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Post by slovell on Sept 22, 2015 21:27:55 GMT -5
I've got an Adcom GFA-5500 and a GFA-7000 that are both getting long in the tooth as both are at least 15 years old and starting to sound a bit ragged. I'm trying to decide whether to send the 5500 to Musical Concepts for mods/servicing and get the 7000 serviced at EBC Electronics or replace them with the more current XPA-2 and a XPA-5. I'm using the 5500 to power my Klipsch KLF-20's with Crites titanium diaphragms in the tweets, Klipsch titanium diaphragms in the mid horns, and Crites custom crossovers with an added band pass for the mids. I use the 7000 to power my Klipsch center and surrounds. My prepro is a Marantz AV-7005. I've never heard the Emotiva line of amps but I've read all the good/bad/indifferent reviews on the web which is not really much help just confusing. As for my Adcoms I don't want to throw good money after bad but I also don't want to replace them with a sideways move. Anybody have any advice/opinions on this even if it's just informing me that I'm a complete idiot? Thanks, Sam
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Post by creimes on Sept 22, 2015 21:47:27 GMT -5
If you live in the US then you can take advantage of the 30 day trial, ultimately it's your system and your ears so it would be a good idea to try one of the amps yourself and for those mains I would go with 2 XPA-1L's over the XPA-2 if a little extra budget would allow, btw those towers are sweet looking, I'm not a fan of new Klipsch speakers looks.
Chad
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Post by slovell on Sept 22, 2015 21:54:02 GMT -5
Yeah, me neither. I found them on fleabay at a pawnshop in South Georgia. They were pretty beaten up when I got them, but I completely refinished them and bought new grills from Klipsch. These guys are reborn! I had 5.5's to begin with and the 20's are a big improvement.
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Post by highfihoney on Sept 22, 2015 22:13:56 GMT -5
Please dont spend over $5 grand updating the Adcoms , i had the GFA somthing or other 300 watt monoblocks yrs back & they were toys compared to Emo Gear , Adcom is ok & i dont wanna knock your gear but that old Adcom isnt in the same league as modern Emotiva gear , and that is comming from somebody that has well over $250,000 invested in totl Mcintosh gear ,I love my Mc but truth be told Emotivas new gear is more in line with Mcintosh & way better quality & performance over the old Adcom , i think my adcoms were 555 monoblocks .
We own Klipsch Heritage products such as a pair of K-horns & Lascalas , both have x-overs by crites but the horn throats are special vs stock throats , the squaker throat accepts 2 drivers & the mid horn throat accepts 4 mid drivers , they came from a gutted theater where i scored the throats , all our horns are damped in both pairs , Emo & Klipsch would be my choice .
as for going sideways ive openly compared the $3,200 Emotiva XPR-1 1,000 watt monoblocks we own against the Mcintosh Mc-1201 1,200 watt monoblocks we own that cost $25,000 & their performance is very close to the Mcintosh , i even posted pics somewhere round here so Emo has been auditioned against ultra high end gear & held its own , Adcom wouldnt do that .
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Post by slovell on Sept 22, 2015 22:49:11 GMT -5
Thank you for your honesty. I suspected as much as technology has enevitably marched on since my amps were built. The difference in price between modding the 5500 and servicing the 7000 or replacing them with the Emotivas really isn't that much in the long view.
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Post by melm on Sept 22, 2015 22:54:07 GMT -5
I replaced Adcom Amps with with an XPA-2. I don't think different amps sound all that different operating within their performance window, but the XPA-2 sounds great and was certainly not a step down.
Go for it.
Mel
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Post by highfihoney on Sept 22, 2015 22:59:10 GMT -5
Thank you for your honesty. I suspected as much as technology has enevitably marched on since my amps were built. The difference in price between modding the 5500 and servicing the 7000 or replacing them with the Emotivas really isn't that much in the long view. You hit the nail on the head with modern tech vs 30 yr old tech , with the new Emo you get a 5 yr warranty , amps with all new caps & power supplys , lots of other tech updates as well , ive been nothing but impressed with Emotiva ever since i.bought there best gear just to kill time with & not expecting a whole lot , the performance & build quality is top notch stuff , ive got pics all over this site of some of our high end gear & the Emo stuff is no slouch .
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Post by teaman on Sept 22, 2015 22:59:44 GMT -5
Your Klipsch will love Emo amps!
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Post by slovell on Sept 22, 2015 23:37:54 GMT -5
The Adcoms have been bulletproof as far as reliability but have always sounded grainy. Neither of them have produced highs very well, cymbals have always sounded recessed and indistinct, bass sounds bloated. Time for a change.
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Post by vneal on Sept 23, 2015 7:08:03 GMT -5
cha cha change
heh I have heard this before
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Sept 23, 2015 21:02:44 GMT -5
I have not heard the Adcoms in question, but I did compare my xpa-5 and xpa-2 to an old Adcom (gfa-545 or -555?).
I found the Adcom to be a bit more grainy and lacking punch/dynamic response, esp. in lower frequencies than either Emotiva.
Net, it is worth trying the Emo gear. Better yet, try some nCores!
Mark
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Post by knucklehead on Sept 23, 2015 21:40:26 GMT -5
Interesting. I had an Adcom 535 for about half a year. It drove a pair of Emotiva ERM 6.2's just fine and to ear-piercing sound levels and never lacked in any part of the audio spectrum. I still had that amp when the song towers arrived. Worked fine with them as well.
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Post by Cogito on Sept 24, 2015 17:14:55 GMT -5
Wow, look at the Adcom bashing in this thread. I can say that my 23 y/o Adcom GFA-555II amp sounded every bit as good as my XPA-2 Gen. 2 amp. The Adcom was never "grainy", lacked "punch", "bloated", "recessed" or anything like that. The Adcom always behaved itself and sounded as neutral as anything else I ever heard. At the time, the Adcoms were some of the most highly regarded amps in the industry at a bargain price. Much like Emotiva is considered today. The ONLY reason I sold it was simply because it WAS getting old and old electronics can get unreliable over the decades and at the price (Sale + Emo Club 10% discount), they were a steal.
One thing my Emotiva amp can't do that the Adcom could, drive 2 ohm loads and even 1 ohm loads.
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hemster
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Post by hemster on Sept 24, 2015 17:23:18 GMT -5
Wow, look at the Adcom bashing in this thread. I can say that my 23 y/o Adcom GFA-555II amp sounded every bit as good as my XPA-2 Gen. 2 amp. The Adcom was never "grainy", lacked "punch", "bloated", "recessed" or anything like that. The Adcom always behaved itself and sounded as neutral as anything else I ever heard. At the time, the Adcoms were some of the most highly regarded amps in the industry at a bargain price. Much like Emotiva is considered today. The ONLY reason I sold it was simply because it WAS getting old and old electronics can get unreliable over the decades and at the price (Sale + Emo Club 10% discount), they were a steal. One thing my Emotiva amp can't do that the Adcom could, drive 2 ohm loads and even 1 ohm loads. Where exactly is the "Adcom bashing in this thread"? I see several posts saying the Adcom was fine, every bit as good as Emotiva amps and one post saying the poster found the Adcom grainy. That's hardly Adcom bashing. With a dozen or so posts that are either neutral or even favoring Adcom, odds are that there'll be couple of posts favoring Emotiva over Adcom. That's just the law of averages. Not bashing at all. FWIW, although I did not compare any Adcom products with Emotiva products directly and side by side, I seem to recall the Adcom amps were very decent and much better than most in the same price league. Certainly there were better amps that cost more in those days too but that's par for the course.
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Post by slovell on Sept 25, 2015 3:19:53 GMT -5
I'm not bashing my Adcoms, far from it. They've been bulletproof for the 15+ years that I've owned them and I bought both of them used. My 5500 and 7000 are aging and the sound is starting to degrade as it will at this point. I'm trying to decide if it's worth the outlay to have both of them extensively serviced and still have two 15+ years old amps or spend the money on two (or maybe one XPA-7) amps built with current technology, parts, and a warranty. The big minus for the 5500 is if it decides to blow it could very well destroy my KLF-20s when/if it goes because it lacks any form of speaker protection. That fact certainly has to be considered. I haven't purchased amps in a very long time and I'm trying to find out what's out there. From what I've read Emotiva makes the most cost effective amps on the market considering value for performance. The only ringer in this would possibly be the Crown XLS line. Bash my Adcoms when they have served me well for many, many years? I think not, but there should always be room for change.
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Post by slovell on Sept 25, 2015 16:05:21 GMT -5
How does the XPA-7 switch to two channel mode and is there any truth to what I've read about this amp having problems syncing with Marantz prepros? I have the Marantz AV-7005.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Sept 25, 2015 16:43:43 GMT -5
It doesn't "switch" to 2 channel mode. It merely amplifies signals provided to it. It is up to the pre/pro to decide which channels to send output signals to, and the amp merely amplifies what it is given.
Net, there is no "syncing" involved. Where have you read the amp has trouble "syncing"?
Mark
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Post by Cogito on Sept 25, 2015 16:50:48 GMT -5
Wow, look at the Adcom bashing in this thread. I can say that my 23 y/o Adcom GFA-555II amp sounded every bit as good as my XPA-2 Gen. 2 amp. The Adcom was never "grainy", lacked "punch", "bloated", "recessed" or anything like that. The Adcom always behaved itself and sounded as neutral as anything else I ever heard. At the time, the Adcoms were some of the most highly regarded amps in the industry at a bargain price. Much like Emotiva is considered today. The ONLY reason I sold it was simply because it WAS getting old and old electronics can get unreliable over the decades and at the price (Sale + Emo Club 10% discount), they were a steal. One thing my Emotiva amp can't do that the Adcom could, drive 2 ohm loads and even 1 ohm loads. Where exactly is the "Adcom bashing in this thread"? I see several posts saying the Adcom was fine, every bit as good as Emotiva amps and one post saying the poster found the Adcom grainy. That's hardly Adcom bashing. With a dozen or so posts that are either neutral or even favoring Adcom, odds are that there'll be couple of posts favoring Emotiva over Adcom. That's just the law of averages. Not bashing at all. FWIW, although I did not compare any Adcom products with Emotiva products directly and side by side, I seem to recall the Adcom amps were very decent and much better than most in the same price league. Certainly there were better amps that cost more in those days too but that's par for the course. Okay, maybe "bashing" is a bit strong LOL
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Post by slovell on Sept 25, 2015 17:06:36 GMT -5
It doesn't "switch" to 2 channel mode. It merely amplifies signals provided to it. It is up to the pre/pro to decide which channels to send output signals to, and the amp merely amplifies what it is given. Net, there is no "syncing" involved. Where have you read the amp has trouble "syncing"? Mark I read it on a forum somewhere, didn't make sense to me either. A poster was writing about his XPA-7 producing 520 RMS when it was in two channel mode but his Marantz prepro was having problems syncing with the XPA-7. He said he contacted Emotiva and was told that the XPA-7 had problems with Marantz prepros. I'll try to find the later tonight when I have some time.
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klinemj
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Post by klinemj on Sept 25, 2015 17:55:00 GMT -5
That will be interesting to see,for sure.
Mark
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