Soundstage, timbre realization, quiet background..outstanding.

None that I can detect..particularly at this price range!

This unit is a shock to one that treats this hobby in a
serious manner. It does about everything well.

1. Soundstage..realistic..believable.
2. Timbre differences realized.
3. Ability to render previously undetected detail.

The ability of this preamp to pull out buried detail in
a CD is truly remarkable. It dispells the idea that you
must have an overly bright preamp to hear lowlevel
percussion in the background. One can hear the distance
between the percussive low-level instruments in the
background..thus, giving you a sense of depth to the
soundstage...rarely, if ever realized in a preamp of this
price range. The breathing space between instruments is there.

Another remarkable quality is its ability to "flesh-out"
the low frequency qualities of a sax or trumpet..that lower
mid range and upper bass is rendered in proper perspective.
A quality usually found only in the best designed high cost
preamps. The "dry" quality found in so many preamps is
not found in this unit. A rarity!!

I'm currently using a large Magnepan Planar/Ribbon set of
speakers. Never, have I heard any preamp make the high
frequency ribbons sound so sweet...a quality of ribbons
with the proper amplification. Needless to say, I am
impressed with this preamp. And, in the so-called "..here
and now..", this is truly an outstanding preamp. Mind you
I am using some very good amplification and cables!

My recommendation to anyone looking for an outstanding
preamp, listen to the 750...make sure its "burned in"
for at least 4 days...the delicate "airy" quality of
cymbals won't "bloom out" until it is burnt in...silibance
will become as natural as the mike on the recording will
allow. So, no matter what range of gear you're used,
this unit will not let you down in a well planned environment. If Pass keeps this up, perhaps, we'll get
more people getting into this hobby of ours. A truly
good thing!Price wise, this unit is revolutionary.

I purchased the Adcom-750 because of its low-cost and
the Stereophile recommendations. My son has built some
really fine sounding stereo-rigs in the past, based on
the Stereophile recommendations of gear at reasonable
cost. I never seriously thought the Adcom 750 would
replace my current preamp..a unit that cost 4 times
the Adcom list price. As of now, it is firmly stationed
in my equipment cabinet.

Leonard...

P.S. This preamp makes a statement about "solid-state"
gear. Those who have "stuck" around in the "valve"
world...do listen to this preamp in a decent
environment. I've "been there...done that" and I
know of what I speak. Do try to "unlearn" old
habits of what is "proper"...let the real world
slip in..this preamp will help with that. Again,
it demands the finest in surrounding gear!! It
sings with such cable as AudioQuest Lapis 3, etc.
A friend that got me interested in the Adcom is
using some Cardas interconnects...expensive, but
they also match well with the 750.

Similar Products Used:

Classe', ML, Audio Research, etc.

I have owned this for a little over a year now. Sounds great if you can get one that works. The first GFP-750 I had was returned thirty days later. The selector switch stopped working. The store gave me a new one. The second GFP-750 I got started with a static noise in the right channel. Took it to ADCOM authorized repair shop. They told me they could find nothing wrong. From the conversation that I had with the techinician I am certain he never openned the box. Now the right side almost completely cuts out. Works OK in the passive mode, but doesn't sound as good. Going back to the shop today.
If I can ever get this thing fixed, I will sell it and buy something that may not sound as good but will work.

Great sound. Hard to decide whether active or passive is better.

Power supply blew after less than a month. Took about a month for the spares to come for it to be repaired. First time any component has failed on me. Fiddly remot

Good preamp marred by a transformer blowout when very new.

Similar Products Used:

Hafler 915
Audio Research LS7

Passive Mode. Plus it looks great and goes well with the Adcom GCD-750 CD player.

Chokes system power in Passive mode.

I started with the B&K PT3 and it was choking my system power so badly that I ordered an Adcom GFP-750 without ever hearing it. In the meantime my neighbor let me use his Onkyo P-304 and my system came alive! Now I could not turn the volume past 9:00 on the dial because it was simply too loud in my listening area. The Onkyo P-304 opened my eyes to the sound of a quailty preamp.

When my GFP-750 came in and I hooked it up, I was very happy with the sound. It was cleaner, and added detail to my overall sound compared to the P-304. The only interesting negative difference was that it was not as loud, but still louder than the B&K PT3 and again too loud over 12:00.

Switching to Passive mode ended this. Suddenly the volume was much lower at any given dial setting but the sound - oh, the sound - was transparent. I found that I could actually turn the dial up full and not be in pain, however, something that I can not do in active mode. Is this normal?

At any rate, I only paid $780 at Tweeter and I feel this was a bargain. I am a little concerned about the lack of volume (especially after having that PT3 choke my power so badly) in Passive mode but it actually seems to be getting louder as it breaks in. Plus, it looks great with the matching GCD-750 CD player.

Chris Troianello
GFP-750
GCD-750
B&K Reference 4420 Amp
Mirage OM-10s with MIT terminator 2 cabling

Similar Products Used:

B&K PT3, Onkyo P-304

Overall cost-to-performance ratio

Build quality suspect, poor customer service

This pre amp overall is a pretty good performer--for the money.

But, I if like me, you're looking for a Levinson killer @ 1/8 the price, well, lets just say you get what you pay for.

Overall very clean , quite, and neutral. Active stage is close to passive, but I think it's because the passive isn't the best around.

My unit had an unusual channel imbalance. When I called Adcom for Technical support, all I got was a generally rude response from a girl, in office, who never did connect me to a technician.

Again good for the money, not great.

Similar Products Used:

Reference Line Preeminence Two, Conrad-Johnson PV-11, Sonic Frontiers Line 2

Better than the Adcom GFP-565

This is a follow up on a review that I wrote quite a while back. I recently purchased a Linn Genki cd player. The Linn gives one the option of either going to your preamp input with a fixed 2V output or going straight to your amp with a variable output. I had listened for a few weeks with the cd player going to the preamp and then to my amp (Audio Research 100.2).
I decided to go straight from the Linn to my amp. The clouds parted and a new dimension in sound came forth!! I'm not talking slightly better, I'm talking 'sound like I've never heard in my house' better! In EVERY aspect the sound was improved.
What's my point? My point is that there is something that is deteriorating the sound between the cd player and the amp. The interconnects that I am using are Silver Audio's "Hyacinth". I KNOW that they are not the culpret. It must be the preamp! I am also concerned about what Adcom calls the "passive" switch on the preamp. If it were truly passive one could listen thru the preamp with the power OFF and still use the volume control! HHhhmmmm! Kinda makes ya wonder doesn't it!
If anyone else has tried this please let me know what your opinion/outcome was.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GFP-555 and 565 preamps

Markl, David li and any other Idiots that can't leave an e-mail address. How stupid are you if you can't remember your e-mail address. How do we know if you even remember what the gear sounded like? Are we supposed to take your reviews seriously?
The 750 was a suprise to me. It was actually very good, despite being an Adcom piece. Very transparent, good dynamics and an excellent soundstage. Very nice price too. Truely a bargain in a audio price-gone-crazy world. Definately a must audition in the under $2,000 range.

Okay, listen to what the "750" did to my system. I bought the pre in the midst of updating almost all of my equipment. At the time of initial hookup I did not have speaker cable for my primary speakers psb Stratus Golds. So, I hooked it up to what I had: signal from an older Rotel cd changer, to the pre, to a Parasound 2200 II amp, and (this is the kicker) to my Paradigm Atom's up in our living area. Now, the speaker wire is Radio Shack's second best, probably like 16 gague, and it runs for more than 40 feet. I didn't have great expectations but the little Atoms opened up, bloomed and provided tight bass !!! all with a wall of absolute silence as background. My wife even said it was worth the price. Now, I simply wait for the newer cablings to burn in.

transparent, active/passive option

Hands down the best pre available in it's price range. In passive it doesn't exist. In active it provides gain for those weaker components without changing a thing. I personally prefer passive for my Aragon D2A Mark II since it's own power supply is substantial. Active is best served by the rest like the VCR which are not 'hi-fi' and can't drive my amp as well as the GFP-750 can. Not much to say, I have no regrets and highly recommend this piece to anyone in this price range. 5 star value and a 4 star overall rating since there is always Mark Levinson if cost no object is your goal.

Regis Poirier

Associated equipment:
Sony DVP-S7000
Aragon D2A Mark II
Adcom GFP-750
Adcom GFA-5802
PSB Stratus Gold
Kimber Hero XLR
Kimber PBJ
Kimber 8TC

Similar Products Used:

Chiro C800, Adcom GDD-1, Acurus RL11

Tranparent, Ease of Use

No tape loop. All black knobs.

This is a wonderful pre-amp. It is completely tranparent, no grain, nothing added, nothing taken away. I prefer the sound in the active mode, finding the passive mode to lack the tightness in the bass (this may be as a result of my D/A not being able to adequately drive the pre in passive mode). I really like that it has the switched power lead which allows me to use an Adcom Ace-515 to switch all my equiptment on and off. My minor quibles are with the lack of a light or white stripe on the volume to tell where it is when you put on a CD. I also wish that unit had a proper tape loop, which allows monitoring on the go. All and all an excellent unit for the money. Adcom always seems to provide a good value.

Associated equiptment:

Pioneer DV-525 transport
California Audio Labs Gamma D/A
Adcom GFA-5500 amp
Magnepan 2.7QR speakers
Velodyne ULD-12 sub
Cardas & Wireworld Cables

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GTP-500II