adcom equipment.....

So I got a little frustrated with the Adcom amp, that I couldn't get it to heat up at all. The speakers are 4 to 8 ohms across the frequency range, with 4 drivers in a 3 way design.  They are on the efficient side at around a 92 rating.  I have to REALLY turn it up with these speakers to get the slightest warmth on the heat sinks.  So I became a little inventive.

I decided to try connecting my 4 ohm bookshelf Totem Rainmakers in parallel with the Energy CF-70's.  I believe the amp would see a load of about 3 ohms and under, depending on the Energy's.  I cranked it up fairly loudly, peaks of about 90 db at my seating area, but left the basement for the room above where the Adcom set up was situated.

It was pretty loud!  It become difficult to hear the TV unless it was cranked up somewhat.  I ran it like that for about a 1/2 hr, then went down and checked on the amp.  Well it definitely got warm, but only moderately so.  I could feel the warmth coming off the heat sinks, but I'd say that the heat management is pretty effective, and the amp has a lot of capacity in that department.  A 3 ohm load doesn't give it any trouble whatsoever.

I'm getting close to my 50 hour mark on the burn in, but I'm not fully confident whether that is enough.  The Oddyssey amplifier company suggests that components take several hundred hours to fully break in. They also suggest leaving the amp on while it goes through the process. 

I'm continuing with this little Adcom journal for any Adcom fans that may look for Adcom impressions in this forum.  I know that I've done the "adcom" search here, and there is limited content to consider.

Also, I've made some after market improvements to my 565SE.  I've treated all of the fuses(5 of them) with Stabilant 22.  This is a substance that is a semi conductor until it comes into contact with electricity, then it becomes a super conductor.  It improves any electrical contact point.  4 Fuses inside the case, and the one accessed on the back.

Then, I'm not using the stock power cable, but a PS Audio AC5 cable instead.  It's a solid core, individually insulated copper conductor based design.  Every component in my set up has cables of similar design, and so are my speaker and interconnect cables.  

Speaking of speaker cables, mine(audioquest Rocket 44) are in a biwire configuration, so the little brass bars across the speaker terminals are not being used.

Each one of these items I've listed enhances or improves the end result.  YMMV.  BTW, I'm over the 50 hour mark, but am going to give it a little extra.  

Articdeth above, 

You suggested choosing wisely on the amp/speaker pairing above, and right you were.  I returned the Energy cf-70 today.  After 70+ hours on them, the mid range was just blah.  No life, no energy, a veiled presentation. They had decent bass for the money, but it was like the life of the party was missing.  When I swapped in an old pair of Infinity Primus 362, the magic was back.  

So I wondered around the show room of the audio store today, listening to a few pairs of what the sales guy suggested.  Nothing caught my ear until he turned on the Kef Q750 and 950.  I thought the 950 added warmth to the vocals compared to the 750's, but really liked either one.  I ordered a pair of the 750 in Walnut.  They may have to come from either New Jersey or the UK, apparently.  

So I'm occasionally swapping in different speakers on the amp, still running it in.  

So to finish off my little saga, I’ve got about 80 hours on the big Adcom now. I’ve used little Tannoy DC4T speakers and the previously mentioned Infinity Primus 362, as well as the Energy CF-70, which I returned.

On the Infinitys, it’s a completely different presentation than the Energys. Nice and open at first, but discomfort after a while. I changed out my silver coated copper wire Morrow interconnects, and put a warmer speaker cable on them, Wireworld Oasis 7. After running that in for a couple of hours things smoothed out a lot. But as I’ve been changing speakers a lot as I experiment with the Adcom, they’re not the best to work with.

The Tannoys are different again. These ones are easy to please. I believe their impedance is pretty steady at 8, while the Infinitys vary a fair bit. The Tannoy also is much less sensitive at 88 vs 93 or so. The sound with the Adcom was much better to me. More balanced, more pleasing overall, and images just as well.

This morning I wanted to compare the 565SE to the 555MS, Adcom’s smallest amp in current production. So I installed the 555 and let it warm up for an hour. Interesting, it sounds better on the Infinitys than the 565, but of course with less dynamics that 250 wpc can do. Anyway, to compare detail, I used some Dianna Krall songs I know well. Then I put the 565SE back in.

With the same Dianna song, I could immediately hear that the piano was more accurate and real sounding. I wasn’t expecting that. A better soundstage as well, just a nicer presentation. It really is in another class.

So the 565 has more than just muscle to bring to the table. I would say the voicing is a little more foreward and open than the 555MS, and I could definitely hear this with the Infinitys, too much of a good thing. But on neutral speakers or onto warm, if that’s your preference, the 565SE can shine. One thing, I've got a little heavy metal music.  With the Infinitys and the 565, the sound was a tour de force!  I can't explain why...

I was experiencing good tight bass when I had the Energys playing loud, so the Adcom doesn’t lack there either. I can’t compare it to a mega bucks amp, but I really think its a price leader for the power rating. I think Emotiva’s XPA amps are around the same price, and the Oddyssey amps should be considered, although they are less power.

Here's just a footnote of sorts to my story.

I take back my findings on the Infinity Primus 362 or the Adcom 565SE being on the forward side.   I really can't say for sure what the Adcom is, its kind of disappeared as it were.  Above I had mentioned this, and that the Infinitys were difficult to work with.

I decided to leave them in the system as I wait for my Kefs to show up(apparently they may be coming from the UK, the Dealer wasn't sure at the time).  Over time, the infinity speakers have warmed up, so to speak.  No overly forward soundstage that gives me ear fatigue.  No brightness or harshness.  Not that they are warm sounding, but they seem to have really good detail in the mids and highs.

My preamp is the Schiit Audio Freya+, and I made another discovery.  With the tubes engaged, and everything warmed up, real magic happens with those Infinitys.  The Tweeter is better than I thought, and this SS amp/Tube pre combo is amazing at times.

One song stands out so far.  The Gypsy Kings, Hotel California.  The intro is magical, just magical.  When the lead guitar makes his first full strum, the detail and exactness is better than I've ever heard it.  Not too bad for some old cast off speakers that I picked up on Craigslist for cheap.  I'm using silver wire IC's to the amp and source, and Wireworld Oasis 7 speaker cables, which are said to be warm.