Fast punchy bass, Detailed, Good soundstage, Good resolution with low distortion and noise for an amplifier at this price.

The detail can become bright in the wrong system. If you have a warm, laid back cd and/or preamp this is a good amp with a good amount of power. It did well powering Vandersteens which are 87db sensitive. THIS AMP RUNS HOT!!!

This amp radically changes sound with the interconnects that are used. Silver interconnects can sound very harsh and digital with the wrong front ends. It is worth playing with speaker cable and interconnects to get the "right" sound. The brightness also diminished significantly with the addition of an Audible Illusions tube pre-amp. However, utilizing a Parasound preamp drove my wife out of the room. The bass was overpowering and the sound was so harsh that even low volume listening sessions only lasted 15-20 minutes. Sometimes I miss the detail, but in my small listening room it was too bright. One thing I do miss is the fast bass. It was quick, punchy and sounded like it had alot more than 125w/channel. Another thing to consider is if you need to heat a small area of your home--this amp is for you. This is what you get from class A circuitry and from my limited understanding that's essentially the Adcom's architecture.

Similar Products Used:

Parasound, Jolida, NAD, and B&K

My system :
For source I use a Rotel RCD-970. This player is hooked up to an Adcom GFP-555 II by a pair of Audioquest Ruby's. The Adcom GFP-555 II is then hooked up to my GFA-5400. I compliment this setup with a pair of Definitive's BP-8Bs which is wired also by Audioquest, Indigo.

Initially before deciding on which amo to use for my system, I was listening to Rotel. Rotel is said to be an excellent amp (most of my friends use Rotels-either multiple of single). Hooking up the Rotel, Rotel RB-980BX, and after hours of listening I find the Rotel in comparison to the Adcom, to be too smooth. The Adcom GFA-5400 has a very warm, bright, detail quality to it. Moreover this amp has a very good soundstaging and imaging quality to it as well.

The built however is a bit less than desirable. My first impression of the amp was quite good. I loved the horizontal lines on the face of the product and the little warning leds on it. However, I was very upset with the power button. The button was bit hard to the press. I wished it was a bit more "springy".

On the whole I don't think I have an excellent system, but my system is very satisfying. This is in part due to quality the usage of good equipment... Adcom.

I don't own the 5400, but do own adcom gfa,gft,gfp 555's. I bought them used for $550 -A BARGAIN! I switched over from a reciever and, what a difference!
I have B&W 802's and they sound great with the amp, I recently had the oppourtunity to demo a 5500, and I thought at first that there was little if at all a sonic difference in sound. However I think that the 5500 is a little smoother due to the mosfets. From what I hear, the bipolar outputs of the 555 are better for theater applications than the mosfets, which are suposed to be more musical, but I think that both would work well for just about everything!

clarity

harshness

ive had this amp about 1 month my 5802 broke and is getting fixed this amp sounds suprisingly similar to the 5802 except is a little harsh in the mids and just a tad bright still the sound is very well controled and defined all in all a great amp that i would definately recommend 5 stars for the price 4 for the sound

Similar Products Used:

adcom 5802

strong bass, powerful

grainy midrange

I was looking for a secondary system to put in a workout room. I only wanted to spend about $1,000. on amplification. This system would primarily be used for rock & pop. I have Dynaudio audience 60's for speakers & picked up a upper end Denon CD player used. I was looking for an amp that wouldn't be harsh but powerful enough to thump when the treadmill was running. I tried a couple of Arcam integrated amps that sound great. I wanted more horsepower. I picked up a used yamaha. I wasn't happy with the sloppy bass. In my area there wasn't alot out there that was good in the price I wanted to spend. I wanted to listen to Parasound but the dealers sales people didn't acknowledge my existence in the store & they weren't even busy. I am not a Rotel fan. I found an Adcom dealer & gave it a shot. I tried out the 5400 w/450 pre amp. I was pretty pleased. The amp has good bass. I tend to think even a slight hump in the mid bass. But that's ok for rock because most rock tend to not be very well recorded. In fact, the dealer shot me a good deal on the 5500 & told me it would have better bass. I took it home & tried it out & took it back. The bass was more defined on the 5500 but alittle too good, it took that heavy midbass away that I liked. This amp is great on rock. When I put on some of my better recordings to test it out though I noticed what I would consider a major flaw. The mids are grainy. Especially noticable on piano. It sounds like your voice when talking into a fan. Most people who wrote reviews upgraded from receivers & I think this amp is a good step from there. But I could not live with this as a main system. But I am a critical listener. It suits my purpose as a secondary recreational system though. I thought the amp should have a detachable power cord. The 450 has a loudness control, I forgot what Adcom calls this control, but it's a loudness nonetheless, I was impressed that when it is on the amp produces the massive increase in bass without distortion. The amp is strong. I also noticed it makes a difference in the connection cables. I used Transparent from CD to pre to power amp & monster cable speaker wire. I had some audioquest speaker cables but it seemed to make the bass to muddy & highs slightly duller. With the cables I'm using the highs are extended & maybe on the warm side of neutral. But I liked that because the amp is usually played at a high volume. The highs are nice & don't pierce my eardrums. I haven't had any heat problem with this amp but it is placed on a shelf by itself & gets plenty of ventilation. I gave this amp an average rating because it fit my need so well. If this is to be your only system amp & your listening taste goes beyaon rock & pop I would not buy this amp.

Similar Products Used:

krell, arcam, yamaha, kenwood

Superior sound quality, warm and dynamic

Runs way HOT!

Have to say that after a month with this amp I am truly enjoying the depth and clarity of this product. It continues to "warm" up as far as sound is concerned. It does run way HOT. This is strange to me, but must be normal for this type of product? I have a surround dolby digital system in what is my home theater room. I replaced a prologic system with this amd and the GTP-450 pre amp. No comparison.

Sound and exterior aesthetics

....for the price? Absolutely none. Lovely unit

I upgraded from the GFA-5400 to the B&K Reference 4420. There was nothing about the sound that displeased me, I just wanted more volume. I loved the 5400, wonderful sound, very clean, with perhaps a little of the harshness that I have read complaints about. For the $480 I paid it was well worth the price, the only problem was that the B&K at $850 was too nasty a deal to pass up.

For those who still own it, enjoy. It is a great amp.


Chris Troianello

B&K Reference 4420
Adcom GCD-750
Adcom GFP-750
Mirage OM-10 terminator 2 cabling

Similar Products Used:

B&K Reference 4420