ADCOMGFA-555SE Audio Stereo Power Amplifier

In the past I've had the GFA555II, GFA5800,, GFA5500 and the GFA5802 amplifiers. Out of the these 4 I liked the 5800 the best (except for the fans). For the money you couldn't beat Adcom amplifiers. I sold all 4 (which I regret). About 15 years ago I went the integrated route, then last year I decided I wanted to go back to separates. I went on Audiogon to see if they had a good used condition Adcom. To my surprise I see a Adcom 555SE for sale,, I thought Adcom had went out of business. I did a little research and then ordered one from Amazon.After 8 months I really like this amp. It was paired with a NAD preamp for 7 of those months till I ordered a Adcom GFP815 preamp. The GFA555SE and GFP815 and a Marantz 6006 are driving Focal bookshelf speakers.If you want an amp that gives you a taste of the high-end and are willing to spend $1299, I highly recommend the Adcom GFA555SE.

This purchase was to replace a 25 year old ADCOM GFA 545II. That was a great amp for the money. It did a good job driving my Martin Logan electrostatic speakers - which can give some amplifiers a problem. The new GFA 555SE was not up to the job. Driving these speakers, the higher frequencies dominated the sound. Listening to a violin concerto, for example, almost all you could hear was the violin. The orchestra sounded like it was in another room. With anything I listened to, violin and strings sounded tinny and screetchy. Listening to Django Reinhardt, Grapelli's solos would set my teeth on edge. And that isn't the way it comes off the recording.I also had a new Akitika GT-102 with 60 watts per channel (vs 200 wpc for the 555SE) and it did a better job. I could listen to it.I also decided to fix the problem with the old 545II and was successful. It then did a better job than the new ADCOM and a little better job than the GT-102.So it may depend on the speakers you are using. While the old electrostatics (Martin Logan or Quads) can be a challenge for some, many amplifiers do fine with them. The GFA 555SE is not one of them. You will probably want a speaker with a fairly flat impedence curve and one that stays above 5 to 5 1/2 ohms. Paired with the right speakers, the 555SE may do great. But that is not something I can attest to.

Amp was delivered in an opened box, with physical damage. Only one channel worked so I requested a refund. Seller wanted to process a replacement. Still waiting to see how this is going to turn out.