2. vintage
  3. 163778-75156

Adcom circa 1990 amp and preamp

I went to a local vintage audio shop here in rural PA to get a cheap system for my basement. They had an Adcom 565 preamplifier and a 545 type 2 amp. Back in the day I had a 545 coupled with one of their tuner preamps and the latter was not so great. I hooked the new setup to my Larsen 6.2 speakers and Rega Apollo CD player and was shocked at the quality of the sound. The pre is amazing with more than satisfactory phono and headphone capabilities. The Adcom sounds wonderful and now I am using it as my main system for a while. Ok, a tube fan might complain the treble is a trifle harsh but that is mere opinion, and nothing a Black Ice tube DAC can’t cure. I also got a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 7s and they are amazing. 
My main system is the Exogal Comet/Ion that cost thousands of dollars. I love it but the new vintage system holds up quite well and cost $700. Am I crazy or what? 
128x128rtorchia
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,496 posts
 
jasonbourne52 

I was in Robert's basement on Howard auditioning stuff. Grodinsky designed great pieces. Cheap switches and all.
I'll bet it sounds fine pushing the Sumo.

mike_in_nc
1,121 posts
 
A system doesn’t have to be perfect to be engaging and enjoyable. It doesn’t even have to be accurate. The Adcom stuff was very good for its time, and I’m not surprised it’s fun still.
normansizemore
601 posts
 
Doesn’t surprise  me either.  I have plenty of friends with current high end rigs, and I personally think my system has more touch, tone and feel than anything my buddies own. 
I don’t really think that ‘new technology’ has advanced good sound to where it has  made ‘old technology’ out of date.  
Good sound is good sound regardless of what era or technology it comes from.  To think otherwise is kinda silly, isn’t it?
 N
rtorchia's avatar
rtorchia OP
132 posts
 
Hafler is another example of this phenomenon. Their amplifiers are very highly regarded by knowledgeable people. I have some new high quality components but would have no problems sticking with Adcom and Hafler. And now you can hook up your DAC to the amp and use it as a preamp and get all the benefits of streaming. 
213runnin
914 posts
 
Adcom was very successful for a reason, full stop.  They still make amps, btw, and are still very capable products.   I have the GFA 565 SE being driven by a very transparent tube preamp, and the combination is jaw dropping at times.


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