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General opinion about ADCOM amplifiers

I was just curious to get everyone's take on ADCOM

I want to upgrade from a reciever to an amp/pre-amp for HT.

I have been looking into Nohr's Le Amp and Le amp 2, i see stuff on the web that says these can go toe to toe with $2000+ Bryston amps, however, im a firm believer that you get what you pay for.

So ive also been looking at ADCOM, there are alot of inexpencive ADCOM amplifiers in the classified.
Ive seen 150w per ch for under $1000, which is kinda the area im aiming for. unfortunatly, money is a limitation.

I know alot of people here have had Adcom and i am curious to see what he general opinion of these amplifiers is. Ive seen them at high mid-end / low high-end retailers but never heard them.

My reciever can double as a pre-amp for 5 channels, which is what i will be using untill i get a good pre-amp with 7.1, then i want to run a couple real good solid powerful monoblocks to the fronts and use the 5ch amp for the rest.
Eventually, those front speakers and the monoblocks will get slowly released from the HT and converted to a 2chan setup.

opinions on adcom? Good value for the money? Over rated? reliable? do they break down?

i got some good stuff, but this reciever part is killing me. It sounds GREAT until you apply any heavy volume, then the amplifier in the reciever loses control and things start to distort. Ugh. Yuck
audiophanatik
tspec's avatar
tspec
6 posts
 
04/11/04...Yes, i am in general agreement with Adcom amps which are good amps, a little strident in top end. In response to Gmood1..the Denon POA-amps were called the poa-1500, 2200 which I own @ 200wpc very smooth and liquid in midrange, never sounding harsh. Also there is the 2400 and 2800 series. BTW, I have a my Denon POA-2200 up for auction on Ebay now...MINT Condition..tring to upgrade to the McCormack DNA 125 Amp.
tspec
jzzmn88
58 posts
 
My first amp was an Adcom 535 Mk. II which I have since given to my brother to use. However I feel that it is still an awesome value. It has never given me one once of trouble in the 10 years that I've owned it. The sound is a little on the harsh side but for $250 I can't complain about it. Its 60 watts/channel is adequate for most speakers. I used it with NHT 2.5i's with no problems at all.
kgveteran
377 posts
 
I use the 555mkII in bridged mono(two of them).They each power one 15" sub apiece.They crush.Quiet,no fans and used about 400.00 each.My two cents.
foobagger
6 posts
 
Adcom 5802 is my best value purchase to date. < $900 on ebay, in pristine shape. I have no experience with modern high-end stuff, so can't debate inaudible subtleties with anyone, but comparing to the Denon AVR-3803 receiver I had been using with my Maggies: piano used to clank, now piano sings. Sweet, natural, open, refined all come to mind. A great match for Maggies. I have a sub, so amp only boosts frequencies above 60Hz, but from what I've read, it excels in deep bass.
Runs hot and no trigger on/off are two most significant issues to consider. Also size and weight.

This amp is really a great bargain. It makes a big difference in my system.
photon46
1,076 posts
 
I used to own an Adcom 545 that I used to drive a pair of small Magneplanars. It was a very satisfactory amplifier, quite reliable as well. I don't think the Belles 150a Hot Rod that replaced it sounded any better with Magneplanars. The adcom preamp/tuner paired with the amp at the time was MUCH less musical than the amp. An inexpensive Cambridge preamp pounded it sonically. Having talked with other Adcom owners, I've heard the same sentiments as well. Good value, musical power amps, rather mediocre sonics on many of their preamps.
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