P

PhilCohen

Audioholic
Though I had looked at the company's website earlier this year, and seen signs of renewed life(a few new products), I am disappointed to discover that the noted power amplifier manufacturer ADCOM is defunct, and worse yet, that some dealers who still have sealed ADCOM power amps are scalping them beyond their intended price.
I have been using ADCOM power amps in my home entertainment system for the past 21 years(I presently own a GFA-7700 5 x 175w power amp[from 2003] which i use in conjunction with an Integra DHC 9.9 A/V processor).
From approximately 2008 to 2011, the company had been in limbo through several ownership changes, and during this time they were frozen, unable to introduce any new products. While the company's power amplifiers were sturdy, solid, timeless products, the company was stuck offering an embarrassingly obsolete HDMI 1.1 or 1.2 A/V processor which lacked the facilities to decode the surround sound audio from Blu-Ray discs. Eventually, the company realized that no one was going to buy this obsolete paperweight, ADCOM got out of the A/V processor business altogether, essentially sending a message to the public that said "Buy our power amplifiers, but pair them with someone else's A/V processor"....so that's what I did. When I changed over to HDTV in 2009, I bought an up to date Integra DHC- 9.9 A/V processor. A smarter move would have been for ADCOM to hire an OEM factory to produce a modern A/V processor and put the ADCOM name on it, so that ADCOM could stay in the game.
Worse yet, ADCOM devoted a section of its website to denouncing a long list of unauthorized retail & internet dealers. But the reality is that many of those unauthorized dealers were quite established and reputable, and the unauthorized dealers had become the majority of ADCOM dealers, and were moving the majority of ADCOM product. When ADCOM was in limbo for years, unable to introduce any new products, ADCOM should have welcomed some of the more established "unauthorized" dealers on board. They could have helped keep ADCOM afloat during long years of corporate limbo when the company couldn't introduce new products.
My GFA-7700 has provided 9 years of excellent service, though I had a brief scare a few nights ago during bad weather conditions. I was playing the unit at a very moderate volume level, and the protection circuit kicked in and shut down the right rear channel. Eventually, by unplugging from electricity, and plugging the unit in again, the unit reset and has worked fine since them. There may have been a voltage spike or fluctuation.
I know that the GFA-7700 won't last forever, and that some day it won't be repairable. While there are certainly many other companies making cleaner, more refined sounding power amps, few have provided as much watts for dollars value as ADCOM. They'll be missed.
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
How unfortunate, but the audio business is a difficult one, and differentiation is getting more difficult to achieve. I had a GFA-545 years and years ago. It was a pretty good entry-level product at the time.
 
T

Tweaked

Junior Audioholic
Well this is saddening news. I just picked up an Adcom GTP-500 Pre/Tuner and a GFA-555 amp. I am thoroughly impressed. This combination sounds amazing. I was hoping to get some more modern gear in the future.
 
S

saeyedoc

Junior Audioholic
That 555 is a beast, I bought one in 1987 along with a pair of Vandersteen 2Cs and only sold it when I got into 5.1.
 
cpp

cpp

Audioholic Ninja
Though I had looked at the company's website earlier this year, and seen signs of renewed life(a few new products), I am disappointed to discover that the noted power amplifier manufacturer ADCOM is defunct, and worse yet, that some dealers who still have sealed ADCOM power amps are scalping them beyond their intended price.
I have been using ADCOM power amps in my home entertainment system for the past 21 years(I presently own a GFA-7700 5 x 175w power amp[from 2003] which i use in conjunction with an Integra DHC 9.9 A/V processor).
From approximately 2008 to 2011, the company had been in limbo through several ownership changes, and during this time they were frozen, unable to introduce any new products. While the company's power amplifiers were sturdy, solid, timeless products, the company was stuck offering an embarrassingly obsolete HDMI 1.1 or 1.2 A/V processor which lacked the facilities to decode the surround sound audio from Blu-Ray discs. Eventually, the company realized that no one was going to buy this obsolete paperweight, ADCOM got out of the A/V processor business altogether, essentially sending a message to the public that said "Buy our power amplifiers, but pair them with someone else's A/V processor"....so that's what I did. When I changed over to HDTV in 2009, I bought an up to date Integra DHC- 9.9 A/V processor. A smarter move would have been for ADCOM to hire an OEM factory to produce a modern A/V processor and put the ADCOM name on it, so that ADCOM could stay in the game.
Worse yet, ADCOM devoted a section of its website to denouncing a long list of unauthorized retail & internet dealers. But the reality is that many of those unauthorized dealers were quite established and reputable, and the unauthorized dealers had become the majority of ADCOM dealers, and were moving the majority of ADCOM product. When ADCOM was in limbo for years, unable to introduce any new products, ADCOM should have welcomed some of the more established "unauthorized" dealers on board. They could have helped keep ADCOM afloat during long years of corporate limbo when the company couldn't introduce new products.
My GFA-7700 has provided 9 years of excellent service, though I had a brief scare a few nights ago during bad weather conditions. I was playing the unit at a very moderate volume level, and the protection circuit kicked in and shut down the right rear channel. Eventually, by unplugging from electricity, and plugging the unit in again, the unit reset and has worked fine since them. There may have been a voltage spike or fluctuation.
I know that the GFA-7700 won't last forever, and that some day it won't be repairable. While there are certainly many other companies making cleaner, more refined sounding power amps, few have provided as much watts for dollars value as ADCOM. They'll be missed.
First you have any real facts that Adcom has closed their doors, their defunct as you say ? if they are defunct then why are they introducing a new 2 channel 250 watt/channel amplifier last week, the GFA-565se. I know my local Adcom dealer just told me Adcom is still in business. Have you actually picked up the phone and called their sales dept.
 
P

PhilCohen

Audioholic
First you have any real facts that Adcom has closed their doors, their defunct as you say ? if they are defunct then why are they introducing a new 2 channel 250 watt/channel amplifier last week, the GFA-565se. I know my local Adcom dealer just told me Adcom is still in business. Have you actually picked up the phone and called their sales dept.
Go to their website. Try selecting your country. There is nothing past that. And do a search online for Adcom dealers. While some websites pages still show the products, they are all listed as "discontinued". Yes, there's a few 3rd party dealers on Amazon.com who have a few units, but they are existing stock, and being sold beyond list price.
 
fuzz092888

fuzz092888

Audioholic Warlord
C

chinkw1

Enthusiast
Any Adcom enthusiast here knows when is the launching of GFA 555 vs. GFA 5500 ?

Which model is older model?
 
jdmccall56

jdmccall56

Audiophyte
I used to own a GFA5500. It may have been the best amp I ever owned (but I'm happy with my NAD C 275). I also had the GTP602 tuner/preamp. It sounded nice but was kind of odd in its feature set.

I'm pretty sure the GFA555 predates the GFA5500.
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
Adcom site works fine for me....
Appears they are back to some extent, and it looks like they're for most part sticking to 2 channel audio. Probably a good call to stay out of the multichannel audio scene other than maybe amplifiers, but multi-channel audio changes too fast.
 
jdmccall56

jdmccall56

Audiophyte
I wouldn't mind having that GFA565 in my rack. I think it would make my 901's sing for sure.
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
My 555 lost one channel after more than 20 years of relatively heavy use so I have no complain and won't hesitate to buy another one if they are still in business.
 

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