Adcom GFA 555 II

Dave38
Dave38 Posts: 101
edited May 2014 in Electronics
Some of these amps had the detachable power cord, others didn't. Was there an advantage to having the detachable cord?
Post edited by Dave38 on
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited January 2008
    Easier to upgrade. The stock cord is a 16ga. You can easily upgrade even with the built in cable. All you have to do is open the top, and look where the wires go. It is fairly open in there. If you do decide to do the upgrade be very cautious around those big caps. They still hold a charge for a while after turning off the power, and unplugging it. Also use heavy duty crimp connectors, and solder them in place after doing the crimp to keep those high voltage cables from pulling loose.
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • Dave38
    Dave38 Posts: 101
    edited January 2008
    Thanks. Mine's got the detachable cord. I don't see a need to upgrade it.
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited January 2008
    Check the wire. It is probally 16ga, and an upgrade is in order. A 12/3 carol wire can be done less than $80, and has good results in SQ one the cheap.
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • Dave38
    Dave38 Posts: 101
    edited January 2008
    Where can I look at purchasing this cord if I do go for a cord upgrade?

    The detachable cord is 3 prong.

    I'm thinking I can go here. http://signalcable.com/magicpower.html
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  • Dave38
    Dave38 Posts: 101
    edited January 2008
    ben62670 wrote: »
    It is probally 16ga, and an upgrade is in order. A 12/3 carol wire can be done less than $80, and has good results in SQ one the cheap.

    How would the SQ improve by replacing the power cord?
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited January 2008
    The stock power cord is a cheap little 16ga wire. When you bump it up to 12, or more you gain capacitance. Its kinda like having an air tank in-line with your air hose. I tried to find a thread with good analogies. If you are running cheap speaker wires, and IC's I would take care of them first, and then the power cable. The stock power cable is like lamp cord. The same ga as your CD player. It does meet the UL listing, but barely.
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • WilliamM2
    WilliamM2 Posts: 4,775
    edited January 2008
    Dave38 wrote: »
    How would the SQ improve by replacing the power cord?

    It won't.
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  • Dave38
    Dave38 Posts: 101
    edited January 2008
    This is a detachable power cord, thick. It looks to be 14 gauge.
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited January 2008
    Bill doesn't believe any cable make a real difference. Anyways I would invest in good IC's, and speaker cables first. Then I would go for the power cable.
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • Dave38
    Dave38 Posts: 101
    edited January 2008
    I have Canare Star Quad for speaker cables and signal cable for interconnects.
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited January 2008
    Thats good. With a power cable upgrade you should notice a difference. Keep your eyes open, and you should be able to find something used cheap. If you don't notice a difference you can always sell it, and recoup your investment.
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • vonnie123
    vonnie123 Posts: 326
    edited March 2008
    A little after the fact to the conversation, but for archive purposes, I just upgraded the 2 prong 16 gauge line (non detachable) on my GFA-555 to an inexpensive 14/3 round cord with an FNT trap. Had to punch out the strain relief connector hole to 3/4" for the new plastic strain connector, and changed the fuse holder to accomodate the larger wire. The old fuse holder on the Adcom was also glued to the chassis, in addition to being attached by the retaining nut, so it was damaged beyond repair upon removal. Replaced the fuse holder with an older style military version. The grey color provides a little character. One of the power cable terminals is soldered, one of the terminals is on a female connector at the power block, and finding a ground was pretty easy. Works good. The 16 gauge zip cord was probably due replacement after 20 years of use.
    [
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited May 2014
    This content has been removed.
  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited May 2014
    Ben is no longer with us
    ..
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  • deafbykhorns
    deafbykhorns Posts: 150
    edited May 2014
    While your upgrading the power cord, do yourself a favor and install an 8/3 copper from the electrical panel to the outlet. Pigtail the outlet with #12 using a nice Hubbell hospital grade device. Changing the amps power cable is a waste of time unless you take my advice.
    Main System- Scratch built 2A3 , Lightspeed preamp, Technics SP15/Graham/XV1s,Klipschorns w/ALK xovers/Trachorns, Speakercraft MT8(4), Sonos ZP90, Yamaha Aventage for surround
    Office System- Adcom GTP500, Bedini 45/45,Lexicon RT-20,Enlightened Audio DAC, Polk SDA2.3TL, Northcreek Borealis
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  • bthogan
    bthogan Posts: 151
    edited May 2014
    nm, zombie thread
    Marantz CD6004
    Adcom GFP-750
    McCormack DNA-1
    Polk LSi9s
    Signal Cable ICs
    Blue Jeans cables
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