B

BoomerangSambo

Audiophyte
Hi, I'm new here. My name is Sam. I recently bought an Adcom GFR-700 , mostly based on old impressions of Adcom. This is due to the fact I can't find much info at all, with respect to reviews, professional and user, for this item.

Obviously, I am here to ask what you guys...., and gals, might think of Adcom today, and if you have any comments on this reciever, in specific, I would like to hear them as well. Any comments, positive or negative, Adcom related, I am interested in.

Thanks in advance.


Sam,
Near the Mighty Niagara.
 
B

BoomerangSambo

Audiophyte
Not one opinion on the group?

It looks like Adcom is taboo here, or something. I thought I saw the name come up in a couple threads, but maybe not.

Some could at least explain the lack of replies to this question.


Any replies welcome...


Sam.
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
That Adcom doesn't feature HDMI repeating architecture (meaning no audio over HDMI), hence it is outdated.

Adcom seperates have a good reputation for having a music first goal, and their amplifiers are quite sturdy. I would expect great amplifier performance from the Adcom GFR-700. I would suggest getting a more current receiver or seperates for that price.

The Onkyo TX-NR905 is very impressive for the price in features and power. It's likely the Onkyo will have more dynamic power and much better video and audio processing. If you can get the Adcom for less than $1000 it might be worth consideration.
 
MUDSHARK

MUDSHARK

Audioholic Chief
Adcom products are known for their reliability and provided the new sound formats have no great importance to you it should be a very satisfactory performer. As`mentioned your unit will perform the two channel music functions quite well. You can still use the digital inputs to use the very fine DAC's in your Adcom receiver rather than your source unit. I suspect upgrade-itus will hit the speakers next. Enjoy!
 
bandphan

bandphan

Banned
Not one opinion on the group?

It looks like Adcom is taboo here, or something. I thought I saw the name come up in a couple threads, but maybe not.

Some could at least explain the lack of replies to this question.


Any replies welcome...


Sam.
did you search the fourm? Is this a new unit you picked up? Did you listen to it prior to purchase? How much did you pay? Do you like it? What were your old impressions of old adcom? What speakers do you have? What will this be a main unit or secondary?
 
B

BoomerangSambo

Audiophyte
You can still use the digital inputs to use the very fine DAC's in your Adcom receiver rather than your source unit. I suspect upgrade-itus will hit the speakers next. Enjoy!

I must admit, I am not savvy when it comes to surround modes. I wasn't sure about DAC , and I still don't know what's good or bad, and where my reciever stacks up on that, but audio is my main consideration, so if you'd like to elaborate a bit, I would appreciate it. If there are ways I should, or shouldn't hook up the reciever, for the best sound, I am very interested in learning about it.

As for upgrade-itus, yup, I "need" speakers , and probably won't get to afford them for some time. I have considered magnapans home theater components.

Back in '93, I purchased a Sherwood so-called surround unit, which wasn't much more than a stereo reciever with a couple extra channels, but that set the stage for me to not like surround. It was almost all simulated at the time.

Today, with many thing producing 5.1 surround, I thought I'd get back into it, and see what's new. I have obviously become more confused, which is why I found my way here. In simple terms, I assumed since many sources are 5.1, or better, it might be possible to reproduce surround as it was meant to be heard, and not a simulated reproduction. With the many surround modes on my reviever, I have no real clue what to set it for, when watching a movie, or listening to music, etc.


Sam
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
You should be very pleased with the surround performance of the Adcom, especially if it will be your first 5.1 in home experience. Far better than the days of Pro Logic.:)
 
B

BoomerangSambo

Audiophyte
That Adcom doesn't feature HDMI repeating architecture (meaning no audio over HDMI), hence it is outdated.

Adcom seperates have a good reputation for having a music first goal, and their amplifiers are quite sturdy. I would expect great amplifier performance from the Adcom GFR-700. I would suggest getting a more current receiver or seperates for that price.

The Onkyo TX-NR905 is very impressive for the price in features and power. It's likely the Onkyo will have more dynamic power and much better video and audio processing. If you can get the Adcom for less than $1000 it might be worth consideration.

It's sad that Adcom's HDMI is outdated, as I found some things I also thought were behind the times as well. I'll get more into that, and the tech support issues later. Luckily for me, I plan to run the HDMI stuff to my tv, directly, as the adcom's HDMI is nothing more than a pass through. I might want to mention, for those interested, if I connect items on the component, s-video, and composite inputs, I cannot direct them out of the HDMI out, so, HDMI on this unit is useless, at best.

As for purchase price, I paid 1000 shipped, and another 10 for insurance, when i bought this unit a month ago. It seems these units had an old update, so i updated the firmware only to find there still was no bass and treble controls for the main room. I was told my unit had the older display board, which didn't have enough ram to accomodate the bass and treble controls. I replied and said, bass and treble are the most basic of controls, and after many many e-mails, and many times that i pointed out errors on their site, as well as problems with the software extentions in the files they sent me, and of corse, the cost of cables and adapter to perform the update, Adcom has agreed to upgrade my display board as a courtesy, for free, and update to the latest firmware as well. My unit has the 128kb board, and the newer production has the 256kb display board. The biggest issue now, is it'll cost me about 65 to ship it to adcom, and adcom wants 55 to ship it back after this courtesy repair.


I have no idea what the upgrade would cost , out of pocket, but I still see this as being expensive , just to gain bass and treble, which i'll probably set, and forget. I am not sure if there are other available options that will also be apparent, but at this point, it was bass and treble I was inquiring about.


Since bass and treble aren't extremely impoortant to me, but i would like to have it, I have been unable to decide on having this done, and not having it done. Maybe you guys have some advice or opinions on that too. For reference, I believe with the bass and treble enabled, I believe there is still a bypass mode that will bypass the tone controls and get back to direct raw signal, as many folks desire.

On the note of out of date, these are some of the out of date things I was concerned about, as well as the fact that their serial port connection needs a pc with serial, or we'd need to buy a specific usb-serial adapter, as most adapters on the market won't work properly on adcom. This just seemed odd to me, but I ordered the darn thing anyways.


Somewhere along the line, I should say i am happy with the sound of the adcom, on my friend's maggies and even his small Boston towers.


You guys won't be shocked my bose sound better on this, than they did on a cheaper reciever, but still don't come close to full range sound. This is due to the Bose impotence in the mid-lows, and so-called bass range. I won't get into details, as you guys already know the truth behind Bose. Luckily, mine were used and cost me only 300, so i didn't get robbed too badly at the time.


Sam.
 
B

BoomerangSambo

Audiophyte
did you search the fourm? Is this a new unit you picked up? Did you listen to it prior to purchase? How much did you pay? Do you like it? What were your old impressions of old adcom? What speakers do you have? What will this be a main unit or secondary?

Yes, I searched the forum, but didn't find a lot on adcom, and nothing on this reciever except a mention of it a couple times.

This is a new unit, which had a 1/07 firmware in it, which is an outdated firmware. I have since, flashed it to the newer firmware.

I didn't listen to it prior to buying it, as there were none available locally. Also, I wasn't going to buy the adcom, as it was out of my price range, but we found some online for a grand. My friend also bought one at that time.

As for likes, I like the sound of this reciever, but that's a comment on the amp section, in reality. Of course, I believe it is worthy of decent speakers, which ever brand I might afford in time, in unknown at this time.

As for speakers, at the moment, I have bose acoustijunk 6 series III, which I am severely unhappy with. The bose are actually for my son to use for gaming, but I'm using them until i can afford something nicer.

As for my impression of older adcom components, I had my first experience with their GFA-555 matched with a GTP-500 pre/tuner. My brother has that setup now, and it still sounds great. When I gave that to him, i went to my dad's old Marantz system, which also sounded great, and in comparison, it wasn't as bright in the high range, as the adcom, and I thought the bass range was great in both units, as well as the midrange sounds. I also considered the GFA-555 II, as the high range wasn't as bright, and was more to my liking, but I didn't purchase it at the time , due to lack of funds. around 20 years ago, it seemed Adcom gave us a lot of good sound, at a fraction of the price. In all fairness, I almost bought a New York Audio Labs amplifier that cost a bit more at the time, but sounded amazing, and also seemed to be a lot of bang for the buck. cash restraints also made that not happen. (for those interested, the guy who designed NY Audio's amps, left the company and makes his own items now. I forget the name, but his amps are around 5000 to buy one now).


I'm getting off topic slightly here, in an attempt to relate my thoughts on this and other audio toys I have experienced.


Thanks again for the replies, and info. It is always good to hear from the more obsessed, when it comes to entering a new type of system, as I am doing.

Of course, if any of you have ideas on what speakers seem to go well with adcom's amps, and, even which do not, please share your thoughts with me on that as well.


Sam B
 
B

BoomerangSambo

Audiophyte
You should be very pleased with the surround performance of the Adcom, especially if it will be your first 5.1 in home experience. Far better than the days of Pro Logic.:)

Considering my sherwood wasn't used for surround, as it was simulated at best, I would say this is my first surround setup. This became more of a need when I decided to get a new tv after tax time.

I was into the whole 2 channel soundstage thing in the past, but after I sold the Marantz setup, ordinary stuff didn't sound good to me at all. Recently, i began to build a Home Theater system, and I have gotten as far as the tv, reciever, and clean power surge unit. Speakers are next, as well as some decent wires to replace some of my cheaper older wires. In a pinch, I swiped my son's Bose. I might actually buy my friend's set of boston's, which aren't high end, but didn't sound terrible like the bose. He might be selling them cheap, so they might do ok til I can afford something nicer. (His Bostons are the cr-95) . He uses them with a jbl sub.

Sam B.
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
I was under the impression that the Adcom upconverted all video input to HDMI.:confused:
 
bandphan

bandphan

Banned
i havent listened to their surround sound stuff, but did the 2ch seperates, and liked the pre and amp sections alot. Enjoy your new gear
 
B

BoomerangSambo

Audiophyte
I was under the impression that the Adcom upconverted all video input to HDMI.:confused:

In their video section, on the GFR-700, it can upconvert s-video and composite, to component. To my surprise, I couldn't get the component in, to transfer to the hdmi out, which makes the hdmi useless for me.

The GFR-700HD upconverts all video inputs, to HDMI, and will send them all out to a single HDMI. That unit is 900 dollars more, retail. To upgrade the NON HD to the HD format, is a 900 dollar upgrade as well.


Sam.
 
MUDSHARK

MUDSHARK

Audioholic Chief
I must admit, I am not savvy when it comes to surround modes. I wasn't sure about DAC , and I still don't know what's good or bad, and where my reciever stacks up on that, but audio is my main consideration, so if you'd like to elaborate a bit, I would appreciate it. If there are ways I should, or shouldn't hook up the reciever, for the best sound, I am very interested in learning about it.

Sam
Your receiver has higher quality digital to analog converters than most source units. By using the optical or digital coaxial the conversion will be done by the receiver not the source unit. Hence, you will only be utilizing the source unit's transport. This makes putting much money into a dvd or cd player unnecessary. Most dvd players do not put in high quality DAC's since most people do not use them electing instead for the digital connection to the receiver.

A few months ago I gave my son my marantz 4001 when I purchased the 7002. We then purchased an inexpensive 200 cd changer by JVC. By using the optical outputs thereby utilizing the Marantz DAC's my son commented to me how much better the sound was.

This will allow you to throw nearly all your future budget into the speakers where it belongs. The compressed dvd sound formats of Dolby and DTS are good enough for all but the most discerning movie buff. The new uncompressed formats are still in the realm of audio fanatics for the present and likely will continue to be for some time.
 
B

BoomerangSambo

Audiophyte
Your receiver has higher quality digital to analog converters than most source units. By using the optical or digital coaxial the conversion will be done by the receiver not the source unit. Hence, you will only be utilizing the source unit's transport. This makes putting much money into a dvd or cd player unnecessary. Most dvd players do not put in high quality DAC's since most people do not use them electing instead for the digital connection to the receiver.

A few months ago I gave my son my marantz 4001 when I purchased the 7002. We then purchased an inexpensive 200 cd changer by JVC. By using the optical outputs thereby utilizing the Marantz DAC's my son commented to me how much better the sound was.

This will allow you to throw nearly all your future budget into the speakers where it belongs. The compressed dvd sound formats of Dolby and DTS are good enough for all but the most discerning movie buff. The new uncompressed formats are still in the realm of audio fanatics for the present and likely will continue to be for some time.

Thank you very much for explaining that to me. I am more appreciative about this, now that I understand it.

As for budget, and speakers, You're absolutely right. I have to focus any future budget to speakers, or I'll never hear the Adcom's full potential............ unless I'm demo-ing a friend's speakers, and that's no fun.

I will most likely get a set of 2 speakers, and then a sub, before I get the entire surround system, although, that's not etched in stone just yet. I'll have to read the forums and see what you guys like, and hate, in speakers. There's always a chance I might stumble upon a decent set of speakers, and get the whole surround, in one big bite.


How much would you guys assume I might have to spend on speakers that should be a good complimet to the Adcom's sound?

I guess, as an example, a 300 dollar used set of bose isn't going to do it, and Iknow I can't afford 20, grand for some of the best, so, in your opinions, what would a comparable set of speakers cost me, to match the adcom best.

I know some speakers sound better with some amps, and so on, so if anyone knows any speakers that routinely don't sound complimentary to adcom's amp, please feel free to express any opinions.

I don't remember the specifics, but while reading reviews on one of adcom's bigger 7 channel amps, I found several dissatisfied customers who all had better luck when they found a better match in speakers, than they had been using, reguardless of the price of their current speakers. I also found a pattern with a few brands, one of which was Martin Logan,and another was Magnapan (i forget the others), but a lot of the folks found a day and night difference when switching to these brands. I wish i had saved the exact data, so I'd have an idea of what speakers to audition first. Most high end speakers might be out of my range, but, as stated in an earlier post, I have considered Magnapan's HT speakers, although i haven't heard them on the adcom amps yet. In my local area, there are only a couple places to audition maggies, and both require an appointment.


another note on DAC. My dvd player, ironicly, has no optical output, but i think it has coaxial.


Sam B.
 
MUDSHARK

MUDSHARK

Audioholic Chief
Coaxial will do just fine.

Given your fine receiver I would shoot for 25-30 percent of the budget on electronics. This is a general guideline and more expensive does not always equate to better on speakers. The ultimate 5 speakers plus sub should entail 2400-3000 in my estimation with 600-1000 of that being for the sub. The sub choice should be easier and can be purchased from an on-line company such as SVS, Outlaw, and others. I have found the quality speaker manufacturers lacking when it comes to sub woofers. Don't be swayed by those 1000 watt small subs. Good subs require size. If floorspace is a premium consider something along the lines of the SVS 20-39 or 25-33. Do a search on SVS sub woofers or just sub woofers for access to many useful threads.

Speakers are tougher. Without initiating a fistfight I will just mention a few for you do searches on to get some feeling on making a short list to investigate.

mainstream speaker manufacturers that many members here like include:

Paradigm
PSB
b&W
Monitor Audio
Klipsch (their horns are too bright for many but you may like them. Reference series or above)

Internet direct companies with 30day trials include:
Ascend Acoustics
Axiom

Many useful discussions exist on all of these brands.
 

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