I went and did it

limashaynut
limashaynut Posts: 152
edited January 2006 in Electronics
Well, I went and blew a few more clams! I won a Adcom GFA-555 amp on ebay today. I was looking to upgrade the fronts in my HT setup. I had been kicking around getting either a Adcom 555/5500 or a couple of Outlaw M 2200 amps.

While I had hoped to get the Adcom I won for close to $200, some last minute snipes drove the price up to a even $300. Despite this, I still thought it was a good deal, the pics showed the amp to look to be in near mint condition. If this amp works out, I guess I will try to pick up a Outlaw for my center in the future.

Any feedback you guys could give me (a bit after the fact) on the Adcom GFA-555 would be great. Are they really as good as their reputation? I guess what I am asking, is this 300 well spent in your experience? I had also heard that the build quality of the older 555 was in fact better than the new 5500, is there any truth to this? Lastly, if I get a Outlaw M 2200 for the center in the future, how do you think it will work with the Adcom for the fronts, and my Denon driving the SR and SRB speakers?

Anybody got a used Outlaw they want to make me a offer on that I can not pass up! :p
Jerry

Denon AVR-3806 7.1
Outlaw Audio M200 (RF,C,LF)
Sony KDFE42A10 LCD
Directv H10-250 DVR
Sony DVP-NS90V
Sony RDR-GX315
JVC Super VHS
Polk RTi8 m
Polk CSi5 c
Polk RTi6 sr
Polk Monitor 30 srb
Polk PSW505 sw (I know, I know, get an SVS!)

PLUCK THE CHICKS!
From A Former Fan
Post edited by limashaynut on
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Comments

  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,221
    edited January 2006
    Well, I've been a fan of Adcom for a long time and $300 is a reasonable price for the 555. I feel for the $$$ they are hard to beat. I'm not sure you'll find a whole lot of people here that like them. Most either have no opinion or are negative. Much like you seem to find about Polk on other audio forums. Personally I don't think there's much of a basis for the Adcom bashing. That's always puzzled me :confused: . I sold Adcom along side many others and feel they are a great sounding amp to be had a bargain prices. Feel very confident in your purchase.

    As far as Outlaw, I really have no opinion. I could take them or leave them. I've looked at their basic design and it doesn't really strike me as all that remarkable. One thing to consider is amp matching for all your channels, so maybe another Adcom or two will work out better. But if you are just talking a center channel amp then perhaps the Outlaw will work just fine. Believe it or not amps have their own sound signature so mis-matching may or maynot be an issue. Hopefully other HT persons will chime in on this.

    I think you will be in for a treat when you hook the Adcom up. What speakers are you running?

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited January 2006
    heiney9 wrote:
    What speakers are you running?

    I'm pretty sure they're listed in his sig. ;)


    I would agree than 'amp-matching' could play a role here. At least for the front three channels. As I have read others on here say, how would you like to be watching a movie and have some guy who's talking move from the left side of the screen to the right side, only to have his voice sound different when it gets to the middle (non-tambre matched speaker or different brand amp) and then go back to the original sound when he gets to the right side. Could be annoying, I'll bet.
    George Grand wrote: »
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,221
    edited January 2006
    audiobliss wrote:
    I'm pretty sure they're listed in his sig. ;)

    Thanks Bliss....I saw that after I posted the ? :p
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited January 2006
    Good solid amp.
    Good solid price.
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • limashaynut
    limashaynut Posts: 152
    edited January 2006
    Thanks for the feedback guys, will let you know how it sounds when it gets here. As for the Outlaw not blending in well with the Adcom, that was a concern, but I am getting the cart before the horse, I have not heard the Adcom yet!

    Can not wait to try out on of the Lord of the Rings, and a bit of 2 channel music with this baby.
    Jerry

    Denon AVR-3806 7.1
    Outlaw Audio M200 (RF,C,LF)
    Sony KDFE42A10 LCD
    Directv H10-250 DVR
    Sony DVP-NS90V
    Sony RDR-GX315
    JVC Super VHS
    Polk RTi8 m
    Polk CSi5 c
    Polk RTi6 sr
    Polk Monitor 30 srb
    Polk PSW505 sw (I know, I know, get an SVS!)

    PLUCK THE CHICKS!
    From A Former Fan
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,221
    edited January 2006
    Listen awhile and then let us know how it worked out for you! :cool:

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • SKsolutions
    SKsolutions Posts: 1,820
    edited January 2006
    I no longer own one, but the Adcom is built like a road-amp, and sounds like a studio-amp. It's got a straight line topography and solid PS & output stage. I'll be in the market again soon, and I am just remembering how good they were for the price. I may follow you on that amp decision.
    -Ignorance is strength -
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  • keith allen
    keith allen Posts: 734
    edited January 2006
    Congrats on the adcom!
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