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Whatever happened to Adcom?

Mrv8q

Mrv8q

Audiofool
In reading the "classic audio snob" thread, the Adcom 555 is mentioned several times. I owned a 555 very happily, in fact, lots of Adcom gear; I still have some pieces in daily use. But.....

For what seemed to be a popular company 20 to 25 years ago, they seem to have nearly disappeared. I know there was an initial digital piece that was terrible, GSA 700?, an early pre/pro, but was that enough to diminish them? Audio Advisor repped them for a short while, several years ago, that was short lived.

Any Adcom adherents out there that would care to comment and enlighten me?
Has time cruelly marched on and left Adcom in the past?
 
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hjames said:
Weren't the original Adcoms designed here and built under contract elsewhere?
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from Stereophile, 1990:

As has been the case with other Adcom products, the 565 is completely American in design, and although the main printed circuit board is manufactured in the Far East, final component assembly and testing are done right in East Brunswick, NJ.
 
Gotta hand it to them - they arent wasting money on aesthetic fripperies. :D

Welcome.png


Hook that up to one of the Empirical Audio DACs + a suitable plain Jane pre and you've got a stealth system that will confuse potential thieves and audio snobs alike.

overview.jpg


Sonically, I have absolutely no idea what that combination would be capable of, but it would be great to hide everything bar computer and speakers. 'Sure, active floorstanders - sound pretty good, dont they ?'. :thmbsp:
 
estreeter said:
Gotta hand it to them - they arent wasting money on aesthetic fripperies. :D

Welcome.png


Hook that up to one of the Empirical Audio DACs + a suitable plain Jane pre and you've got a stealth system that will confuse potential thieves and audio snobs alike.

overview.jpg


Sonically, I have absolutely no idea what that combination would be capable of, but it would be great to hide everything bar computer and speakers. 'Sure, active floorstanders - sound pretty good, dont they ?'. :thmbsp:
Click to expand...

Googled that dac thinking "affordable? sleeper? giant killer?".

And..... looked at the price.

Not this year.
 
Agreed - Steve would tell you that his DAC is the best thing shy of 5k, and the reviews seem to support that, but its a lot of money for something that looks like it would sit better in a server rack at a data farm.
 
I was a rep for Adcom for a while about ten years ago. It's not well known that the company started out as a manufacturer's rep firm. Their first product was a well-respected cartridge, back in the '80s.

Around 2000 or so, they began importing KEF, which hadn't had much of a presence in the US for a while. A decision was made to throw all their efforts behind KEF, as the Adcom line was suffering from lack of updating. That part of the company was sold off, and what remained has become KEF USA. Several of the original folks are still involved.
 
Wow... I just took a look at their current product line. Pathetic. Their power amps support balanced inputs, but their preamps don't have balanced outputs, nor any sort of phono support. Home theater processors, gone. Receivers, gone.

Another company that seems to have gotten stuck in time like an audio version of Groundhogs Day. Maybe they should just drop a toaster in the bathwater and call it good...
 
cubdog said:
I've heard good things about that new 555.

cubdog
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I use the new Adcom GFA-555se and a GFP-565 preamp for my Magnepan 1.7's. I'm quite pleased with the combination. The sound has much greater midrange clarity than when I was using the old GFA-565 mono amps. The GFA-555se has a little gold sticker on the back near the power cord that says "made in taiwan"
 
cycletemp said:
I use the new Adcom GFA-555se and a GFP-565 preamp for my Magnepan 1.7's. I'm quite pleased with the combination. The sound has much greater midrange clarity than when I was using the old GFA-565 mono amps. The GFA-555se has a little gold sticker on the back near the power cord that says "made in taiwan"
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IIRC, Adcom has/had a long-term relationship with a factory in Taiwan that produced most of their amps. Even on some of the earlier products that were "assembled" in the US, the boards came from Taiwan. That factory has worked with quite a few different US marketers; chances are if you see a high quality amp that says "Made In Taiwan", it came from those folks.

Did you know that some of their amps were designed by Nelson Pass?
 
Adcom still makes decent gear, particularly the "new" 555 which I had the pleasure to hear, but it's quite a ways away from their GFA-5802/GFP-750/GCD-750 heydays. And their products are not the bargain giant-killers they once were.

As tumbleweed mentioned, a few pieces were designed under contract by Nelson Pass (unlike Nakamichi's PA-5/PA-7 amps which are often attributed to Pass, but only licensed the STASIS design from Threshold- they were, ultimately, designed in house; or for some baffling reason, the Citation Sixteen by h/k with which Pass had no involvement). The original GFA-5x5 series amps, as well as the GFP-750, and the GFA-5800 were all Pass designs (and it shows in their simple but very effective circuits). He may have had his hand in designing other Adcom gear too.

Last I knew, Adcom was a "brand" under Emerson Radio Corp (yes, that Emerson Radio), but now appears to belong to a J&B Distribution I've never heard of before.
 
For the heck of it...

I filled out the 'Trade-In and Upgrade' online form at adcom.com

My GFA-5500 for their new 555

Will be interesting to see what trade-in value they will offer me.
 
Frank Sol said:
For the heck of it...

I filled out the 'Trade-In and Upgrade' online form at adcom.com

My GFA-5500 for their new 555

Will be interesting to see what trade-in value they will offer me.
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Wow!! Someone works on Sundays (NO COMMENT YET on their offer)


XXXXXX,

Thanks for contacting us about the trade-in program. The trade-in

of your GFA-5500 for a GFA-555se will work as follows:


GFA-555se $1299.

Shipping 40.

Subtotal $1339.

Less trade-in -275.

Less loyalty discount -55.

Less shipping discount -40.

Total $969.00


At the time you place your order you will pay the discounted

amount of $969, we will ship the GFA-555se immediately and

you will have 30 days to send us your trade-in.


Let me know if you have any questions or would like to place

your order. Note that the trade-in program will end July 31st.


Thanks

Jim

Jim Donnelly

J&B Distribution / ADCOM-USA
 
1tumbleweed said:
On their offer: considering bottom value on your amp is mid-300s, and could be up to $500, I'd sell it on my own.
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I'm not itching to sell the 5500 but have been thinking about it...

About Adcom's offer: IMO he is $100 off and would have to provide a FedEx return shipping label (free shipping for my 5500 to them)

Add ^ those ^ and it would be an OK deal
 
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