Adcom GFA 545 II

[jocko_nc]

I have been playing around with a new amp lately, an Adcom GFA 545 II, and have finally had time to listen closely...

Quite impressive amp. Lots of that 80's vintage punch, perhaps a bit strong on the bass. I have to potentially watch the volume with certain tracks at high volume. I do play loud at times. The sound is so much more dynamic through the old Adcom than through the modern Yamaha RXV650 itself. Nite and day different, with Adcom the winner. There is something to be said for the current the heavies put out. Detail and clarity, however, are outstanding, better than I had expected. I had a GFA 545 once (not version II) and it was not hardly this impressive. Perhaps it was more abused in its prior life and had some issues. ???. This unit is virgin.

Great amp for the money. (I paid nothing) There must a lot of these out there, a great amp option for thise on a budget. Get the version II, (per Adcom) there are significant upgrades inside.

jocko

[kexodusc]

I have been playing around with a new amp lately, an Adcom GFA 545 II, and have finally had time to listen closely...

Quite impressive amp. Lots of that 80's vintage punch, perhaps a bit strong on the bass. I have to potentially watch the volume with certain tracks at high volume. I do play loud at times. The sound is so much more dynamic through the old Adcom than through the modern Yamaha RXV650 itself. Nite and day different, with Adcom the winner. There is something to be said for the current the heavies put out. Detail and clarity, however, are outstanding, better than I had expected. I had a GFA 545 once (not version II) and it was not hardly this impressive. Perhaps it was more abused in its prior life and had some issues. ???. This unit is virgin.

Great amp for the money. (I paid nothing) There must a lot of these out there, a great amp option for thise on a budget. Get the version II, (per Adcom) there are significant upgrades inside.

jocko

I have a couple of 535 II's connected to my yamaha receiver. They're excellent inexpensive amps with a lot more power than the ratings indicate. I had an original 545 for a while. There aren't really many differences in the II version that contribute to sound quality, they upgraded the terminals, fixed a few minor annoyances consumers had with the originals. If you can find a "II" version great, but if not, there's nothing glaringly inferior about the originals.
The main guts remained the same though, psu, caps, heat sinks, etc..I have a service manual that includes all 6 models as well as an "Li" version or something with thermal protection circuitry and few other changes, I think it was European?

[DavidFrey]

I have a gfa-535II and a gfp-555 (preamp).

I realize that comparing amps to preamps is apples and oranges, but the gfa-535II seems like a much more solid unit. If the amps and preamps use the same metal casing, the II series is thicker and the connections are less flimsy.