Adcom or B&K preamp?

[Vistance]

I just recalled guys, now that I think of it there was someone selling a Yamaha preamp here some time back. I still have his contact info but his ad is long gone. He had a Yamaha C45 Preamp and I think it was $85. Unfamiliar with the Yamaha sound - how well would it mate to my Adcom GFA-545II amp and PSB Alpha SE speakers? Here's what it looks like (pictures from Oaktree obviously)




I do know it's a mid-80's piece (I think '86) that sold for about $600 new so it was a fairly nice piece in its time. He may not have it though, but thoughts on this preamp if he does still have it?

 

[zebra03]

So what is it that is supposedly "bad" about Adcom preamps? Kind of heard it mentioned here and there but no one has flat out told me what is supposedly their weakness. Or saea, was your reference to Adcom in general? I like Adcom amps, I liked my GFA-5300 and I like this GFA-545 II as well. Adcom stuff is cosmetically appealing to me too (The black with smooth beveled edges) - not that I let that decide what I buy.

My problem with my Adcom GTP-450 has been with the on-off button . When it quits working , I have to use the remote and it shuts off the Adcom between operations . Or it will turn off and on rapidly all by itself . Just funky .

 

[2chanman]

I would prefer the B&K preamp, except that B&K has gone belly up, to the best of my knowledge.

 

[Vistance]

Like I said guys - B&K isn't available to me anymore. Anyone have any thoughts on the Yamaha I mentioned above (C45)? Would rather just ask here than start another thread.

 

[redcoates7]

I think you'll find the Yamaha to offer very similar performance to your existing stereo Adcoms for line level sources, but if you're going to be using it for lot of record playing, the addition of a Subsonic filter and a Stereo/Mono switch is going to be very useful.

If you can do without the remote control, it might be a nice upgrade

As for the general Adcom comments, I've always had very good results with their stereo gear, but would avoid the surround processors. Most of the failures discussed on this thread refer to some of the Adcom surround preamps which had a terrible service record.

 

[DON73]

I own both B&K and Adcom amps. I can't hear anything bad coming out of my B&W 801s or my B&W 803s being powered by my Adcom 5800 amplifier and Adcom 565 Preamp the sound from both amps is clear, the bass is solid and the grainy sound so many talk about isn't there. I haven't tried the B&K amp. with the B&Ws but it's 100 watts and the 801s can suck an amplifier dry and needs at least 200+ watts to sound really good on classical music. Right now I'm using an Integra 7.6 as a preamp for the B&K with my Polk Monitor 7s. It may be the preamp but the B&K doesn't sound any better than the Integra alone. With the B&K The Integra has to be turned to -9db. before the speakers come to life. I'm getting a B&K pre pro in a few days and I'm looking forward to listening to this combination.
I went through 3 NAD receivers and they all failed. One right out of the box and the other two in just a few hrs. They sounded good while they lasted but no better than my old Pioneer SX 1010 receiver.