Adcom GFA 5500 power button broken

Jockos
Jockos Posts: 310
edited September 2006 in Electronics
I just bought a used GFA 5500 amp. The ad said mint. It arrived today and the power button is missing. I was able to stick a long screwdriver in and power it up. It seems to work fine. The insides are super dusty. I did contact the seller; and I'm waiting for a reply. The photos he posted do have the power button. The item was packed well; and if it did break in transit it should've been in the box. If the seller is uncooperative is it hard to change the power switch?

thanks,

Jockos
Post edited by Jockos on
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Comments

  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,217
    edited September 2006
    Nice amplifier.....too bad a'holes on ebay are so deceptive. I'm sure it's not difficult to repair, I'm not sure if you can buy parts directly from Adcom or if they are reasonably priced. Chances of getting the exact generic part to fit probably are slim. Check with Adcom.

    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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  • Jockos
    Jockos Posts: 310
    edited September 2006
    Thanks, actually the seller was from audiogon and he had really excellent feedback. Just got off the phone with him and he's stumped. He seems sincere. I will call adcom tommorrow had see how much the part is.
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited September 2006
    Adcom will take care of you.

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  • Jockos
    Jockos Posts: 310
    edited September 2006
    Heiney9,
    How do you like your 545? I just got one from doro. Seems a bit edgy and bright. I'm also running 11t's. I have an adcom preamp. I ordered the RD 0194 replacements. I hope that tames the amp abit.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,217
    edited September 2006
    Jockos wrote:
    Heiney9,
    How do you like your 545? I just got one from doro. Seems a bit edgy and bright. I'm also running 11t's. I have an adcom preamp. I ordered the RD 0194 replacements. I hope that tames the amp abit.

    I've been told everything in my system is bright by others in this forum. I don't hear it, and don't nec agree. I love the 545 as I've had it since new for about 20 years now. There are probably other amps out there I'd like as much, but the I prefer the bi-polar output trannys to the Mosfets (like in the 5500), just IMO.

    I am getting ready to make some changes to the system as I've had this one since new, again for about 20 years. I don't have the RDO's yet but I will soon as I've finally decided to keep the 11's and I will be rebuiding/upgrading the x-over parts and installing the RDO's. That's my fall project. There are very few people on here that don't think the new tweets are a huge improvement, so go for it. The sl2000 has it flaws and the new silk should take care of that.

    H9

    FWIW, those power switches on that generation model were a known weak point, so perhaps it was working fine until it shipped. From what I've read it doesn't take much effort to break it.
    "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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  • Music Joe
    Music Joe Posts: 459
    edited September 2006
    ADCom GFA-5500 still in production,so you should be okay.
    If you order one (or two).
    please post how much $$ total shipped.
    I am curious as I think they are a spongy lil' thing and have been throwing the dedicated amp/line breakers instead.
    "The Web is a monoblog"
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited September 2006
    Jockos wrote:
    Heiney9,
    How do you like your 545? I just got one from doro. Seems a bit edgy and bright. I'm also running 11t's. I have an adcom preamp. I ordered the RD 0194 replacements. I hope that tames the amp abit.

    The new tweeter will definetly take some edge of that speaker.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • gwh
    gwh Posts: 1,451
    edited September 2006
    Heiney9,
    How do you like your 545? I just got one from doro. Seems a bit edgy and bright. I'm also running 11t's. I have an adcom preamp. I ordered the RD 0194 replacements. I hope that tames the amp abit.

    If you end up not being happy with that Adcom give me a hollar!;)





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  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,765
    edited September 2006
    Jockos wrote:
    The ad said mint.

    Unfortunately, one person's "mint" is another person's "average". Unfortunately, it seems that you have to ask a lot of detailed questions to get an accurate assessment of a piece of gear's actual condition.

    It looks like the top cap of the power button popped off. It looks like something that could be glued back on, if you had the missing piece. It was probably knocked off in shipping and discarded with the packing material.

    There is a lot of room in the part of the amp where the power switch is, so replacing that part will not be difficult. I replaced the power switch in a GFA-5503 (three channel version of the GFA-5500) back in Oct. 2002. The switch cost $3.00 and shipping was $3.00. The switch was working fine. I replaced it because the LED in the center of the switch was so dim that I could barely see it.
    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
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  • Jockos
    Jockos Posts: 310
    edited September 2006
    Adcom is sending me the power button and a clear tube for $15. Hope this does the trick. I opened up the amp and its there's a round plastic piece with the led in it. A spring sits in the front of this part and rests against the case; with holds the part against the switch plunger. A strange design to me. I hope the plastic part with the led is not damaged. Until I get the replacement I don't know. Thanks for the info.

    Jockos
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited September 2006
    The switch isn't often a high priority in design. The replacement should do you just right.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • Jockos
    Jockos Posts: 310
    edited September 2006
    I received the button yesterday and installed it. I carefully removed the broken clear plastic tube from the black holder(holds the led in place) and installed the new one. Used crazy glue. I then put the spring back on and carefully pushed it thru the hole. I then put the black power button over the tube and pushed it tight with glue. It works but the black button seems stick out of the recessed hole. It out almost to the edge of the recess. Is this normal? The only way I could figure out to push it in deeper would be to loosen the two nuts on the switch it self; to send it further back. However I dont have the right wrenchs. Those nuts are extremely thin. Any advice?

    Thanks,

    Jockos
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  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,765
    edited September 2006
    The front edge of the power button should stick out from the recessed hole about 1/4".
    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
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  • Jockos
    Jockos Posts: 310
    edited September 2006
    The back edge of the power button is just in front of the back slope of the coned recessed hole. Theres a tiny crack that at some angles you can see thru to the hole.

    Thanks
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  • Jockos
    Jockos Posts: 310
    edited September 2006
    Update: installed the new silk tweeter RD-0194 in my RTA 11T's paired with the adcom GFA 545 and pre. Huge difference in sound. Much more warmer and less strident sound. Excellent upgrade. Will eventually upgrade all my older polks!
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  • Music Joe
    Music Joe Posts: 459
    edited September 2006
    Jockos are the GFA-5500 and GFA-545 for two different systems?
    "The Web is a monoblog"
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  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,765
    edited September 2006
    Jockos wrote:
    The back edge of the power button is just in front of the back slope of the coned recessed hole. Theres a tiny crack that at some angles you can see thru to the hole.

    Thanks


    It is not supposed to look like that. Something is misadjusted or mis-seated. You might want to email those pics to Adcom and see what they say.
    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
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  • Jockos
    Jockos Posts: 310
    edited September 2006
    Sorry for the confusion, the GFA 5500 and 545 are used in 2 different systems. And I did manage to get the button further in by adjusting the nuts on the power switch inside the amp. Seems like the black button did not seat all the way down on the clear tube. The tube seems to be too long. Thanks
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