Adcom Gfa-555

[GMichael]

I see a lot of these Adcom GFA-555 amps available on Ebay. Is there a problem with this model? Is there some reason why everyone seems to be looking to sell theirs?
I have heard good things about Adcom and I am in the market for a 2 channel amp around 200w/ch. I would like to bid on one of these but not if they have a history of problems. Has anyone here owned one of these, or heard any news?

Thanks

[kexodusc]

Nothing wrong with Adcoms at all, the GFA-555 is just an older model from the late 80'/early 90's. After years of use, people are just finally unloading them. Advantage: you. Age shouldn't matter, amps can last for decades if well maintained, and their a lot cheaper than today's 200 wpc amps.

Those units have a ton of power for cheap. Their not the most refined sound. Adcom's tend to be fast, in your face, sounding, but not displeasing. They do tend to intrdoduce a tad of brightness(or detail, depending on your point of view) compared to say, Rotel, or Parasound. I like that though. One of the better values IMO, I've owned a few Adcom units, and have a few 535II's right now.

For the money these go for you'd be hard-pressed to find as solid a 200 wpc amp that sounds as nice, which is why they sold so many of those.

Err...you sure you need 200 wpc? My RX-V1400 has the same power supply as your receiver, essentially the same power too. Those 60 wpc Adcom amps I have have a lot more real juice than the receiver and never sound strained at all (if you look around you'll find real measurements on them, they're closer to 100 wpc than 60).. More power is better to a point, but your speakers aren't exactly power hungry, you might find a slightly smaller amp is just as good for your situation...could save you a few bucks..
Or just settle for 200 wpc and don't look back...be careful though, your speakers power rating is the thermal dissipation capability of the speakers voice coils (electrical rating), the real world mechanical rating of power handling is almost always significantly lower. Woofers reach their mechanical limits below 60 Hz often at less than 25% of the rated powerhandling.

[GMichael]

Nothing wrong with Adcoms at all, the GFA-555 is just an older model from the late 80'/early 90's. After years of use, people are just finally unloading them. Advantage: you. Age shouldn't matter, amps can last for decades if well maintained, and their a lot cheaper than today's 200 wpc amps.

Those units have a ton of power for cheap. Their not the most refined sound. Adcom's tend to be fast, in your face, sounding, but not displeasing. They do tend to intrdoduce a tad of brightness(or detail, depending on your point of view) compared to say, Rotel, or Parasound. I like that though. One of the better values IMO, I've owned a few Adcom units, and have a few 535II's right now.

For the money these go for you'd be hard-pressed to find as solid a 200 wpc amp that sounds as nice, which is why they sold so many of those.

Err...you sure you need 200 wpc? My RX-V1400 has the same power supply as your receiver, essentially the same power too. Those 60 wpc Adcom amps I have have a lot more real juice than the receiver and never sound strained at all (if you look around you'll find real measurements on them, they're closer to 100 wpc than 60).. More power is better to a point, but your speakers aren't exactly power hungry, you might find a slightly smaller amp is just as good for your situation...could save you a few bucks..
Or just settle for 200 wpc and don't look back...be careful though, your speakers power rating is the thermal dissipation capability of the speakers voice coils (electrical rating), the real world mechanical rating of power handling is almost always significantly lower. Woofers reach their mechanical limits below 60 Hz often at less than 25% of the rated powerhandling.

I think my speakers would go, "poof" if I pumped 200w/ch into them.

I am just doing a little planning ahead. After this whole house search thing is done I'd like to upgrade my current system. I have had my heart set of a set of maggies ever sense I heard a pair in a hi-end shop near Albany. My plan is to get the new Yammy 4600 to drive the center, pressence, surrounds and rears while letting a sepparate amp drive the 2 mains. The Yammy's 185 w/ch into 4 ohms should do fine with the 5 ohm mini-mags. But I want to give it a break on the fronts. The Adcom seems to fit the bill for my plans right now.

Thanks for the info Kex.