Decent price for 130x5 amp. Good
headroom.

Internal layout horrible. Protection
circuitry is bad. Higher THD+N
ratings at rated output, compared to
other amps.

I've used Adcom amps for several years
now. Many I've bought second hand and
got great deals on. The 7000 was in
my system for a couple years until I
had a mishap thanks to an installer.
While downloading new software to
enable a set of side speakers (and
rear) he forgot to switch the rear
speakers from dipole to dual drive.
This caused the 2 amp channels to come
in contact with each other. The
protection circuitry never engaged and
not only did the amp channels fuses
burn up, but so did the circuit boards
and my rear speaker. The repair guy
said that the internal layout was
horrible. One fuse is located on top,
but the other fuse is down at the
bottom, making it a pain in the butt
to get to.

I since sold the amp and did some
comparisons between the Acurus line.
My A150 not only sounds better, but
has more power than my 555II and 5500.
I looked at the newer 7500 as well,
but decided to go with the A125x5 as a
replacement. Not as bright sounding
and plenty of power even at the lower
rating (125 vs 150). Also, Adcom
gives higher power ratings than Acurus
based on a higher levels of distortion (0.5 vs 0.06% all channels driven).

Adcom did some great things in their early days...Offering reasonable power at good prices. However, many manufaturers have now caught up. There is plenty of options available in this price range. I still own my other Adcoms, but I prefer the sound of the Acurus over them (A150 vs 5500 and A125x5 vs 7000 or 7500). As someone else noted, Parasound makes some great products as well. Lots to choose from, so take your time.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom 535II, 555II, 5500, 7500.
Acurus A150 and A125x5.

This THX certified, 5 Channel amp is rated at 130 watts per channel. You have to hear this one to believe it. Choosing LD as the source I cranked the volume all the way up and get no amp noise until well past 90% volume. The dynamic range is great. I couldn't recommend a better home theatre amp. It doesn't seem to miss a beat or get hot even when blasting bass heavy movies. It doesn't do to bad when I use to just play CDs. Although it doesn't use MOSFET, the resulting sound is still very neutral except at very high volume.