Tons of bass, limitless power.

Highs forward but not extended. Midrange okay. Very Fatiguing to listen to. Hurts my ears.

This is a good amp for the money. I have seen them as low as $275. If you need power and arrent concerned with quality, this is a good amp.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GFA-535II Counterpoint SA-100 McCormack 225

Strong even into low ohms.Clip indicators. Bridgeable

Bright and shallow.Just like a girl I use to date.

The World doesn't need another review of the triple nickel but, here it go's. I have owned GFA-1,GFA555,GFA555 MK2,GFA5400.I think they all sound alike and that's the good and bad news.As you have read strong and powerful.Speakers have all been panels.Magnepan,Accoustat and now martin logan.I had to use a conrad johnson tube preamp just to keep from being beaten up.Bright man bright! I think these amps are a wonderful step up from harmon kardon,nad,denon and carver.I now use a Forte by Threshold ( PURE CLASS A).I also use a cary amp. The adcom obviously is not in the same world of sound.I know neither is the price.I don't buy new,I buy used.So a used triple nickel for $300 passed up for a Bryston for example for $600 is worth it in my opinion.

Similar Products Used:

B&K,

"Blow Your Hat Off" - POWER! Incredible Value Reliability

Only 1 set of speaker connections and the holes are annoyingly small.

There are enough reviews here that another opinion isn't particularly necessary, however, I wanted to comment on the remarks of a few reviewers regarding warm-up time and turning the unit on and off. My advice is to leave the amp on at all times. I have now had mine for 16 years and the only time it's been off is when I'm out of town or moving. The one time it needed service was when the on/off switch broke, so I repeat - leave it on. I can't fairly comment on the sound, as this is the only separate amplifier I've used but I can vouch for the power. I've run four power-hungry speakers for extended periods with no complaint from the adcom. I think an earlier reviewer had some excellent advice - save some bucks buying the Adcom and spend every penny you can buying the best speakers you can afford.

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Denon integrated amp Using the Adcom with several sets of B&W's and Klipshe's - NAD pre-amp and Denon CD

Awesome value

Careful which front end you use with it

I think the amp is very resolving. You have to be careful of which preamp you use. Maybe a tube pre would be best. Great bass, good mids and highes. Running with B&W CDM-9NT''''s. Thinking of buying another for a bi-amped system.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GFA-535II and Rotel RB-1080

Great Power, bright and airy over all. watching the capaciters bleed as the sound dims after power off

Not sure. Power on thump

as i often want to play tenis after watching the us open, i often sit and listen to some of my favorite pieces after reading andy of a variety of audio rags. Do i like my system, How good is it, and What is the weakest link? I bought the GFA-555 as a dealer demo for 800 in 1887. Stereophile revieve vol8, No 4 by anthony cordesman helped convice me. I us it to drive a pair of ADS L-880s (10" 3-ways). All in all, things sound bright and airy from my Revox B225 CD, and Denon phono with Astatic cartridge. Thelonious Monk sounds un-restrained, yet a traffic recording of when the egal flys sounded as if there were a film of soap over it. So sometimes i love it and other i blame my 70''s Phase linear Pre-amp.

Similar Products Used:

70 Pioneer, 80''s Denon integrated amps

Poweful, clean, tight, yet mild mannered and sounds wonderful!!

outputs for only 1 pair of speakers.

Very poweful, clean-sounding amplifier. Purchased it used for $330 on Ebay. Pushing a pair of Thiel CS3's ( 15 years old - also used ) and they sound beautufil with the Adcom. Accidentally switched the amp to mono for a while, where it is capable of pushing 600W, and no distortion and no damage to speakers. I doubt very much, no matter what some people swear by ( hello to all those of you who buy into all that crap the ultra high-end magazines spew out), that once you get to an amplifier of this quality that any differences can be heard to justify paying any more.

Highly recommended.

Never runs out of oompf, clear and musical

Does Not Apply

I'll keep it short. For more details, look at my review of Carver 400t amps. This amp is absolutely great with lots of power on reserve. It may seem like some sort of magic trick, but you really can unplug a GFA555 and it will continue to play at fairly high volume levels for 5-10 seconds. Played with my B&W 801f's, there was nothing that I could think of that would improve my speakers or amp. I was never sorry that I used the funds available to me to buy the best speakers I could almost afford and saved a bundle on an extremely good sounding amp at a fraction of the cost of the high end units. It's great, get one.

Smooth Natural Highs, Clarity, POWER, Quality Construction

None for the money!

Awhile back I had purchased the Adcom 545 to drive a set of rear speakers. They highs were very "tizzy", bass lacking and just an overall unpleasing sound. I did some reading and picked up the 545II and found it to be 10x better than the origional 545. Looking for a good bargin I found the Adcom GFA 555 in the classifieds for $300, at first I was a bit hesitant after my experience with the original 545 in Adcom's line, but it was local and the price was right so I picked it up. This amp had little use and was in showroom condtion. I purchased it to replace my 10 year old Sansui B2102 amp that I have enjoyed for many years. In connecting the Adcom GFA 555 the first thing I noticed was the incredible power, wow, I think its under rated! 2nd thing I noticed is that it had a natural sound and was not as bright or harsh as my old Sansui, the hights were smooth and precise, my speakers had a transparent sound as if I could not locate them in the room, the imaging was very nice and the soundstage nice. I do feel that it just a little bit lacking on soundstage detail in comparison to my old Sansui. I will also say that it was a perfect match for my Adcom GFA 545II on my rears. After listening to the 2 ams in compairson for a few hours the Adcom remained in the HT center. Every piece of equipment will yeild a differnt sound and everyone has different opinions but I will have to agree with other here, this amp at $300 was a treasure find and while there are other amps which may sound better, for $300 bucks I doubt I could get the same power and sound quality. I'm still wondering if the improvements in the 555II would be significant and may pick one up later to listen to the difference and possibly sell the one I like best. Excellent Amplifier in the $300 range above $400 I would probably look at the newer amps on the market. Basically if your in the market for a very powerful amp with good sound quality and are on a budget, this is a great amp! Check Ebay and other sources!

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GFA 535II, Adcom GFA 545II, Adcom GFA 545, Sansui B2102 (200 Watt)

Powerful,sweet sound,has not missed a beat (Touch Wood)

I only have one.

I have a GFA-555 Amp,GFP-555 Preamp,GCD-600 Cd,GFT-555 tuner all in white. My speakers are Proac Supertowers MK2 and they sound great with the ADCOM gear,the Amp has more than enough power too drive them. Iam very happy with the finish of the ADCOM gear, it still looks and works as good as the day I purchased it. Although the tuner did start sounding like it was slightly off station (Fuzzy) awhile back and I could not work out why ?? Anyway it turned out that the battery to hold channels when it was unplugged had gone to heaven and it was causing interferance,I replaced the battery and it fixed it. I have found the Amp to be very reliable over the last 10 years and able to handle a wide range of music.

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Nakamichi 730,Nad

Value; Durability; Reliability

Slightly bright and forward

Good value amplifier, providing solid performance that wouldn't embarrass more expensive equipment.

The GFA-555 is an ideal amp for someone that wants to upgrade to separates. It's available inexpensively in a number of places, they last forever, they're low maintenance, and the sound is far better than what you can get with separates. The sound is a bit bright, but the soundstage is very good for the price, and they can drive anything from Acoustats or Quads to old Klipschorns and make a good accounting of themselves.

If you have exceptionally revealing speakers, this probably isn't the best amp for you. But for most people who are just now exploring high end audio, this is a fantastic first (and sometimes last) amplifier to have.

Can it stand up to the Bryston, or even the Aragon? For most people, probably not, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper, and the marginal difference between them is pretty darn small, really.

You should be able to find one on eBay for about $300.

Similar Products Used:

B&K ST-202+, Aragon 2004 MkII, Bryston 4B, Counterpoint SA-220