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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…

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…

"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…

It was not the best of times. Aside from a major repair job on the car, it was National IRS week. This year, I was "asked" to make a major supplementary contribution to support the festivities leading up to April 15. At least I was able to use the EZ form this year. That's the one that asks you to list your income and send in a check for 80% of it.

Not that I expect any sympathy. It's just that this time of year reminds most of us of the mortality of our own personal finances. Here today, gone tomorrow. You…

Description: Solid-state monoblock power amplifier. Rated power output: 300W into 8 ohms (24.8dBW), 450W into 4 ohms (23.5dBW), 850W into 2 ohms (23.3dBW), all 20Hz–20kHz at 0.02% THD. Frequency response: unspecified. Input impedance: 50k ohms. Input sensitivity: 2.15V for rated output. S/N (A-weighted, full output): greater than 106dB. Damping factor: >1000, 8 ohms, 20Hz–20kHz. Dynamic headroom (at 4 ohms): 1.6dB.
Dimensions: 17" W by 8.25" H by 11.5" D. Weight (shipping): 45 lbs.
Price: $1700/pair; $1900/pair with balanced inputs (1991). Optional…

Associated equipment used in auditioning the Adcom amplifier consisted of the Oracle Delphi Mk.IV turntable with SME V tonearm and Dynavector XX-1L cartridge, Sony CDP-X77ES CD player, Wadia WT-3200 transport and DigiMaster X-64.4 D/A converter, and Rowland Consonance preamplifier. Loudspeakers were the Apogee Stages, B&W 801 Matrix Series 2s, and Snell C/IVs. Both amplifiers were also briefly auditioned through the Nestorovic Type 5AS Mk.IIIs.

Interconnects were AudioQuest Lapis and Cardas Hexlink (the latter from preamplifier to…

A look at fig.1 indicates that the Adcom exhibits a virtually flat frequency response curve, except at the very top end where it's 0.5dB down at 32kHz. Using the optional balanced inputs, the 0.5dB-down point was slightly lower, at 27kHz. (With a few noted exceptions, all of the measurements were made into the standard, unbalanced inputs.) The small-signal 1kHz squarewave (fig.2) shows a clean, square shape with a fast rise-time. The polarity was non-inverting. The Adcom's input impedance at 1kHz was 47k ohms, and its output impedance was uniformly low—ranging…

The Phono's good looks speak for themselves. Note the sculpted faceplate accent that integrates the main box with the power supply—a nice touch. And speaking…