Adcom GFA-535 mk.II - $130 shipped on e-bay.

idiot, LOL why do ya think ya gonna get it cheaper then 100 bucks... I hate when i have a auction with a great buy it now.. and someone bids and it's gone.. that's why i place a small reserve to hold the buy it now longer for others to find..

60 wpc x 2 @ 8 ohms
100 wpc x 2 @ 4 ohms

Since there is no affil to anyone here, I'll just state the MK II version has much better speaker terminals and gets rid of the A/B speaker option. The MK I version can only take smaller guage bare wire by inserting into a plastic holder and twisting a 1/4 turn to secure. That's the only negative I'd give this sweet sounding Adcom, just something to be aware of.

On a positive note is has (2) iron core transformers so it's a true dual mono design and really is a brute of an amp considering it's size and output. I ran one consistently against a couple well known high volume Japanese amps which were rated at over 4x's the power and it really held it's composure and played well beyond the others and sounded better too (less strained, more focused and still had plenty of oomph). The speakers I was running at the time were not very efficient either, a true testament to the amps capability.

The other amps with trick circuits and fancy lights and meters were no match musically for the humble little Adcom.

FWIW

H9

Toxis wrote:

I have an older Rotel amp that has a manual power button on the front. Is this one the same way? I need a smaller amp to run some in ceiling speakers but want to run all my equipment in the basement and don't want to have to manually turn it on.

If you are looking for a trigger, the Adcom does NOT have one. It's manual only for the 535.

H9

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

The 535 original kicks the MKII's ****$.

IMO of course...

I owned one 535 and 2 or 3 MKII - I regret selling the 535 to this day, the MK II (545 and 535) I wave goodbye to everyday.

The originals had a far more musical sound and to me were far better amps.

That aside, they are both great for their respective price points.

Yes, I agree although not so emphatically . I still have a MK I 545 and I wouldn't trade it for a MK II. But IMO, the slight difference in sound is less of an issue than those crappy speaker terminals (on the 535). One could always change them however. Plus, for ceiling speakers no one will know if it's the MK I or II

H9

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

Eh... no reason to hide the truth...

The MK II had horrible speaker terminals, you are right. The originals could accept like 12 awg, where as II could only accept 16...

The II also was a greyish color, where as the originals were a deep black...

And did I mention the originals were just better sounding and IMO far more powerful??

The MK I Gfa-535 had the wimpy speaker terminals. The MK II had the common 5-way bindings not to mention all the MK II series had upgraded input terminals. Didn't help the sound though .

H9

535 MK I-terminals

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

Which one do you have?

There wasnt that much difference between the GFA 545 and the B&K amp I replaced it with. The B&K looked 10 times better and had a slight increase in sound. A bit more push to it...

Good amps, good amps!

545, IMO has all the sonic attibutes of the 535, but quite a bit bit more punch and current. I prefer the 545 over the 555.

Ive had a 535 and a 555, the 555 is quite a beast but seemed pretty bright to me... i sold it and got the parasound 1200II and was thrilled.. The adcom gear is a great value though and the 535 is a cool little amp with alot of power for the rating and size