2. vintage
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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
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I don’t really think that ‘new technology’ has advanced good sound to where it has  made ‘old technology’ out of date.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
130 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.


xs1137's avatar
xs1137
49 posts
 
The Adcom GFP565 was their top of the line preamp.  Up until just a few years ago I was running a B&K ST-140 amp with an Adcom GFP555II preamp, and it still sounded good.  
rtorchia's avatar
rtorchia OP
130 posts
 
It is really amazing to me how good all this old stuff is. I use a DAC now as a preamp so this isn't seeing much use. I used to sell Adcom while working through college--back then we used to sell it with Irving Fried's speaker line or Missions, usually bi-wired with Canare cable. The Fries were superb also. 
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