Jeff*G

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $395.00 from Ebay

Summary:
Very tight control of my JBLs, bass is hard hitting. Bought this off of eBay to use as a second amp to contrast my old Technics MarkII. Runs a bit hot, and to my ear sounds better after really heating up. Originally I wanted to try something THX rated. At the time I bought this (1999) the THX rating was hard to come by, and expensive. I found an amazing deal and took a chance, it was well worth it. The thing was 'as new', with box and manual.

Strengths:
excellent bass response, very strong overall sound. Truly excellent stage, blows visitors away.

Weaknesses:
none come to mind

Price Paid:  $900.00 from Local Music Store in

Summary:
I have been using this amp with my Mirage M5si speakers since 1995. When I first bought my speakers I could only afford the Adcom 545II amp. A good amp, but the difference when I switched to the 9505 was significant. The bottom became much tighter, the midrange cleaner, and the top more extended. Overall, a clearer and more controlled sound. The Adcom is still a good amp, I have it packed up in the garage, someday I know I'll use it for another system.

Strengths:
Very powerful, good at controlling the bottem end, extended highs that are not shrill or painful.

Weaknesses:
Heavy.

Similar Products Used:
Adcom GFA 545II

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I bought this amp because of reviews of similar productin magazines. I did not audition it anywhere. Even thought I had the option to return the unit, I kept it because it exceeded my expectation. I used it to drive a pair of Apogee Centaurs Minors, which are fairly power hungry. The Rotel 980 could not drive the Apogees, but the 9505 drove them at ease. Bass is limited by the Apogees but clearly better with the 9505. Mid range is really sweet, it is just right. It has a clear sound stage. The speakers simply disappeared. It never failed to impress visitors. I have tried to use the balanced input, directly from the balanced output of my Theta DAC, but I did not like it. The unbalanced input is more natural. The best possible sound when I used a passive preamp.

Strengths:
Clean, clear sound stage. Control of bass. Drive low impedance speakers with ease. Build quality.

Weaknesses:
Too cheap. None really.

Similar Products Used:
Rotel 980

Price Paid:  $2000.00 from Sam Ash

Summary:
When considering Amps, I spent a long time auditioning high end products like Macintosh, PS Audio and Theta. this was all very confusing unjtill I walked into Sam Ash to brouse at the commercial products I spotted a Hafler 1500 studio amp in the recording room and asked to see the specs. I was impressed by the huge band width, but the unit was very ugly with a separate volume control for each Channel (poinless resistance)I ask is Hafler had better component, that when I was introduced to the "Special Order" 9505. In the few Years that I have used this amp I have built quite an audiophile system to which the 9505 is still the heart. The 9505 continues to impress me everytime I listen to any music ranging from orchestral to heavy rock

Strengths:
Huge bandwidth Every detail of Music, studio and audience is revealed. No humms or added background noise. Silent parts of a musical track are realy silent, and a roaring concert put you right in the audience

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
Hafler 9303 better specs, smaller amp less power

Price Paid:  $1400.00 from Audiogear.com

Summary:
I am very pleased with the sound quality of this amp. Clear, grain free highs and midrange, excellent retrieval of low level detail, well defined bass, and a spectacular wide deep soundstage. This amp and the Paradigm Studio 100 Loudspeakers were made for each other. Compares favorably with Sim Moon's W-5 for much less money. Could not possibly justify spending more on an amplifier. Shop around as prices vary widely.

Strengths:
Build quality, reasonable price, balanced and unbalanced inputs, floating ground switch for minimum hum, and above all, sonics.

Weaknesses:
Needs room to breath as this amp is biased fairly high and runs hot.

Similar Products Used:
Rotel RB 1090, Moon W-5, Hafler 500.