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)

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

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.

Customer Service

Never had an issue

Similar Products Used:

GFA 565 monoblocks
GFA 555
GFA 5802 (really a great amp!)
Sonic Frontier SF40

Crystal clear highs,Transparency in spades, Throws a soundstage as good as any amplifier I have owned.Quiet and unobtrusive on the music.Solidly built and will last for many years.Build quality is simply and to the point.

Cheap rail fuses.6 or 7 dollars will fix that!

When I first plugged the unit up it sounded compressed and lacked the air I am familiar with.This was noticeable even after warm up. I stubbled upon something..I decided to change the crappy rail fuses and power fuse to ceramics and upped the value a hair.Well it is a day and night difference.The 535 just opened up with a beautiful midrange. Bass is accurate and fast.Highs have a sweetness thats undeniable.This is probably the cheapest upgrade that one can do and hear a noticeable difference.Totally unfatiguing and musical.. hooked to a pair of Green Mountain Audio Europas. Playing some Alison Krauss the images are solid without etch.There's also depth and a connection with the music. These amps should be paired accordingly with the proper speakers.One cannot expect a 60 wpc amp to push inefficient behemoths.Pair these little amplifier with a decent monitor and cables.And you might be surprised just how musical the 535 can be. And don't forget to change the fuses to a higher quality.Without a doubt a best buy for anyone looking for great sound for an affordable price.I've had $$8000.00 plus in two channel systems and this budget system for around $1200.00 trounces it for pure musical enjoyment. How many other amplifierss with dual transformers can you buy for under $200.00? I only know of one!

Similar Products Used:

Adcom 585 limited edition,Music Reference RM9,McIntosh,Berning,Amber,Monarchy and others

Good response across the frequency range, well built, good value for the price, very adequate power for most speakers, excellent for a reliable secondary system (e.g. den or bedroom) if you like separates.

Doesn't have the euphonic burnish in the midrange that a tube amp will give you.

This is the GFA-535II model, with the improved speaker binding attachments, gold input jacks, and some improved components (capacitors?). It is a very solidly made, excellent solid-state amp. It provides very nice detail, has excellent response in the bass, midrange, and treble. Very even responsiveness, sweet sounding, neutral in comparison with a tube amp (which I also have several of), doesn't have the euphonic burnish of a tube amp, but one wouldn't expect that from such an amp, and maybe the euphonic glimmer is distortion, anyway...?!

Similar Products Used:

I have used a Dynaco st-120 in the past, mostly tube equipment (Dynaco st-70, Scott LK-48, Harman Kardon a-230), I also have an NAD 3220 integrated amp that the Adcom sounds somewhat similar to. Am cu

detailed low end lot of details in all audio spectrum Very Dynamics Stereo images

can sound a bit metallic on certain record

I had a Naim Nait I integrated amplifier that serves me for a while, but i needed something a bit more powerful, since the Naim was only 15 watts per channel. I use the Adcom without any preamp ( i only use a cd player, Naim cd Player) the matched level of input impedence with my cd player is a great combination. the sound is clear and detailed, great dynamics and stereo images...Some complains about the lack of bass, but Hey guys..you're no longer with you're Sony receiver with the Extra Bass turned on with the bass control fullt clockwise...!!!! the only complain, i have, it's for the high-midrange that sound a bit " metallic".. My main speaker are Proac Tablette 2000. I recommend it for those who have little 2 ways speakers and those who are sensitive to flat response amplifier...

Similar Products Used:

naim nait Quad amplifier luxman amplifier

Slim line looks. Looks great in my rack. Solid build quality, super sound for only 60 watts per.

None so far

What a nice sounding amp for the money. Very heavy for its size. One nice feature is that it has a A and B speakers. You can hook up a 2nd set of speakers. Most amps you can''t without a speaker switching box. Very clean sound, looks great. You can''t beat it for money. I don''t know where mainstream receivers get stating watts per channel, but this thing will blow away anything from Best Buy has to offer and it costs a lot less. Truly a step in the right direction for audio nirvana. Go get one

Similar Products Used:

B and K, Rotel, other Adcom products, Parasound.

Smooth, clean, well-balanced power that does not "mask" anything.

Needs to warm up before sounding its best

Will sound brittle and harsh until it is warmed up (so I generally just leave it on), but after that is just crystal-clear, with smooth and sufficient bass. Has a suprising amount of power for its 60 RMS per channel rating. Highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

Dynaco tube, Sony, Pioneer

Solid Construction, Small Footprint, Very Clear High's and Mids, Great Power Output with my 4ohm speakers.

Base is a bit weak, as other have stated best in applications where full range is not required, surrounds.

Currently on a budget and definatly at a Mid Fi level. I recently purchased (2) GFA 535II's on ebay for $200 each. Extremely with the Amps. I tried them on the main speakers but they definatly didn't have the power or the base response required to drive the 15" woofers. The high's and midrange were very clear though and I was completely impressed as compared to anything I had prevously owned, so much that I bought a GFA 545 for running a set of rear speakers off the main inputs for playing music only. Here's a rundown of my setup to date:

Yamaha 5250 DTS receiver (Last years model, has pre-outs for all channels!)
Adcom GFA 535II for Center Channel Cerwin Vega HTR CTR 4ohm
Adcom GFA 535II for Rear Surrounds Cerwin Vega Bookshelves 3way w/6" woofers)6 ohm. (forget model).
Sansui B2102 200 Watt Main's Cerwin Vega PD15's 4ohm
Adcom GFA 545 Main's (at rear of room for music) Cerwin Vega E-710's 8ohm.
Velodyne CT100 Subwoofer.

Regardless, If you have small booksheves you need to power or rear channel surrounds and are on a budget I highly recommend this amp! Great power, excellent value!

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GFA 545, Sansui B2102

Will drive 4 ohm speakers without complaint

Inadequate for bass reproduction

I have used this amp many hours and find it to be of exceptional quality for it's price range. The 535 must be warm for best perfomance. As a music listener, I highly recommend this amp for persons who live in apartments where you must LIVE with your neighbors. When driven at modest volume levels, it has few peers in it's price range and when coupled with another 535 in a bi-amped configuration will compete with amps costing much more. To utilize this amp to it's optimum, good quality cables are a must and source materials should be of good quality. I have it coupled to a pair of KEF 104MKII's that demand a 4 ohm load, so as can be seen, the amp is at the farthest end of it's capabilities.

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NAD Carver Rotel

smooth sound all around, vocals come alive, music is full and luscious with this little beast

could not handle driving my subwoofers...well at least not as loudly as I wanted...popped a fuse

I own a nak cd player, MIT terminator 4 interconnects, Kimber 4TC speaker cables and an adcom GTP-350 preamp.

I have used this amp to drive some Magnepan MMG's, Klipsch,some old KEF Q90's, a pair of Avantegarde UNO's(it can be nice to have a wealthy friend) and for kicks and giggles, a custom subwoofer enclosure (below is that silly sub story):

[I had built a sub enclosure with two 10" 8ohm Kicker competition subs run in parallel for my friends Honda and wanted to see how well the Adcom could handle such a load. It got plenty loud but when I cranked it up more, I blew a fuse...So I went and I got a new fuse, popped it in and left the lid off so I could do it again. This time I slowly turned up the volume and watched as the filament in the fuse began to bend with the increase in volume. "What the hell" I had four more fuses. Turned it up. There went the second fuse. It was so entertaining, I did it once more and kept the other fuses in case I would ever need them again. Never did.]

In all cases there was more than ample power to drive these speakers to their respective limits(except the Kickers). Believe me those Maggies are a little more demanding than some (86dB sensitivity and a 4ohm imepedence can be quite tough for some amps).
Vocals sound so alive and true with this amp...I cannot say enough about this unit. It reproduces the music with such ease and clarity. The sound is full and generous for such a modestly rated amp. With more sensitive speakers(like the Klipsch or the Avantegardes)I have found it to be that much more impressive. If only I had $10,000 for a pair of Avantegardes.
I have used other amps(some of them were integrated receivers) by kenwood, marantz, sony and carver that were similiar in price or even higher and I always ended up coming back to the adcom. It just had a fuller sound and really made vocals come through with a real warmth that the other amps just lacked. Lush and full is what I like. You may not. It always comes down to what one's personal preferance is. Mine is rich and full.
In this price range(I purchased mine used for $265) I have not found another amp that does what this one can do.
I highly recommend this amp for someone just getting into audio or on a tight budget. I only gave it four stars in the overall category because it couldn't handle the subs. It's not perfect.

Similar Products Used:

kenwood, marantz, sony, carver

Good basic amp, solid build.

Not very musical.

I have been using this amp for 8 years. This is just a good decent basic amp. Nothing special, nothing bad. Nowadays, for a retail price of $350 or so, one might find a much better amp, like Cambridge Audio or even Jolida (outstanding amps).

Similar Products Used:

Carver TFM 15, NAD, Nakamichi, Denon.