Parasound VS. Adcom

[Jason Lopez]

I'm looking into a Parasound Classic 2100 pre-amp with a Classic 2250 amp(250 watts into 8ohms/385 watts into 4ohms). And a Adcom GFP 715 pre-amp with a GFA 5500 amp(250 watts into 8 ohms/350 watts into 4 ohms). They're similiar in price(around $2000). The Adcom combo is about $200 less. I don't have a local dealer for either, so I can't audition. My speakers are 4 ohm/92db sensitve. Would like any input, pros/cons for one over the other. Also, would this be a substantial upgrade from my NAD C352 intergrated amp?

 

[PENG]

I'm looking into a Parasound Classic 2100 pre-amp with a Classic 2250 amp(250 watts into 8ohms/385 watts into 4ohms). And a Adcom GFP 715 pre-amp with a GFA 5500 amp(250 watts into 8 ohms/350 watts into 4 ohms). They're similiar in price(around $2000). The Adcom combo is about $200 less. I don't have a local dealer for either, so I can't audition. My speakers are 4 ohm/92db sensitve. Would like any input, pros/cons for one over the other.

I would say pick the one that looks better to you.

Also, would this be a substantial upgrade from my NAD C352 intergrated amp?

If you need that extra power, yes it will be a substantial upgrade. If you don't need the extra power(small room, don't listen loud etc.) then it is still an upgrade in terms of power output but you may not notice much sound quality improvement.

 

[cfrizz]

I agree with Peng choose whichever pair looks good & has what you want it to have. I think you will definately hear an improvement over the 80wpc @8ohms Nad that you have now.

Having had a Parasound 1500A amp, I'm partial to them. My brother has it now & it makes his 4ohm Polk LSI 7's come alive.

The more headroom 4ohm speakers have the better. You should have enough power that you don't have to worry what size room you have or how loud you play it. The point is to have more than enough power that allows the speaker to perform to its full potential.

 

[sharkman]

I spent the month of August trying to get an Adcom GTP 602 that wasn't defective. JR.com had them on sale, but the first one I received would have these awful volume spikes that could only be stopped by hitting mute, only to re-occur again. I sent it back and the replacement was even worse, my Adcom 5300's distortion lights would flash and I feared I might have damaged something.

I sent the second one back for a refund and bought an Anthem TLP. I reviewed my experience on the Adcom site, but they deleted my comments on the 602! I did get their customer service rep to admit they were having problems in an email:

Hello Steve,

Thank you for your feedback.

We are also disappointed in this issue, but are currently working towards a
resolution of this with the factory. It is most unfortunate, however somehow
there is a manufacturing issue that we must pinpoint so we can determine and
offer a means to fix this issue.

Again our apologies.



Best regards,

Stanley Brown
Customer Service


Adcom LLC
PO Box 2668
Sedona, AZ 86339-2668
480-607-2277

Anyway, I would advise not buying Adcom.

 

[jinjuku]

I spent the month of August trying to get an Adcom GTP 602 that wasn't defective. JR.com had them on sale, but the first one I received would have these awful volume spikes that could only be stopped by hitting mute, only to re-occur again. I sent it back and the replacement was even worse, my Adcom 5300's distortion lights would flash and I feared I might have damaged something.

I sent the second one back for a refund and bought an Anthem TLP. I reviewed my experience on the Adcom site, but they deleted my comments on the 602! I did get their customer service rep to admit they were having problems in an email:

Anyway, I would advise not buying Adcom.

Every manufacturer is going to have a problem now and again. Nature of the beast. You get up to the plate often enough you WILL get hit by a pitch.

Adcom has been in the business for ages. I would recommend them w/o hesitation.

 

[walter duque]

I have used Adcom over the years and never had a problem with any of their products, mostly power amps. I used to abuse these amps for many hours at max. power.

 

[ski2xblack]

... I think you will definately hear an improvement over the 80wpc @8ohms Nad that you have now...

The C372 is rated at 150w/chan, not 80. It is a class G type, and can push sine waves at 150 watts all day long, but with music it's capable of much more, 220w@8ohms, 340w@4ohms. Even pushing test signals the NAD can briefly achieve those outputs, at least until the short term high rail reserves are depleted (which is only a couple seconds), at which point the output drops to the low power rail, which provides 150 watts. For music signals, which only draw from the high rail for dynamic peaks when necessary, the NAD performs much more like a 200+ watt amp. I don't think the OP would gain much by the Adcom or Parasound powerwise; he would have to increase power by an order of magnitude to achieve signifigantly louder spl. For speakers rated at 92db/w/m, the OP should be fine regardless of how loud he listens.

Now if there is a qualitative difference between the NAD and the Adcom/Para, that's another story. Older NAD has a rep for a husky, wooly presentation, but my C372 sounds pretty neutral, similar to the other amps I have lying around.

 

[anamorphic96]

No one ever mentioned the C372. The OP is using the C352 which is 80 watts per channel.