ADCOM GFP-555II vs. NAD 1240

[zuul]

I've been using the NAD 1240 with no complaints for about a year. Now I have an adcom gfp-555 that i picked up for $50!... trying to decide which one to keep/sell... haven't hooked up the adcom yet... looking forward to seeing how it sounds with my adcom gfa-5300... still rocking the polk 5jr.

Anyone have any thoughts/comparisons... most of what i've read on the internets seems to lean towards the adcom...

So far gotten I've gotten really good input here so I'm looking forward to your opinion.

thanks!

[McLoki]

I have not heard the NAD - but the adcoms strenghts are power (volume and bass control) and its weaknesses (such as they are) are in articulation and detail.

There is a good chance you will favor one over the other, but it depends on what matters more in your system and your room (that is how synergy is developed).

Try em both and let us know where things fall.........

Michael

[George Grand]

I think he's talking about preamps.

[McLoki]

Well crap - nevermind.

Thanks for the clarification George. I hate the no edit portion of the forum.

[zuul]

I think he's talking about preamps.

so far it seems the adcom has more midrange and the high end might be a bit more subtle... the bass is lacking until you utilize the "contour" feature of the adcom and that fills in the lows quite nicely... seemingly very similar... the nad might be a bit "brighter" but the lack of midrange is noticeable and thus the adcom i would consider to be a bit more balanced... like everything in the end i guess it's all about your ear and the room etc... since the only thing that changed is the pre-amp in this scenario it's easy to pinpoint the differences between the two...

since the adcom was $50 and i can get a bit more than that for the NAD i'd call it a good buy.

eventually i'm going to dump all this stuff and go straight tube gear or at least a tube amp and ss pre or tube pre and ss amp depending on the breaks...

more than anything... the polks continue to prove their worth... an excellent reference speaker if nothing else...

[jchouston]

Once you've had an opportunity to evaluate both, I'd love to know if you're interested in selling one.

Nice buy, btw.

[reeltrouble1]

I have found the Adcom to be disturbably harsh, it is well known in audio world that the NAD sound is on the warm side of neutral so if you found it otherwise I would examine the entire system for the reason.

RT1

[zuul]

I have found the Adcom to be disturbably harsh, it is well known in audio world that the NAD sound is on the warm side of neutral so if you found it otherwise I would examine the entire system for the reason.

RT1

interesting.... i in fact have had the exact opposite experience where the nad seems neutral for sure and a bit brighter in the highs... while the adcom seems to be the fuller warmer sounding preamp... i even had someone in the room with me listening as i played them back to back through several quite disparate musical passages... i'm not a musical expert but the person i was with is... at least if a degree in music means anything...

i only have 3 sources... phono, dvd and video... my interconnects aren't the best but it's not el-cheapo either...

the power in my 1923 apartment building is horrible... lots of line noise... i don't think the power is grounded in here... bad... i need to do something about that actually... but i guess that's for another post...

[ben62670]

I had two Adcom Pre's, and I had found that the mids were a little grainy, but the bass was silly punchy with tone controls bypassed. I am guessing that your DVD player may be hindering an accurate assessment of either Pre.
Ben

[zuul]

I had two Adcom Pre's, and I had found that the mids were a little grainy, but the bass was silly punchy with tone controls bypassed. I am guessing that your DVD player may be hindering an accurate assessment of either Pre.
Ben

it's a pretty good denon dvd player... and i was mainly using vinyl for the comparison... unless you're saying that having it in the loop at all is bad...

[leftwinger57]

Mcloki I think your mixing poweramps w/ pres. the ADCOM GFA555 any model or year has no knobs of any kind. Just a huge rocker on/off, red led on and some clipping leds
thats it .mac and rotels and other brands do have some on/off best left for a good pree-amp.leftwinger57

[cnh]

I'd have to agree..the lower model Adcom pres can be a little bright. Only the highest models are 'neutral'---none are 'warm'?

Where as the NADs are definitely 'warmer' as Ted suggests above. If it were me, I'd go with the NAD and I own an Adcom power amp (GFA-555)? I heard that amp with your pre and it did not float my boat.

cnh