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Adcom 555se


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I recently got one of these for $300ish. Mint condition. I’ve tried to use it with my current equipment but doesn’t seem to be working. I don’t want to mess anything up. I need a good preamp. So I need recommendations. It’s powering a single RF7 ii in the garage. Thanks.

 

 

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42 minutes ago, BlessedPrince said:

 

I recently got one of these for $300ish. Mint condition. I’ve tried to use it with my current equipment but doesn’t seem to be working. I don’t want to mess anything up. I need a good preamp. So I need recommendations. It’s powering a single RF7 ii in the garage. Thanks.

 

 

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Tell us what you are using with the Adcom and what do you mean by "doesn't seem to be working"?

 

Bill

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I am surprised you would say that. I have had Adcom GFA 555 amplifiers and they are a good sounding unit that can supply ample amounts of power.

Getting one in the $300 range is a very good value (performance / price). Perhaps you are confusing it with a different Adcom series.

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15 minutes ago, PrestonTom said:

I am surprised you would say that. I have had Adcom GFA 555 amplifiers and they are a good sounding unit that can supply ample amounts of power.

Getting one in the $300 range is a very good value (performance / price). Perhaps you are confusing it with a different Adcom series.

I second that motion. I have an original 555, a Nelson Pass design and it's a fine sounding amp.

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Tell us what you are using with the Adcom and what do you mean by "doesn't seem to be working"?
 
Bill

I tried hooking it up to an old A27 yammy(stereo amp). I manage to get sound out of it but had no control of the A27. It even worked when A27 was off. But the sound wasn’t what I expected. I also tried hooking it to an A S500 integrated. That almost blew up my speakers lol. No volume control. So I got it to work with with my RX A1050 yammy since it actually had pre outs. But I feel like the 1050 is limited and that for HT main use. I need something with tone controls. I also think of running the 555 in bridged mode. 600w. I feel like i need to add some bass to the 555 since it the bass sounds really tight. Too tight. I think a preamp will allow for that.


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I tried hooking it up to an old A27 yammy(stereo amp). I manage to get sound out of it but had no control of the A27. It even worked when A27 was off. But the sound wasn’t what I expected. I also tried hooking it to an A S500 integrated. That almost blew up my speakers lol. No volume control. So I got it to work with with my RX A1050 yammy since it actually had pre outs. But I feel like the 1050 is limited and that for HT main use. I need something with tone controls. I also think of running the 555 in bridged mode. 600w. I feel like i need to add some bass to the 555 since it the bass sounds really tight. Too tight. I think a preamp will allow for that.


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curious how you went about hooking it up to the yamaha & integrated?  do either of those have actual RCA pre amp outputs?  if not you should not hook up an external amp to them.  the HT receiver you mentioned with pre outs should have tone controls, but they are in the digital settings of the receiver.  i have used HT receivers as pre amps before & they will work but usually wont sound as good as a dedicated preamp.  i would suggest finding a matching adcom preamp... they aren't the best out there by any means but you can find a gtp400-500 used on ebay for a couple hundred bucks, or less.  & they sound very good for the price point.

 

is the adcom amp a true SE or the standard 555 or 555ii?  the 555 SE is a more recent amp adcom introduced with some upgrades over the original 555/ii amps, if you got it for $300 & it works thats a great deal!   i have ran the 555ii for years & they sound pretty good (for the price range) & have tons of power, the bass should be very good, depending on the speakers used.  in bridged mode they are a beast!  a friend of mine rane 2 of them bridged to some non klipsch speakers & they were insanely loud, but at high volumes lacked any detail or quality.

 

shakeydeals comment about a blessing in disguise is probably related to the fact that adcoms design has no protection circuit, so if/when they go bad they will likely take out your entire speaker!  i have read of that happening very rarely but its a possibility to keep in mind.

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curious how you went about hooking it up to the yamaha & integrated?  do either of those have actual RCA pre amp outputs?  if not you should not hook up an external amp to them.  the HT receiver you mentioned with pre outs should have tone controls, but they are in the digital settings of the receiver.  i have used HT receivers as pre amps before & they will work but usually wont sound as good as a dedicated preamp.  i would suggest finding a matching adcom preamp... they aren't the best out there by any means but you can find a gtp400-500 used on ebay for a couple hundred bucks, or less.  & they sound very good for the price point.
 
is the adcom amp a true SE or the standard 555 or 555ii?  the 555 SE is a more recent amp adcom introduced with some upgrades over the original 555/ii amps, if you got it for $300 & it works thats a great deal!   i have ran the 555ii for years & they sound pretty good (for the price range) & have tons of power, the bass should be very good, depending on the speakers used.  in bridged mode they are a beast!  a friend of mine rane 2 of them bridged to some non klipsch speakers & they were insanely loud, but at high volumes lacked any detail or quality.
 
shakeydeals comment about a blessing in disguise is probably related to the fact that adcoms design has no protection circuit, so if/when they go bad they will likely take out your entire speaker!  i have read of that happening very rarely but its a possibility to keep in mind.

Yea, it wasn’t a smart idea to do any of the things I did. Its a true SE and in mint condition. Practically new. Old guy was asking $450. Got it for $350. He has a lot of gear and was Just trying to weed out what he wasn’t using. That’s what happens when you buy too much I guess lol. I don’t like the receiver because I feel like the digital tone controls don’t work as good as the old manual ones. Regarding the circuit protection. I thought that’s why they have the fuse in the back.


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i dont know the technical details on how or why when they short out they damage speakers but did read that the fuses wont protect the speakers in that situation, too slow or something.  when they go bad they send full amperage to the speakers that the fuses wont protect. 

 

as for the sound quality, its like anything else, all depends on the rest of the system.  you cant compare an $800msrp or $300-$400 used price adcom to true high end amps that cost 2-10x as much or to a tube amp sound.  however, the adcom 535-555 amps sound very good with decent gear in the system, if i recall they are a nelson pass designed amp & get great reviews from the vast majority of people that own them.  i can say without a doubt that my 555ii's hooked up to forte2, chorus 2, k-horns or epic cf-4s & other brand speakers sound pretty darn good & IMO far better than friends systems with other same priced gear & more expensive speakers or other set ups i have auditioned at local stereo stores.  adcom & other brands are what i call mid-fi, far better than your basic best buy receivers/amps & just as good as most any same price amps/gear. all depends on the system, music taste & personal preference.... & of course what you can afford!

 

 i use an adcom gtp-500ii pre with a tuner, got it for $200 shipped a few years ago, has very good tone controls too.  most tone controls bosst bass too far into the mids, the adcoms bass controls are at like 100hz i think.   get a decent preamp & i think you will like the adcom.  

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i use an adcom gtp-500ii pre with a tuner, got it for $200 shipped a few years ago, has very good tone controls too.  most tone controls bosst bass too far into the mids, the adcoms bass controls are at like 100hz i think.   get a decent preamp & i think you will like the adcom.  


Yea, I’ve been looking into that that one. After all it’s for garage. I’m not out there everyday. Thanks for the input. Curious to see how it will sound.


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1 hour ago, Shakeydeal said:

 

I heard an Adcom 555 II with an Audible Illusions Modulus 3a and a BAT VK 3i. Would either of those qualify as "decent"?

 

never heard of either of those but i assume they are "decent" being they sell used for $1500+.  probably more than his entire garage system costs!  by decent, i meant something in the midfi price range, not a pre that cost 5x what he paid for the amp.

 

so what exactly did you not like about the adcom?  was it that it didn't sound as good as amps that cost 5x more or tube amps?  obviously they wont sound as good as some of the high end stuff some guys here own.  for their price range,  they sound pretty darn good to the average guy.  it's all about budget, not everyone can afford a $1500 pre & $5k amps.    

 

 

 

 

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2 minutes ago, EpicKlipschFan said:

 

never heard of either of those but i assume they are "decent" being they sell used for $1500+.  probably more than his entire garage system costs!  by decent, i meant something in the midfi price range, not a pre that cost 5x what he paid for the amp.

 

so what exactly did you not like about the adcom?  was it that it didn't sound as good as amps that cost 5x more?  or a tube amp?  obviously they wont sound as good as some of the high end stuff some guys here own.  for their price range,  they sound pretty darn good to the average guy.  all about your budget, not everyone can afford a $1500 pre & $5k amps.    

 

 

 

 

 

What good is a bargain if you can't stand to listen to it?

 

Seriously though, I compared the Adcom to a B&K SS amp I had at the time and much preferred my amp. They were very close in price at that time. We are talking mid 90s.

 

I said in an earlier post, since you obviously missed it, 

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But for 350.00, I guess it's hard to go wrong.

 

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