Mcintosh V adcom 555II?

[erniejade]

This one might sound a bit weird but here it goes.

I have a McIntosh 2105 running an a set of Vandersteen 3A. It does sound nice but, the vandies are on the warm side, so is the McIntosh so, I was thinking of trying out a gfa 555II on them. There is one locally for sale I was thinking of picking up. While some consider this a downgrade, I was thinking it might help brighten the vandies up a little bit.

Preamp is a carver c-19 cd player jolida 100 running EI tubes.

Thanks for the opinions.

[LessisNevermore]

Have you considered a different pre? Or rolling in new glass in the cdp?

[erniejade]

I did change glass in the pre) the c-19 is a tub pre and was re-done by rolland) and also in the CDP.

The pre and cdp are perfect on my SDA 1.2's running on a sunfire sig II 625x2. ( the c-19 does have 2 sets of pre outs) but on the vandies, just feel like it is missing something. There is also a little power difference between the McIntosh 2105 ( 105 per, but it was hitting 133 before it even started to sweat on the scope lol) vs 200 on the adcom.

For people that have never heard Vandersteen speakers, they are a softer sounding speaker.

[Face]

The 2105 isn't one of their best designs, the Adcom may work better in your setup.

[erniejade]

Thanks for the advice face. I am going to pull the grigger on it. For the price and it being local w no shipping.. If i dont like it, I can re-sell it, or the McIntosh if I do like it.

[erniejade]

I went and took a look at the unit. It was the 555 not the II version. It didn't sound bad on his system. Just a Sony ES cdp hooked directly up to the amp ( the sony had a volume on it)

This weekend, I will have a shootout. one of the amps need to go. I have 4 of them right now, the Sunfire sig II, McIntosh 2105, Integra M5030 ( under rated amp in my opinion. I have had it for 15 + years.. and now the adcom 555. The sunfire is staying so it is going to be between the integra, McIntosh, and Adcom. Anyone want to take bets on what one will stay and what will go?


The Integra is only rated at 100 per, the McIntosh is 105, the adcom is 200.
For thoes who don't know what the Integra looks like here is a link to an ebay auction that ended selling one. http://cgi.ebay.com/ONKYO-INTEGRA-M-...QQcmdZViewItem

[tonyb]

The Mac is stayin'. If you want to brighten up the sound a tad,how about using silver IC's or speaker wire ? Also, have you ever thought of re-doing or upgrading those Vandies?

[erniejade]

LOL Tonyb. I am using ben's silver IC's all the way around. For speaker wire, I go between AQ type 4 and a home meade Totem Tress jumper, and audio quest Crystal. The crystal is bi wire.


I did see where you can get the vandy's upgraded to the sig. version. I have hard a lot of mix feelings on this. Some like it some don't. Or I should say the cost vs any difference in sound.

Dont get me wrong, the vandy's are a fantastic sounding speaker, a little laid back, but an wide sound stage, clear for sure. It could be also because I am compairing them to the polk 1.2's that tend to run bright. I might just need to only listen to the vandys for a few weeks without going between speakers.


Still, I have too many amps 2 need to go!

[tonyb]

Your a step ahead of me then.:p How about bi-amping,or ice amps like the w4s stuff ?

[devani]

i've tried adcom 5800 and MC2105 on 10A and I like the 2105 better...it's more life like but not by much....monitor 10A is efficient BTW (105W vs 250W didn't matter much)....i dont know if there's alot of difference between 555 and 5800....

[leftwinger57]

it was always a dream to own a2105 . Prices being what they are I went for the ADCOMgfa555. This thing is so stable the only regret if any would be that there are no controls on the Acom and of course on the Mac you get contlols and that beautiful glow of the meters . Not cheap to buy ergo not cheap to fix .For pure power that doen't get hot I took the Adcom. Just for looks the mk2/ the ribs looks better than the original...Leftwinger

[erniejade]

I hooked up the adcom and went between the mcintosh and adcom. First impressions on the adcom. It does have more highs then the mcintosh that is for sure but the bass was not as promenent as the mcintosh. The highs on the adcom seemed too foward to me though on the highs almost to the point of being almost harsh.


I didn't get a chance to do extensive listening to it though. I do see a lot of good points to the adcom and I can see why it has a following. For the money, I would recommend this amp. So far I do like it but I don't think it is a replacement for the mcintosh.

I will try it on the sda 1.2 next. Maybe it is a better match for them but, then it would be going up against the sunfire sig.

[devani]

Adcom is a such a good amp for the money but MC2105 sounded better to me.

[heiney9]

Many times these shoot outs are moot unless you know both amps are in their best working condition. It's easier to make a fair comparison with newer gear but to put a 20+ year old amp that could have weak caps, etc against something newer or possibly in better condition doesn't really mean much.

I am not at all suggesting your results aren't valid, just commenting in general about comparing older used gear. The proper way to compare older gear is to test it first to make sure it meets manufacturer spec's then compare them.

Same could be said for old Polk speakers or anything getting up to or past it's useful or prime age. Many of the pieces built in the mid late 80's could be in need of refreshing. Perhaps the next MC or Adcom you get (same model) will give you a different result.

H9

[erniejade]

That is true, but the McIntosh I have was built 1974 soo... The adcom either way would be 10+ years newer on all parts... The McIntosh i did have benched from a shop for power and distortion but that doesn't tell me if i have a worn cap or anything. The Adcom has not been benched yet.

Like I said, the adcom 555 does have a lot of great qualities. It actually has me interested in the 5800 that is in the for sale section here. I am going to listen to it more. Just on initial impressions, the 2105 has more in the low end, but, the highs were not as bright as the adcom. The adcom also must just be a bad match for Vandersteen or the rest of my system.




BTW i could not find a date on it. does adcom use the date in the SN or am I not looking in the right place?

[heiney9]

I was just making a point generally about used gear and comparisons, etc. It's something that until it was recently brought to my attention that tends to get overlooked with all older used gear.

I am not aware of a date in the S/N.

Good luck whatever you end up with.

H9

[erniejade]

Thanks!!! and I agree 10000% with you on that. It does get over looked big time! A friend of mine had gotten a Tandberg 3016A. He hated it and said his old pioneer sx receiver sounded better. I told him did he have it looked at or take it in and make sure it is up to spec. He took it in and they did discover a few issues with a few caps and something else that I cant recall since it has been a few years. He was just going to write it off as junk.

I in many ways feel stupid by telling him to take it in and have it looked at instead of saying I'll take that hunk of junk LOL.


So where did they put there date codes on the 555?

[heiney9]

Thanks!!! and I agree 10000% with you on that. It does get over looked big time! A friend of mine had gotten a Tandberg 3016A. He hated it and said his old pioneer sx receiver sounded better. I told him did he have it looked at or take it in and make sure it is up to spec. He took it in and they did discover a few issues with a few caps and something else that I cant recall since it has been a few years. He was just going to write it off as junk.

I in many ways feel stupid by telling him to take it in and have it looked at instead of saying I'll take that hunk of junk LOL.


So where did they put there date codes on the 555?

There aren't any I'm aware of. I just know the 555II came out in about 1989 and the 5800 came out in about 1993, IIRC so that's about as good a date as you'll get -lol

H9