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Adcom circa 1990 amp and preamp

I went to a local vintage audio shop here in rural PA to get a cheap system for my basement. They had an Adcom 565 preamplifier and a 545 type 2 amp. Back in the day I had a 545 coupled with one of their tuner preamps and the latter was not so great. I hooked the new setup to my Larsen 6.2 speakers and Rega Apollo CD player and was shocked at the quality of the sound. The pre is amazing with more than satisfactory phono and headphone capabilities. The Adcom sounds wonderful and now I am using it as my main system for a while. Ok, a tube fan might complain the treble is a trifle harsh but that is mere opinion, and nothing a Black Ice tube DAC can’t cure. I also got a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 7s and they are amazing. 
My main system is the Exogal Comet/Ion that cost thousands of dollars. I love it but the new vintage system holds up quite well and cost $700. Am I crazy or what? 
rtorchia
jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 
Here's what I put together from my vintage collection and am now listening to: RGR 4 preamp/ Sumo Andromeda amp/ DCM Time Windows. Sounds really excellent with my analog and digital sources! And for you wire fanatics the speaker cable is Q Audio Time Stream (bought used).
rtorchia's avatar
rtorchia OP
138 posts
 
Sounds like some good stuff. Certainly I have a degree of nostalgia but if that were the dominating factor I would be into receivers. People tend to equate quality in audio with dollars spent and I have to say that I could live with this Adcom stuff quite easily, especially since one system cost 8k and the other $700. Adcom is considered to be a real classic by many, especially the amplifiers from this period. You don't see too many 565 (but lots of 555s) preamplifiers around presumably because people keep them. I was thinking to get something more modern but from the sound point of view there really isn't any motivation.
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,638 posts
 
jasonbourne52 

I was in Robert's basement on Howard auditioning stuff. Grodinsky designed great pieces. Cheap switches and all.
I'll bet it sounds fine pushing the Sumo.

mike_in_nc
1,166 posts
 
A system doesn’t have to be perfect to be engaging and enjoyable. It doesn’t even have to be accurate. The Adcom stuff was very good for its time, and I’m not surprised it’s fun still.
normansizemore
601 posts
 
Doesn’t surprise  me either.  I have plenty of friends with current high end rigs, and I personally think my system has more touch, tone and feel than anything my buddies own. 
I don’t really think that ‘new technology’ has advanced good sound to where it has  made ‘old technology’ out of date.  
Good sound is good sound regardless of what era or technology it comes from.  To think otherwise is kinda silly, isn’t it?
 N
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