[Tom M]

Adcom, Rotel or parasound

 

[tom hankins]

One vote for Parasound, with Rotel a close second and IMO Adcom not quite in the same league sound wise as either of the others.

 

[kartik]

I haven't tried either Rotel or Parasound, so I can't vouch for them. ADCOM is the worst possible POS company in the world. The finish is terrrible, the prices ridiculous and the sound quality laughable.

 

[utep10]

I've not owned a Parasound or Adcom, but I've been very happy with the Rotel amp, Rotel Receiver and Rotel DAC that I have.

 

[tom hankins]

kartik, How do you really feel about Adcom?

 

[Chops]

1) Rotel
2) Parasound
3) --
4) --
5) --
6) Adcom

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

All depends on system synergy, and personal taste!

 

[Tom M]

I had bought a bryston bp-25 a while back and I was waiting on an amp. I wanted a low powered amp that would be nice in a small room with small speakers. I was looking at the 60watt power amp from bryston. I think it is called the 2b. I was also looking at a rotel and and adcom model. The dealer told me that do to the higher price of the bryston I would get more bang for the buck going with the either the rotel or the adcom. He also told me that in his opinion the adcom would be a better mate to the bryston pre. He told me the adcom had a smoother sound than the rotel and I would have a better chance of getting a nice sound out of the bryston/adcom combo than matching the bryston with the rotel. Now I went and asked another dealer and he said the opposite. The second dealer told me that the rotel was smoother sounding than the adcom. Go figure! I guess it is a matter of taste and I could ask ten people and maybe get ten different answers. I guess I'll ll have to try both and see what I like.

 

[Hirsch]

Any of these companies is capable of coming up with a gem at any given time. I suspect it's a mistake to think of any of them as being "better". You're going to have to get to the level of specific products.

I've got an Adcom GFP-565 preamp and GFA-535 power amp that very good pieces, particularly at the prices they sell for now that they've been discontinued for a bit (I paid about $300 for the pair).

 

[Tom M]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch Any of these companies is capable of coming up with a gem at any given time. I suspect it's a mistake to think of any of them as being "better". You're going to have to get to the level of specific products. I've got an Adcom GFP-565 preamp and GFA-535 power amp that very good pieces, particularly at the prices they sell for now that they've been discontinued for a bit (I paid about $300 for the pair).

The rotel model is the rb-1050 and the adcom model is gfa-5002.

 

[kartik]

I had (actually still have, but it is dead) an ADCOM gsp-560 processor amplifier. It had the most awful sound quality I have ever heard. And then it just died. The surround and center channels died completely leaving me with subpar stereo sound. Even my mainstream Yamaha receiver sounded better. I would not buy an ADCOM product again.

 

[Tom M]

Hey! If my little adcom amp does crap out on me I know a good parasound dealer and a couple of rotel dealers.

 

[immtbiker]

I have both the Adcom GFA 545II and the Bryston 3B, and the Bryston blows the Adcom out of the water in every category except price. The Bryston comes with a 20 year transferable warranty an is 125 watts vs. 100 into 8 ohms. It also can be bridged to form a 400 watt monoblock if you can afford another one down the line. There are lots on sale for cheap on Audiogon.

 

[TimSchirmer]

For similar prices, Outlaw audio kicks both of their asses.

 

[Tom M]

Does it just die or does it begin to make nasty noises that could harm your speakers maybe even your other components?