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Review 1 of 2
Price Paid:
$2000.00
from Jerry's Audio -PHX Summary:
In very simple laymen's term, I just recently purchased both an Adcom GTP 880 pre & an Adcom 7808 amp & and have been extremely pleased w/ the duo. I was running Sunfire's GT 2 pre & the Cinema Grand 200 x 5 thru Def Tech speaks & a Klipsch RSW 12 sub. While I was Very Pleased w/ Sunfire's system, I noticed that the sound was very bright & a bit muddier ( separation wise ) in combo w/ the DTs. Both Adcoms were purchased thru a respectable local audio shop for about $5000 out the door as low use demos. Despite being more inexpensive than the Sunfires, the Adcoms were a definite step-up in overall quality, sound, & power. There is a dramatic difference in warmth, clarity, & separation in my DTs & the Klipsch sub seemed to subtly improve in it's ability to hit when needed. For curiosity's sake, I mixed the Sunfire & Adcom units up & that is where the Adcom 880 shined. It really cleaned up the signal in all aspects of the listening spectrum. Not that Sunfire is bad, but it just wasn't as clean. To be fair, I also ran the system as both a 7.1 & a 5.1 for further comparison. In my opinion, the 880 simply cleaned house in both music & movies over Sunfire! I ran the Adcoms thru the ringer musically & in home theater by screening a variety of test cds & dvds. Zukerman's Vivaldi 4 Seasons, Brubeck's Time Out, various Buddha Bars, Vollenweider, Tool, Incubus, & even Pantera (!!!) cds were tested with stunning results. From classical to metal, I never encountered the slightest bit of hesitation ( or snivelling ) coming from the Adcom system. When I ran the 7.1 set-up, the system did a remarkable job of not over powering or coloring the 'new' 7th channel despite coming from what is essentially, a non 7.1 recording source. The new channel blended in nicely & transitioned fairly seamlessly to fill in the back half of the room. I watched Batman Beyond, The Matrix ( of course ), Miyazaki's Spirited Away,La Ley's MTV Acustico set, & Saving Pvt. Ryan as my test bed dvds. There is a part in Batman where the sound effects violently jump out & back, which was enough to make my buddy actually jump w/ surprise! The ricochets, explosions, & spent brass falling on the ground in S.P.R & The Matrix took on new levels of realism that I have never experienced before w/ my system. Jaw dropping! La Ley's set was absolutely crystal clear musically & I could swear that even the picture clarity improved on my 50'' HD when I watched Spirited Away!
Overall, after having run this direct comparison, I am extremely pleased w/ the quality of both the 880 & the 7808 Adcom & prefer it over my Sunfire system. The biggest difference for me was the inclusion of much more warmth & depth coming from the Def Techs. The hook-up was also much more straight forward w/ the 880 & the on screen feedback is very well thought out & simply to follow. I must state that while I am obviously not an expert audiophile, who is rating ultra high-end equipment, I do know what pleases my ears-& my ears are Very Happy now! I also have a fairly extensive level of knowledge & range in almost every category of music & movies! You want to really test a systems' capabilities, try listening to both classical & metal in the same sitting! The Adcom more than held it's own w/ any & everything I threw at it! I am also currently negotiating to borrow a friend's Martin Logans to really check things out! I'll write back if this happens. For anyone wishing to spend about 5k for a system, the Adcom is an excellent contender in the audio fracas of competing separates. Sure, if you have more money to spend, then spend it to whatever limits you can handle! While this is no Krell or Mark Levinson level of sonic quality, I think that for quality & bang for the buck, the Adcom 880 more than holds it own! & while we're here, don't confuse the old Adcom w/ the new Adcom. A bunch of Cal Audio Labs people are behind this rebirth of this company- from what I hear from my sources. They obviously studied economics & value as well. On value alone, I would give Adcom a 5 out of 5. Sonically, there are few systems that can touch Adcom at this price range. & yes, I have enjoyed listening to some very expensive systems ( i.e. Krell & M.L. ), but I am still unwavering in my appreciation of Adcom's excellent effort. Good job, Adcom!!! Strengths:
Incredible value & sound for the price! Simple, yet aesthetically pleasing silver & black faceplate . Very intuitive set-up & operation. An incredible amount of connection options on the back panel, but.... Weaknesses:
.... there are no balanced XLRs or DVI hook ups, but I am not missing them as much as I thought I would. I think the lower price may have contributed here? Similar Products Used:
Sunfire products
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5 of 5
