ADCOM 5400-Sunfire TGP-3

SDA1C

I must preface by saying I prefer 80's and 90's rock. A rather eclectic soul as it were when it comes to tolerance but I like what I like. Let the biases be ware but for the most part I judge on individual characteristics and not on genre'. That having been said, I tried 5 different genre's and 2 songs in each. Lounge Jazz, Classical Composers, 80's Rock, Reggae and Acoustical Blues.

Speaking recently to a fellow member I decided to try the ADCOM 5400 behind the Sunfire TGP-3. This is a match that I had not heard previously and was anxious to listen for myself. I immediately went to Shoutcast and gave it a whirl. The speaker placement is not optimal but it is familiar as I often times run my surrounds (RTA11T) as stereo left and right with the fronts (SDA1C) either off or unplugged at times.

I was surprised actually at the gain in higher frequencies right out of the gate that had me reaching for the treble control. As I surfed the different genre' on the Shout I had a very clear understanding of where the suits were dealt.

First and foremost I gained what I would guess was close to 6 db of noise if not more! Whether that is due to sensitivity or lack of filtering I do not know but it was substantial and undesirable. I am sure this had some effect on the gain in high frequency but with less than 2 hours audition I can only speculate at this point. It will however lend a good refrence to further audition and save a reference point for further comparison after a few days of peace and music.

First impressions are just that but are as follows...


The good;

Did get farther into the pre before registering or hearing any distortion.
Some bass/treble shift and adding a sub made it sound Very Very good.
Chili Peppers sounded like sex after some tonal adjustments and sub compliment.
Really picked up in instrument detail.

The not so good;

Large Gain in noise/ noise floor
Seemed to make a for the worse trade off of mid range for high frequency.
Seemed to lose vocals
Seemed echoey (is that a word?)
Overall a little shrill for my liking.

I know I am comparing a bit of the apple to orange here but I figured I should try it seeings how I hadn't heard the combo yet and didn't want to pass up the opportunity. Overall It did well and I am impressed enough to leave it in place for the next few days to listen a little more with some specialized media. Does it even hold a candle to my 425..?? No! But we already knew that. I was pleasantly surprised at the performance however given what the 5400 is being compared to.

tonyb

Well, at least your trying different things, as far as what you heard, could be lots of reasons for the added noise. Grounding, cabling, sensitivity, source....I assume you used the PS3 to spin. Could also be the Adcom is showing some signs of some work needing to be done to it.

Your post brings back memories of myself about 15 years ago. Trying all sorts of different things, trying to find that synergy. You can't describe the sound your looking for, but you know it when you hear it. This cable to match this gear, that amp, this amp, that speaker, this speaker, reaching for the treble control, playing with subwoofers, this combo sounds great for this type of music, not so good on another. I pretty much was driving myself nuts. But....by trying things, you gain some experience and narrow down that synergy your looking for. From trying different things myself, some obvious conclusions became apparent. Find a speaker that does every genre well, and tubes have to be somewhere in the mix. I left a subwoofer out of the equation too, for 2 channel listening. Seemed I could never get one to gell the way I wanted for all music types. The sub would sound great on rock, not so good on jazz. Boomy on one song, tight as a baby's **** on another. I know subs have come along way today, so maybe some of you guys have more success than I did with a sub in 2 channel. I just got tired of always having to adjust something for different songs, I wanted to just enjoy the music. Sound like you ?

Kudo's anyway for getting your feet wet with a variety of gear, It's the only way forward.

SDA1C

Thanks for the Kudos Tonyb.

I didn't spin anything. It was all on the Shoutcast. The noise I hear is most likely the difference in crossover parts quality as the 1c have been modified and the 11t have not. It's more of a too much high freq than an actual floor I guess. When they are sitting idle they are dead quiet so I sort of rule out the Adcom needing work. It sounds good don't get me wrong...just a serious tattle tale on the differences between xover's and 125 vs. 425. I wasn't going to try my 1c on but now I am. to see if the "static" goes away.

SDA1C

Huge improvement there. U2 tells the tale no matter what your trying to compare...I also find the internet sources are awfully bright and that certainly doesn't help. Looks like a xover rework on my 11t is in order.

Now to put this back together and get my sound back:biggrin: