what's better Rotel or adcom?? amps & pre's

faster100

Just seeing what everyone thinks.. The rotel gear i have works fine , but seems more Adcom gear is available on e-bay and i could get a bigger amp i think with the sale of this rotel.. so is it Rotel is a bit better or just preffered.. am thinking about this is all.. suggestions and comments of real time use of both brands will be helpful

VR3

All opinion, I have never heard Rotel. But by the description, it seems to be the exact opposite of Adcom.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Originally posted by faster100
Just seeing what everyone thinks.. The rotel gear i have works fine , but seems more Adcom gear is available on e-bay and i could get a bigger amp i think with the sale of this rotel.. so is it Rotel is a bit better or just preffered.. am thinking about this is all.. suggestions and comments of real time use of both brands will be helpful

I've never owned Rotel, so I can't speak for that...

I personally don't like the Adcom all that much, I think they're a little harsh sounding, maybe it's just me. I guess it depends on what you're using if for, may not be bad to power the lows.

I'm still relatively new to the whole thing, and you probably know more than I...but I do know that I don't like the Adcoms...

Plus why are so many of them being sold on Ebay????

Frank Z

Adcom is generally considered entry level, I would rate the Rotel gear you have higher than the Adcom stuff. Soundtrack used to carry some Adcom stuff and it sounded fine, but you and I both have heard better.

It always boils down to budget and what your ears enjoy hearing. Even though I've had problems with my Anthem pre-amp I'd be lying if I said that it sucked swamp water. It really does sound good.

B&K ain't too shabby, a littled muddy during my audition (with B&W speakers).

Lexicon and Krell make some fantastic sounding equipment, but the price is way up there. I've listen to both and and can't think of any negatives. I'd love to listen to some Meridian, Boulder Audio, and Moon Audio gear some day too.

faster100

wow thanks guys for the fast responses... I like the Rotel gear.. its just i like matching gear by name brand and it seems hard to find the right pre-amp i want, certainly not a reason to dump this fine amp of course.. and it "could" be true less Rotels on e-bay because they last and people like them..

Thanks for the heads up thoughts

VR3

Lasting probally isnt a reason Adcom is on EBay.

Considering all of my amps are 15 years old or so and work like they did new...lol

VR3

Just curious, which Adcom amp have you guys heard?

The GFA-555?

AsSiMiLaTeD

Originally posted by Vr3MxStyler2k3
Just curious, which Adcom amp have you guys heard?

The GFA-555?

I listened to the 545, actually a couple of them. I've not listened to any of the other amps, just the 545.

VR3

Hmm, the 535 (original) was the one that was a great amp. The 545 to me sounds similar, not as 'sweet' as the 535, has alot more powerful sound to it.

Amps, like all audio are opinionated. I have never heard Rotel and is most definetely out of my price range.

I have gotten my Adcoms to the point where they are mated with gear where they arnt all that bright. (NAD preamp, and Denon cd player). With the Pioneer Elite and Yamaha CD player, I had major sibilance problems. There are times when I like what I hear, and other times I just shut it down.

I would love to hear Rotel, NAD, AMC amps - Especially NAD and AMC as they are in my price range. Outlaw amps are another I would love to hear as well.

Pauly

Just goes to show that if you are an audiophile there is no line in the sand,you always want *better* so to speak. I thought your (faster) rotel gear sounded very good on the M 7's. But i cant really give a valid opinion to which is better, just that its better than a straight AVR (from what i have heard). Seems like any seperate 2 chnl sounds better in its own little money sucking way

Spaz

faster100

hear hear!! that is true..... The Rotel stays

LuSh

I suggest if you are going to upgrade perhaps a reference class intergrated amp instead of lower class separates.

I have a SimAudio i-5080 (not reference) which was replaced by the i-3. Both the Moon i-3 and i-5 could give most lower priced separates a good go.

Classe' cap 151, YBA intergre' are others worthy of recognition. 10 years ago it was assumed that intergrated amps were a starting point, but some upscale companies see some clear advantages to making a one box unit.

www.canuckaudiomart.ca is a great place to find used Simaudio, Classe', and YBA stuff. The moon W3 used would be much much better then the rotel stereo amps would be.

faster100

Nah, im not really looking for anything higher end... just noticed the rotels were more $$ for less wattage compared to the Adcoms... I'm going to keep my Rotel amp... anything higher is out of my price range and i'm not an Audiophile with exspensive taste its just for a florida room 2 channel rig on the cheap, as i can... Thanks for the info non the less...