ADCOM GFA-565 Monoblocks

dcmartinpc · October 2010

I have line on a Pair of Adcom GFA-565 Monoblocks Locally. I have scoured the net and people have nothing but great things to say about these amps that I can find.

Anyone here have any opinions on these amps. Should I jump on them if the deal is right? I would be driving LSi9's with them for now, but who knows what the future will bring!

How would they compare to a Rotel RB-1090 or even a Parasound HCA-3500?

Thanks!

Don

ben62670 · October 2010

I am running them now. Bring a multi meter with you and check the DC offset. You do this by removing the speaker cable and reading the voltage at the terminals. Let us know the cost and if the capacitors have been changed.
Ben

dcmartinpc · October 2010

He says the capacitors have been changed in one of them for sure. The other one, I do not know. I am assuming I should check the voltage across the terminals when the amp is on, correct?

Any signs of the infamous leaking caps I can look for? Or is the voltage the sign that it has already happened. If their is no voltage, and the caps are still good, is it a job someone who is fairly comfortable with a soldering iron could do?

Is their a way by looking at the boards to tell if the caps have leaked and were not properly cleaned?

The price is $450 for the pair!!! Not each, for the pair!

Don

ben62670 · October 2010

With the amps on. Where are you located?

dcmartinpc · October 2010

I am in Michigan.

Don

ben62670 · October 2010

I work on those amps, but shipping would be expensive. Just do the test and get back to us.
Ben

dcmartinpc · October 2010

If they test less than 15mv, should I just pick them up. They are just over a half hour drive away, and I would like to make only a single trip. What is your opinion?

Thanks!

Don

ben62670 · October 2010

15mv is very acceptable. It is when you start getting into over 1/4vdc that you need to worry. Also let the amp warm up. A little DC offset is normal at start up.

polkfarmboy · October 2010

$450 is a steal!!!!!!

I have been looking into these for 2 ch or threshold but the cheapest I have saw these go for is $900

dorokusai · October 2010

I've owned a pair of them, not too bad and brutal power. At the price, you should already have bought them and DC offset is not the biggest thing to worry about when buying a vintage amplifier. Pop the top, make sure they work for more than five minutes and move on. The fact that capacitors have been replaced should make you pay attention but not pass them up.

dcmartinpc · October 2010

I am going to be checking them out this weekend I think. I also am working on a deal for a 5800... I am hopefully soon to become a proud owner of the GFA-565's, a GFA-5800, and I have an Original GFA-555 on its way to me now also! Somebody went a little ADCOM crazy! :eek:

In my defense, I do have a couple parasounds on the way too

Mayeb I just went Amp crazy!

Don

fbm211 · October 2010

How about a shoot out ?

dcmartinpc · October 2010

I will be doing a shoot out once I get everything. I will only be keeping a selection of the following:

ADCOM GFA-565 Monoblocks (Pair)
ADCOM GFA-555 Original
ADCOM GFA-5800

Parasound HCA-3500 Upgraded by Big Sky Audio (This is a DEFINITE keep)
Parasound HCA-1500a
Parasound HCA-1200II
Parasound HCA-2205A (I already have this amp, and it is a definite keep) - Soon to be upgraded by Big Sky Audio

I am going to go check out the 565's tonight. Hopefully they are good to go! If so, I will probably get them upgraded by Big Sky Audio in the near future also. Just to be sure they are good to go long term.

Hopefully everything checks out on them!

Don

polkfarmboy · October 2010

Lets see some pics

heiney9 · October 2010

fbm211 wrote: »

How about a shoot out ?

dcmartinpc wrote: »

I will be doing a shoot out once I get everything. I will only be keeping a selection of the following:

ADCOM GFA-565 Monoblocks (Pair)
ADCOM GFA-555 Original
ADCOM GFA-5800

Parasound HCA-3500 Upgraded by Big Sky Audio (This is a DEFINITE keep)
Parasound HCA-1500a
Parasound HCA-1200II
Parasound HCA-2205A (I already have this amp, and it is a definite keep) - Soon to be upgraded by Big Sky Audio

I am going to go check out the 565's tonight. Hopefully they are good to go! If so, I will probably get them upgraded by Big Sky Audio in the near future also. Just to be sure they are good to go long term.

Hopefully everything checks out on them!

Don

Sure that's a great idea

Take all different kinds of used amps from different sellers, all different ages and unknown usage habits and then do a shoot out to see which sounds better :eek:. A recipe for disaster and it won't really tell you which one is better as a brand/model but which one is better in this singular test.

Test them all against factory specs, bring them back to life according to factory specs and then have a listening test; that's a lot more reliable, worthwhile and intelligent.

Congrats on all your amp purchases

H9

dcmartinpc · October 2010

I definitely see where you are coming from... But I can only keep certain ones, and unfortunately I am only going to upgrade and refresh the ones I keep

So... I need to do a shootout for me personally, so I can decide which ones I like best in their default configurations, then send them off to Big Sky Audio. The HCA-3500 is going straight to Big Sky because I know I am going to keep that amp regardless. I already have the HCA-1200II, HCA-1500a, GFA-555, and the Parasound HCA-2205A in my possession. The 2205a is another keeper as I have had it for about a year, and it is the only 5 channel amp I have and I need it for my home theater Center, Surrounds, and Back surrounds. The 3500 will handle Front duty for the home theater and 2 channel. I will hopefully have the 565's tonight pending they test out correctly. Then to wait for the GFA-5800.

I can only work within my budget, unless someone else wants to pay to upgrade half of the amps

Don

twochannel · October 2010

I have had my GFA-565 monos for almost 20 years and they have been serviced twice. They replaced two GFA-555's that were used for bi-amping my SDA-SRS's. The only Adcom amp that comes close to the 565's is the GFA-5802 and I get to play with both.
Leaky cap issues weren't the only problem with the 565. Both my amps had the transformers replaced under warranty within the first year.

heiney9 · October 2010

The 5802 is a stellar amp and I'd take it every day over any other Adcom amp including the 565's.

H9

ben62670 · October 2010

I never heard of a transformer failing in the 565's.

twochannel · October 2010

I had a loud mechanical hum develope in one of the amps and Adcom requested both amps be returned. The dealer actually loaded me a pair until they were repaired. I was told that both amps had the transformers replaced. I purchased these just after their introduction and maybe their was an early quality issue. Both amps also developed the leaky cap issue a few years ago and were repaired. I don't plan to part with these anytime soon. I just wish that they had the balanced inputs available on later 565's.

dcmartinpc · October 2010

Well.... I picked them up! One of them has a DC offset of about 20mV, which is not bad at all. The other one is showing about .5V or 500mV, which is obviously too high. But... drum roll please......... I picked the pair up for $350!!! I know I will need to get the one repaired, and quite frankly, I will probably send both of them out to Big Sky Audio to get upgraded caps and make sure that they both check out. But even at about $400 plus shipping for the upgrades, these are still an amazing deal! Basically, my ending investment will be about $800 or so. You can't buy a pair of these WITHOUT the upgrades for much less than $1000.

Anybody else agree on the deal I got, even with one that needs to be repaired? I hope I didn't make a mistake!

Don

heiney9 · October 2010

Nice grab but like all things audio these have dropped in value over the past 2 years. Anyone paying more than about $600 for a working pair (no high dc offset) is paying too much. At $1K for an original un-modded pair is simply getting soaked. About 5 years ago these were about $900-1000/pr for mint examples.

That said, you did well and once they are modded/refreshed you'll have a very nice pair of amps for a reasonable investment.

H9

ben62670 · October 2010

That was a great deal. Do you have a link to the place you are talking about having them upgraded.
Ben

dcmartinpc · October 2010

Here is a link to the site, and directly to the GFA-565 upgrade page.

http://bigskyaudiomt.com/index.php?pr=ADCOM_GFA565

Why, do you want to upgrade/repair them for me Ben?

I did get them in the original boxes so shipping would be easy, wherever I would need to send them to. I could drive to Chicago, but I don't know any shops there that I would trust.

Don

ben62670 · October 2010

I can do it. I just need to work it into my schedule.

reeltrouble1 · October 2010

Alot of the guys here help each other for no cost other than parts.

RT1

ADCOM GFA-565 Monoblocks

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