Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I purchased the Adcom GFA-355 mk2 on craigslist for $ 70. I did not hear it upon purchase and I
was furious when I arrived home to realize that it was blown. I took it to an audio tech shop and
he said he could fix it if I went for lunch somewhere ( about 2 hours ). It cost me $110. I got home
and connected it to a pair of old Bose 301, I could not beleive how GREAT it sounded. What a little
MONSTER amp.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This little amp saved me. Bought new speakers and old classic Parasound died on me. HELP! Need something cheap and listenable. Adding Adcom to my tube preamp I got 80 to 90% of my high-end sound back. At moderate listening levels almost no difference. Parasound was twice as powerful. Only $100 on ebay, are you kidding me? A steal for $$. Match with modest (used) tube pre-amp and your set

Price Paid:  $200.00 from eBay, others

Summary:
The Adcom GFA-535 (and its successor, the GFA-535 Mk II) is truly one of those rare, amazing values in audio. I’ve used it to drive my Acoustat 1100, Magneplanar 2.6, NHT 3.3, B&W 801 Matrix II, and Martin Logan Sequel II loudspeakers and not once has it disappointed me or left me wanting. It may not have the power of my Krells or Aragon amps, but it can stand with them on clarity, timbre and presentation. It’s uncoloured without being cold or sterile; transparent while avoiding transistor shrill; and it is revealing enough to reveal very subtle differences in recordings as well as cable and equipment combinations.

One thing I’ve found is that like other good equipment, it is sensitive to cabling, interconnects and warm-up. Some of those who haven’t been pleased with it, I can only imagine that they either have a bad combination or maybe it’s a defective unit. Of the half dozen 535 amps I’ve used, one did fall into the latter category.

Loudspeakers: Martin Logan Sequel II, NHT 3.3, B&W 801 Matrix II
Source: Krell Digital, Adcom
Preamp: Audio Research, Adcom, Mark Levinson
Cables: AudioQuest, Monster Cable, KimberKable

Strengths:
Musical, transparent and revealing. Sonically comparable to the best transistor amplifiers I've used.

Weaknesses:
None, although if it were bridgeable, that would be a nice feature.

Similar Products Used:
Audio Research, Aragon, Krell, Mark Levinson, Sunfire, NAD, other Adcom

Price Paid:  $150.00 from Ebay

Summary:
Very impressed with the GFA 535 II. Very powerful. Delivers extremely clean sound reproduction. The bass is tight, the mids and treble are crystal clear. Plenty of power on reserve. You probably won't need it. I'm using an Adcom 506 Pre Amp Tuner, with a new Denon CD DVD player. The speakers are B&W bookcase.
I love it.

Strengths:
Packed with crystal clean power, does everything it is supposed to do. Very seamless. Excellent value and bang for the buck. Small compact size, with very attractive design.

Weaknesses:
None. Exceeds all expectations.

Price Paid:  $125.00 from 1/2003

Summary:
I've enjoyed hifi for years and have a number of tube and solid state systems including Conrad Johnson, Sonic Frontiers and Adcom GFA 5802. I've owned a lot of Adcom gear in the past including GFA 555s and 565 monoblocks.

I purchased this amp for one of my kids and compared it extensively to other options. For the money this amp is unbeatable and in many respects sonically better than the GFA 555 and GFA 565s. It does not match the GFA 5802.

So why do I say this after some comparisons? Well the GFA555 and 565s have incredible speaker control and bass slam as well as great power. The GFA 535 benefits in terms of inner detail and imaging. At the end of the day it has essentially the same front end with fewer bipolar outputs than the bigger GFAs. This reduces the number of devices in the output and possibly reduces coloration. When this amp is properly warmed up and driven by a good front end system it produces good dynamics, a deep soundstage, good detail and fast transients.

Strengths:
Great soundstage and imaging
Excellent transient response
Very good build quality
Bullet proof reliability
Good power output into real speaker loads (complex loads with resistance and inductance)

Weaknesses:
Too heavy for its size (hurts me to lift it)
Plain looks (Black box) no bling bling
Not enough power for really big rooms and ear blasting sound pressure

Similar Products Used:
GFA 565 monoblocks
GFA 555
GFA 5802 (really a great amp!)
Sonic Frontier SF40