRP USD 999, but you can actually find it used cheaper on Audiogon.

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With Biggsly's 4 ohm M80s the RB-1080 will produce 300 wpc.

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koiman, nice looking system by the way!

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I concur, nice system Lee!

Thanks Rick,
I sure enjoy it. By the way with the M80ti's this amp produces 450 watts continuous power into 4 ohms. with less than 0.18% THD.
Lee

Adcoms GFA-555 II are currently going for $350 to $400 plus shipping. Pretty good price. I am still trying to get a Parasound right now, if I can't get one I will probably try to get the Adcom. There is a Rotel that looks good too, the RB991.

Might not end up with any of them, and thats OK too. No hurry.

Real sweet set up you have there Lee.My brother years ago had an Adcom amp,I don't remmeber the model #,but it was built like a tank.I sounded pretty sweet running a pair of Klipish towers. Old school Klipish not this new crap.

Wid,
I have ordered a couple of custom made SALK VERACITY HT3 these are real sweet speakers I can't wait to get them. Check them out here. http://www.salksound.com/ht3.html
Lee

Link

Wow, those are beautiful speakers. I really like the finish.

OMG those are some beautiful speakers.Let us know how they sound.

Here is a picture I got yesterday of one of mine in the raw it will probally be a month yet before I get them. Lee

Koiman, please post your thoughts of the Salk HT3. The cabinets are absolutely beautiful--and you can have them custom made to whatever you like. I hope the sound equals the looks. On my list of speakers to lust after.
You lucky dog, you!

it is just me, or does that look like an uncarved headstone??

No it's not just you,I was thinking the same thing.It just I didn't want to be the first to say it .

Well, it's the coffin-like shape that's striking in that view. Of course it looks much better finished and just so Lee and Rita like it, everything's okay.

St.PatGuy,
Yes I will keep you posted.

Wid & Ashbroomstick,
This is a picture of the coffin when finished. This is not mine, Mine should look close since it is the same wood type.

Those are quite possibly the best looking speakers I have seen. Is that the waterfall bubinga? I've been trying to figure out ways to afford the HT1 or the QW. Some good reviews have been posted over at Audioholics. I'm very interested to find out how that ribbon tweeter sounds. How long of a wait time did you have koiman?

Anxious to hear them Lee, let me know the arrivail date and I'll be up to give ya a hand.

And Tharkun finally posts again! Where ya been, bud?

St.PatGuy,
Yes it is Waterfall Bubinga.. I the beginning i was thinking of getting the HT1 or QW but decided that this was a one time shot and to get the best Jim Salk had to offer.

The finished product looks outstanding.If they sound anywhere near as good as they look you are sure to be in for a treat .

man, we should be so lucky as to be interred in coffins that look that nice!

Been busy working on my shop preparing for a lathe and mill among other projects. Having the HT system finished, needed to get back to other things. ;-)

Aw, fine. Be sure to drop in occasionally, though!