Adcom GTP-880 A/V Preamplifier
Adcom GTP-880 A/V Preamplifier
USER REVIEWS
[Aug 04, 2006]
Paul Vaughan
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Incredible value & sound for the price! Simple, yet aesthetically pleasing silver & black faceplate . Very intuitive set-up & operation. An incredible amount of connection options on the back panel, but....
Weakness:
.... there are no balanced XLRs or DVI hook ups, but I am not missing them as much as I thought I would. I think the lower price may have contributed here? In very simple laymen's term, I just recently purchased both an Adcom GTP 880 pre & an Adcom 7808 amp & and have been extremely pleased w/ the duo. I was running Sunfire's GT 2 pre & the Cinema Grand 200 x 5 thru Def Tech speaks & a Klipsch RSW 12 sub. While I was Very Pleased w/ Sunfire's system, I noticed that the sound was very bright & a bit muddier ( separation wise ) in combo w/ the DTs. Both Adcoms were purchased thru a respectable local audio shop for about $5000 out the door as low use demos. Despite being more inexpensive than the Sunfires, the Adcoms were a definite step-up in overall quality, sound, & power. There is a dramatic difference in warmth, clarity, & separation in my DTs & the Klipsch sub seemed to subtly improve in it's ability to hit when needed. For curiosity's sake, I mixed the Sunfire & Adcom units up & that is where the Adcom 880 shined. It really cleaned up the signal in all aspects of the listening spectrum. Not that Sunfire is bad, but it just wasn't as clean. To be fair, I also ran the system as both a 7.1 & a 5.1 for further comparison. In my opinion, the 880 simply cleaned house in both music & movies over Sunfire! I ran the Adcoms thru the ringer musically & in home theater by screening a variety of test cds & dvds. Zukerman's Vivaldi 4 Seasons, Brubeck's Time Out, various Buddha Bars, Vollenweider, Tool, Incubus, & even Pantera (!!!) cds were tested with stunning results. From classical to metal, I never encountered the slightest bit of hesitation ( or snivelling ) coming from the Adcom system. When I ran the 7.1 set-up, the system did a remarkable job of not over powering or coloring the 'new' 7th channel despite coming from what is essentially, a non 7.1 recording source. The new channel blended in nicely & transitioned fairly seamlessly to fill in the back half of the room. I watched Batman Beyond, The Matrix ( of course ), Miyazaki's Spirited Away,La Ley's MTV Acustico set, & Saving Pvt. Ryan as my test bed dvds. There is a part in Batman where the sound effects violently jump out & back, which was enough to make my buddy actually jump w/ surprise! The ricochets, explosions, & spent brass falling on the ground in S.P.R & The Matrix took on new levels of realism that I have never experienced before w/ my system. Jaw dropping! La Ley's set was absolutely crystal clear musically & I could swear that even the picture clarity improved on my 50'' HD when I watched Spirited Away!
Customer Service I now have the luck & bias of Adcom being a local area company based in Scottsdale, Az ( I live in Phoenix, but this did not influence me since I found this out after I bought the unit!), but my trusted local audio shop said that Adcom has the 'jump through flaming hoops of death' level of customer service. Similar Products Used: Sunfire products |
[Jun 07, 2005]
danderson
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Awsome sound all around. This receiver Seems to make the 15 inch Klipsch sub More active I noticed it shakes the house alot more.
Weakness:
Tuner seems to have less reception compared to my GTP-602 But I will Mostly use this receiver for movies anyhow I purchased This unit to replace a Aging Kenwood unit I am blown away by the Channel seperation And Clarity My wife was actualy scard on movies that previously watched didn't Make her jumpy. Similar Products Used: Kenwood Yahama adcom Denon |