Adcom GFA5500 2ohm stable? & house wirinig

Yea, I am definantly not rushing into it. I have a friend who is going to make the enclosure for me (he's doing the entire entertainment cntr) & when I know how much room I have to play with I will then decide on which sub.

I guess I will have a better idea when the amps are hooked up what I should do. I have also heard great things about bryston amps & finding one of their amps used might be a option but due to their cost that will be a while.

That is a good idea though, using my adcom for something else..... like if I do end up with 7.1 they could be used on the kappa video's.

Yes, I do prefer Parasound to Adcom. I'd stay with what you have for the mains and surrounds.

I also would not rush into a sub until you're sure what you want. A homebuilt is a great idea if you're hand - there are plenty of designs out there. Another option is to use the Adcom on the surrounds and use the Parasound on the subs.

Are parasound amps any good? I thought those amps are better then my adcom so I was planning on using those to power my speakers. Would I be better off to purchase a new/used amp to run my kappa 8.1 main speakers.... & then do a sub at a later date? Or use the parasound amps for the subs & all surround speakers & buy something better for the mains..... ??

I was planning on trying a pair of Image Dynamics IDQ drivers however a few people have steered me to 15" Tempest-X or th 12 in Shiva-X which they claim will perform better & cost me less. I am not sold on buying a prebuilt sub enclosure/amp due to how small the enclosures are & also being stuck to whatever amp is provided. I am trying to determine how much room I have to build a box & also waiting on the new specs for the tempest-x that is suppose to be released in a few weeks.

I also thought I could always try my Adcom & when I can afford to get something better for the subs I could upgrade at a later date? I thought giving my main speakers the best amp is my best bet....

Well, it really depends on what subs you're getting. You could consider powered subs, which would be better than subs and the Adcom.

There was a posting here a while back by a woman who bought B&W 801s and was disappointed with the bass. She was running them off an Adcom 200 wpc. Everyone suggested getting a "better" high- current amp. She did, and it changed everything.

It's not all about wattage when it comes to amps. There is a difference.

yea... used is what I plan on doing!!

Room size is 13 across x 21 long with 8ft ceilings. 15ft of one side opens up to another room & about half of the back wall opens up as well. My girlfriend is moving in with me & we are combining stereo's.

Presently she has a 10yr old yamaha receiver (my denon is 16yrs old) which will be upgraded in a year to something.... cross that bridge when I get there. My speakers are better then her's so we are using these....

Main speakers Infinity Kappa 8.1 vII's
Rear surrounds Infinity Kappa 8.1VII's
Center Infinity Kappa Video (& I hope to do 7.1 with same Kappa Video's on side of room)

each front Kappa 8.1 will have a parasound amp powering it & the rear 8.1's will share a amp. Not sure the model but around 200w per channel (girlfriends amps).

Sub-not 100% sure on what I will be using, we are redoing my house & not sure exactly how much room I have to work with. Either a pair of 12's or a pair of 15's is what I want to use.

hoefully that helps....

I've never been a Carver/Sunfire fan at all, but that's just my opinion. Please give us room size and all associated equipment and speakers, and then you'll get recommendations.

Generally speaking, I would not recommend Adcoms for a sub. You can do much better for under a grand (used).

So whatcha got?

Any suggestions on what amps I should consider? I only paid $400 for my amp.... probably can't go much more then $1000 for whatever I would buy. I have had my eyes on sunfire stuff.... how are their amps? I saw they have a amp that's 600x2?

The GFA 5500 I used to have back in 99 ran very very hot. They are decent amps for the money but you can get much better for not alot more. Just my opinion. Yes 2 subs will take a big load off the amp for sure. That might be the best route to take.

awesome.... thanks for the input everyone!!!

My car audio adcom stuff is stable below .5 ohms but I didn't think their home amps were built like that. I guess I need to either get 2 subs that will allow the channels to run at 4ohms.... or fund a different amp to buy which is definantly a option. I only have 1 gfa-5500 now & maybe instead of buying a 2nd adcom I should look elsewhere

So 2 20amp lines is what I will do .... & thanks for the tip on the better grade outlets!!!!

Back again.Please use a Hospital grade outlet
by a good brand name like Hubbell. It will
give a better connection,resulting in less
noise,and cooler running connection.

I've re-read your question about dedicated power line to your system,with that wattage you may need more than one 20 amp line if you ever really reach 3600 watts at one time. The majority of the time will be a fraction of that.If not, two 20 amp lines should work. One 20 amp should supply 1800 watts non stop figuring a 75% duty factor.At peaks would be 2400 watts for a 20 amp circuit.I think a 115% load should trip a breaker pretty fast. I think these should be close figures.I hope a electrician gives some advice.I can't guarantee any of these figures.I am not an electrician!

Running a dedicated 12 gauge line from your panel sure
doesn't hurt.After reading Adcom's manual,on page 6 it says
loud volumes with 3 ohms at high levels can be a problem.
A subwoofer pumping out low frequencies won't sound loud,
but sure can put a load on a amp.If there are lower
frequencies than your sub can produce,it will draw
power without putting out any audible sound or subsonic
vibrations.The low pass crossover makes a difference too.
You have to be careful.I wouldn't go below 4 ohms myself.
A power conditioner will help clean more dirty power coming
through your present or dedicated power line.It depends on your budget,and hearing preference.I hope I've helped some.