Sidebar: Specifications
Description: All-tubed mono power amplifier. Rated power: 200W inot 8 ohms (23dBW). Power bandwidth: 20Hz–15kHz. THD: 1% at rated power.
Weight: 81 lbs.
Price: $6000/pair (1985); no longer available (2009).
Manufacturer: Conrad Johnson Design, 2800R Dorr Ave., Fairfax VA 22031. (703)-528-8650.
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Sometimes products are too cheap for their own good, and people don't take them seriously: the Superphon Revelation Basic Dual Mono preamp, Rega RB300 arm, AR ES-1 turntable, Shure V15-V MR cartridge, and the B&K ST-140 power amp. They can't be any good because they cost so little, right?
Wrong, of course.
Adcom appears to be having the same problem with their $299.95 GFA-535 amp. Credibility.
Now if this amplifier were imported from England and sold for $599.95, then maybe it would be taken seriously. And highly praised, no doubt.
For the baby Adcom…
Corey Greenberg wrote about the Adcom GFA-535 II in Ocotber 1993 (Vol.16 No.10):
Okay, here you are: You're a Real World music lover trying to sling together a Real World hi-fi rig. You gotcha budget-king NAD/Rotel/JVC/Pioneer CD player, your SOTA Comet/Sumiko Blue Point analog rig, and your cool-man NHT/PSB/Definitive Technology entry-level speakers. Hell, you've even gone out and bought a few pairs of Kimber PBJ interconnects to hook it all up. This ain't no dog and pony show—you want that High-End High, not just some cheap'n'cheerful, low-rez rig to stick in the rumpus room so the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-channel, solid-state amplifier. Output power: 60W into 8 ohms (17.8dBW). Input sensitivity: 970mV RMS. Input impedance: 100k ohms. Frequency response: 10Hz–20kHz, –0.25dB. S/N ratio: 110dB. Power consumption: 300W.
Dimensions: 3" H by 17" W by 11.25" D. Weight: 19.5 lbs.
Price: $299.95 (1987); $350 (1993); no longer available (2009). Approximate number of dealers: 320.
Manufacturer: Adcom, East Brunswick, NJ 08816 (1987); Adcom, LLC, PO Box 2668, Sedona, AZ 86339. Tel: (602) 773-1909. Fax: (928) 239-9378. Web: www.adcom.com (2009).
Sidebar 2: CG's Systems
As with all the Real World gear I review, I listened to both amps in my Real World system, which is affordable, and my He-Man rig, which is not. The He-Man rig tells me exactly what the gear under review is doing, while the Real World system tells me how much of that info is transportable to a system that's more like the one the gear is likely to be mated with.
My Real World system featured, at one time or another: Sumiko Project One turntable and Oyster cartridge (reviews comin' up); JVC XL-Z1050 CD player; Rotel RCD-955AX CD player; NAD 502 CD player (…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Following its one-hour preconditioning at 1/3 power, the Adcom was hot to the touch. Its input impedance measured a comfortably high 93k ohms, and its voltage gain inot 8 ohms measured 27.2dB. The output impedance was under 0.04 ohm from 20Hz to 1kHz, and under 0.06 ohm at 20kHz. DC offset measured 0mV in the left channel, 3mV in the right. Wide-band signal/noise (ref. 1W into 8 ohms) measured 88.2dB, unweighted. The GFA-535 II was noninverting from input to output.
Fig.1 shows the GFA-535 II's frequency response—essentially flat across most of the…
"Hello, it is I, C. Victor Campos."
It was Adcom's Director of Product Development on the phone. He had just read my January review of the B&K M-200 monoblocks, in which I noted how Anthony H. Cordesman always seemed to rave about Adcom, Adcom, Adcom. Maybe there was an element of sour grapes on my part: Cordesman getting first crack at the Adcom GFA-565 monoblocks.
"The reason we didn't send you the amps earlier," Victor explained, "is that you wanted balanced inputs and we didn't have them ready. Now they're ready."
"And now Tony's tied up with Iraq," I…
"That's true. But Lars has a KSA-250. So does The Brass Ear. Since they've spent the money, I don't have to."
I can understand why Victor toots his own horn.
There is no cult—or camp—of C. Victor Campos. No Campos brand of electronics. No "Signature Editions." No Campos camp followers. I've never heard anyone say, "Gee, Victor Campos has designed a new amp. I gotta have it."
Mario knows of Victor, though.
"Oh yeah, C. Victor Campos," said Mario, scratching his chin. "He used to be the chief engineer for a New York City radio station. Never met him. Wild man, from…
Because the Adcoms have such detail, they reveal the differences among recordings quite readily. If a recording is overbright, shrill, watch out—the Adcoms will let you know. If a recording is too densely packed, over-reverberant, too laid-back, the Adcoms will let you know that. If the imaging is confusing, confusion is what you'll hear. If a recording is magnificent, on the other hand, the Adcoms will reveal the recording in its full glory—assuming you have a good enough speaker. I found that the B&K M-200 monos were less revealing of recording quality differences. On the other hand,…
Speaking of the Gindian, Lars read me his first review in TAS. Some business about his Jadis JA-500 amplifiers being magicians that can pull rabbits out of hats—I mean, speakers. I guess.
"Funny," I said to Lars, "I was over the Gindian's and the sound was really good. Still, I didn't hear no rabbits."
It was a good afternoon, because everyone was pleased. Lars was pleased with what he had achieved with his system—proof, as I said to Lou while we walked out the door, that you can achieve good results with almost anything if you try hard enough. Lou had enyoyed himself. And all…