Adcom GFA-5802 -vs- Parasound HCA-3500 Amps?

I owned the 5802 and it did not have a cooling fan

Ehoehn: Hmmmm... i must be confused / getting senile. I thought that the 5802 also had fans. I can specifically remember the 5800's having dual fans ( one per channel ). Either way, thanks for correcting me. Sean
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I have had both amps in my system for a period of time.
The Adcom is a nice amp, but Parasound is definately a step up in sonic quality. Both amps are rated at similar power levels but the Adcom does not sound as powerful. On the used market now the 3500 is a no brainer unless you are considering stepping up for a pair of the JC-1's which sound really great!

John

I had the 5800 for some years andwhen it needed repaired, is where it started.Adcom wanted 450.00 flat rate and over 100 to ship it there and back.As we know you can get a used one on here for that.After telling Adcom that a used was same price there was no help.They did refer me to a repair center that kept it for a month and told me it could be fixed for half that .When i went to talk to repair center they havent even opened boxd..So after that I was done with Adcom. Now for the good news I got the 3500 last month and there isnt any contest the parasound runs circles around the adcom and the guy Tony at parasound is great, so beware if you get the adcom and it breaks. my friend has the 5802 and he isnt happy ...so theres my 2 cents worth

I'm in favour of the Parasound as well. I have heard the 3500 beast & another 5-ch Parasound. Also heard the smaller HCA-1000. All this at a dealer's show-room.
For the price, I was very impressed w/ the sound. They seemed to be engineered correctly. Their power supply seems to be desirously over-built. Cost is kept down by manuf. in Taiwan.
I have heard some Adcom but I can't say that I remember the sound!