choosing a receiver..

snow

blakeh wrote: »

I have to disagree with H9 about the ADCOM preamps. Both the GFP-555 and GFP-565 are great preamps that can be found relatively cheaply and would suit your needs perfectly. A search of eBay shows that a GFP-555 goes for between $109 and $165. That's a steal.

My first system had a GFP-565 and I thought it sounded great. And while the GFP-750 is certainly in a class of its own, there's nothing wrong with the two older model preamps.

$600-$750 is a lot to spend on a preamp if you're not really into 2-channel audio.

Actually I think Dudeinaroom has a GFP-555 for sale in the flea market if im not mistaken. It should be in very nice condition. It was probally an 8 out of 10 when he got it from me the only reason for that rating was simply due to age. there was not one scratch anywhere on it, and I think it was in the $150.00 range.


Ok i found a link. http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55394&highlight=adcom+gfp-555

REGARDS SNOW

thejck

any views on any of the adcom preamps with tuners?

snow

thejck wrote: »

any views on any of the adcom preamps with tuners?

Yes I have had the GTP-500 and 600 both. they sounded nice but for some reason they both developed problems. The 500 would once in a while go crazy and start zooming from station to station lol. I have no idea why and it would only happen every so often.

The 600 one channel would go in and out periodically it was probablly a bad solder joint or something but aggravating.

Other than these minor problems they were both nice units.

REGARDS SNOW

thejck

the guy thats selling the amp has a gtp 400 that he can sell too. think I should go for it or try looking for something else.

@H9 I know the limitations provided by MP3 and the quality they offer. I want to build a system that I can grow into. I have read that your listening ability grows with time and I dont want to be able to build upwards and not have to tear it down and then start rebulding.

I also use Kernel streaming from my chaintech however I didnt have to flash my card. The driver that I used had the option to select between 44.1 and 44 on PCM. I tried it out my playing a dts 5.1 song from my PC and the receiver detects it and plays it out in 5.1. I use foobar as my media player.

thejck

snow wrote: »

Yes I have had the GTP-500 and 600 both. they sounded nice but for some reason they both developed problems. The 500 would once in a while go crazy and start zooming from station to station lol. I have no idea why and it would only happen every so often.

The 600 one channel would go in and out periodically it was probablly a bad solder joint or something but aggravating.

Other than these minor problems they were both nice units.

REGARDS SNOW

Do i sacrifice anything by going with the adcom preamp/tuner compared to just the preamp. like how you are saying that just a preamp will give you a lot of advantage over a receiver?

gdpeck

heiney9 wrote: »

Adcom makes soild gear that I continue to own myself.

I know picking on typos is juvenile, but dude you should clean that soild gear up. Start with a damp cloth.;)

snow

thejck wrote: »

the guy thats selling the amp has a gtp 400 that he can sell too. think I should go for it or try looking for something else.

Hard to say without knowing what it is that he wants for it and the condition of it. I have personally never listened to the GTP-400 so I cant voice an oppinion one way or the other regarding its sound qualitys.

REGARDS SNOW

thejck

snow wrote: »

Hard to say without knowing what it is that he wants for it and the condition of it. I have personally never listened to the GTP-400 so I cant voice an oppinion one way or the other regarding its sound qualitys.

REGARDS SNOW

he wants a 100 for it says its unscratched. i can talk him down maybe since i am buying both. also i can have him bring it by to try it out but since I dont have anything to compare it too i woudnt know. anything I could look at if I demo'd it?

also would it be approriate to ask him and a smart idea to open up the gfa-555 and check out the inside for capacitor issues?

snow

thejck wrote: »

Do i sacrifice anything by going with the adcom preamp/tuner compared to just the preamp. like how you are saying that just a preamp will give you a lot of advantage over a receiver?

Well you will almost certainly sacrifice something of course. How much and will it be noticeable to you is another question.


If you have 2 similarly priced units and one has a tuner and one doesnt, of course the one with the tuner being priced the same has to give up something in quality or features to be sold for the same price. And you have more things that can wrong. If the tuner section does go bad then you will have to give up the entire unit to to the repair shop while its being fixed, versus if you had a seperate tuner than you would still have your pre to use while the tuner is being fixed.

Also I think I think I read earlier that you might try using your receiver in a seperate room some distance away, if so then you will most likely have to give up using a nicer set of interconnects which will almost certainly negate any real audio improvements gained by using a seperate DAC. In my oppinion you would be far better off getting a pre and getting it as close to your amp as possible, then adding a DAC if you want. I happen to have A DAC that I would part with if your interested in getting one for a reasonable price.

Either way if you choose the adcom with or without a tuner section it will still be a vast improvement over your receiver.

REGARDS SNOW

heiney9

thejck wrote: »

also would it be approriate to ask him and a smart idea to open up the gfa-555 and check out the inside for capacitor issues?

Inspecting and demoing gear is always a great idea if it can be done. The 555's have no capacitor issues other than old age. The only thing to look for is stuff leaking or possibly a bloated cap. By the time you can visually see the electrolytic leaking there is usually already an issue rearing its ugly head as far as how it sounds. Crackley channel or cutting in and out or not woking at all or blowing rail fuses.

You will need a special (small) Torx type bit to get the top off.

H9

snow

thejck wrote: »

he wants a 100 for it says its unscratched. i can talk him down maybe since i am buying both. also i can have him bring it by to try it out but since I dont have anything to compare it too i woudnt know. anything I could look at if I demo'd it?

also would it be approriate to ask him and a smart idea to open up the gfa-555 and check out the inside for capacitor issues?

I agree with H9. I think it would be a good idea to look at the inside of the amp yes. If the bue caps are oversize or leaking than avoid it. as far as the $100.00 pricetag goes for the GTP-400 listen to it and if it sounds good to your ears its worth a 100 bucks. if it doesnt then go for something else. The average used retail for the last 2 weeks on the GTP-400 is $88.00 on ebay for whatever thats worth. I would myself rather spend an additional $50.00 and go for the pre that Dudeinaroom has because I know what it looks and sounds like. I owned it before he got it from me. but of course its more money and a little extra time involved with shipping. as far as what to look for on the GTP-400 goes make sure all connections and features work. good luck to you either way.

REGARDS SNOW

thejck

i am thinking about the pre that dudeina room had i will pm him.
i am not really that interested in getting a tuner right now anyway.
gave up that idea of using a receiver that was far away. i want either a receiver with a dac built in and pre outs or a preamp and a seperate dac. just trying to compare the 2. options i like the idea of seperates cause that way i can upgrade as i go along.
as far as the capacitor issues on the amps. i will listen to it and try to visually inspect it. if there is damage(i will ask to drop the price at that point) are those caps replacable or will the work be worth more that the money to buy it.
he said he used it with a a pair of LaScallas and never had any issues with it.
do you know the number of the torq bit needed is??

thejck

well there goes that option for the pre.. i sent him a PM but I guess someone else already had it pinned down.

heiney9

thejck wrote: »

i am thinking about the pre that dudeina room had i will pm him.
i am not really that interested in getting a tuner right now anyway.
gave up that idea of using a receiver that was far away. i want either a receiver with a dac built in and pre outs or a preamp and a seperate dac. just trying to compare the 2. options i like the idea of seperates cause that way i can upgrade as i go along.
as far as the capacitor issues on the amps. i will listen to it and try to visually inspect it. if there is damage(i will ask to drop the price at that point) are those caps replacable or will the work be worth more that the money to buy it.
he said he used it with a a pair of LaScallas and never had any issues with it.
do you know the number of the torq bit needed is??

1) the dac's built in to the receiver aren't always better than the ones in your player. Most stand alone's are better, again not always. SO don't buy a receiver based solely on this premise

2)Caps are replaceable for not a whole lot of money, personally unless it was a rock bottom deal why mess with a broken component. If there is any spillage the cost will be quite high as the labor to strip and clean parts is tedious.

3) seperates in general will give you better bang for you buck and are gnereally more flexible.

4) I think you are on the right track

H9

AGAIN: The GFA 555 has no known capacitor issues.

thejck

if the caps look good and the sound is good. is there anyway to check against cap issues in the future. or is it doomed to happen?

heiney9

thejck wrote: »

if the caps look good and the sound is good. is there anyway to check against cap issues in the future. or is it doomed to happen?

Electroytic caps have a shelf life of about 20 years on average. Nothing can be done to prevent them from getting old. Only time will tell and you might start to notice diminishing sound. Don't worry about it, if it sounds good now there probably is no problem.

My Adcom is 20 years old and I notice no problem whatsoever.

H9

thejck

any thoughts on a denon pra-1500

snow

thejck wrote: »

any thoughts on a denon pra-1500

It was around 1k new in 1989 if that helps any. It might prove diffcult to get parts for now would be my biggest concern. one sold recently on audigon for $145.00


REGARDS SNOW

thejck

it has a remote woohoo

you know anything about these denon dap-5500 preamp with dac
http://cgi.ebay.com/Denon-DAP-5500-RARE-VINTAGE-DAC-pre-amp-NR_W0QQitemZ230162315021QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230162315021

snow

thejck wrote: »

it has a remote woohoo

you know anything about these denon dap-5500 preamp with dac
http://cgi.ebay.com/Denon-DAP-5500-RARE-VINTAGE-DAC-pre-amp-NR_W0QQitemZ230162315021QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230162315021

It was one of there best units back in the day. Very well made it had balanced outputs which are nice. Of course once again there is always the issue of finding parts for this if it fails.

REGARDS SNOW

thejck

i hate this goddamn city man i got the 2 rti12 sitting in my basement and i cant turn them on

heiney9

thejck wrote: »

i hate this goddamn city man i got the 2 rti12 sitting in my basement and i cant turn them on

Rub and caress them a little bit that'll turn them on . I know what you mean just have some patience and make sure toi get something you'll be happy with and not just something so you can get 'em hooked up.

H9

thejck

i'm definitly getting the adcom amp for now. i am not sure if i will get a second one in the future to run them in mono. as far as the pre i have been thinking about it and also what you said about my source. maybe i am better off getting a used receiver there is a guy here with a denon avr-1907 for 200 bucks
save some money and then get a good pre and dac in the near future.
reading up some of ure older posts h9 and you have a bunch of guys that live near you lucky fellow. how far are you from collinsville IL.

Systems

I run mine on 2 Outlaw monblocks at 200 Watt each. You can pick 2 up for about $625 strait from outlaw.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/2200.html


Buy them new and live with your warrantee and not worry how old they are of how they have been treated. They run my Rti12's fine. If you think they aren’t enough, then get 4 of them and biamp the Rti12 with all of them

RTi12's are GREAT bang for the buck speakers and Outlaws are GREAT bang for the buck amps. Put them together and they are pretty much the best bang for the buck you can get out there

thejck

nad 1240 preamp???

never mind the guy is not willing to sell it by itself..

thejck

or a nad t761 receiver

thejck

well crap what a day. this morning i woke up thinking i would be listening to some good music tonight but its all crap now.
the guy with the gfa-555 came by and one of the channels was not working. said he had them for a year not used and i guess it suffered the capacitor fate...he was just as bumed as me. so i guess i am on the market for an amp as well as a pre and a dac....

thejck

are there any adcom amps that are comparable to the gfa-555 but newer
i want about the was watts rms and the ability to do bridged mono

snow

thejck wrote: »

are there any adcom amps that are comparable to the gfa-555 but newer
i want about the was watts rms and the ability to do bridged mono

yes. http://cgim.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/bb.pl?adcom&1&listmodls&3&4&zz&zz simply click on any of these to do a search on google about any of these amps.

REGARDS SNOW

thejck

Parasound Power Amplifier HCA 1500A any input is it worth going over to audition those?