Outstanding sound, harmonic richness, detailed withou being harsh or bright, soundstage is wide and deep, decaying notes are captured with ease, variable outs (it's own volume control)

Weak tray mechanism, locked up on me once after moving it around and giving it a hard jolt.

After reading many reviews, and finding the same complaint across the board (suspect build quality), I decided to take this player for a spin. Maaann!, am I glad I did. This unit just sounds right. All of the previous reviewers had mentioned that although they had problems with their units, they were extremely happy with the sound it produced, include me into the mix. This player produces sound like no other in it's price range, I paid $ 460 with a 5 year warranty included. You really need to buy that warranty just in case you come across some of the same problems some of us have encountered.

The detail and musicality this baby produces is soooo satisfying, I swear you really get into the music, it's foot tapping, body shaking good. I initially had it hooked up to my Yamaha DSP A1 via Audiquest Ruby iterconnects using Kimber Kable 4 TC hooked up to my Polk RT 7's. I now have it hooked up straight to two Marantz MA 500 monoblocks (no preamp or receiver, as to have the simplest hook up possible) using the variable outputs so that I can control the volume. The monoblocks now feed Polk RT 3000's (AWESOME speakers) using the same Kimber Kable I had mentioned previously. Man I'm Soooo HAPPY with this current set up, if I had to buy a cd player all over again, I'd buy the same one. Don't get me wrong I was really "TICKED OFF" when the tray locked on me, but the sound had won me over from the very first disc I played (Ella Fitzgerald's 20 bit CLAP HANDS HERE COMES CHARLIE). Happy Hunting, Thank You, (I'm taking one point off for it's poor build Quality) oh, by the way, all these clowns that have mentioned that this player has poor sound, are not credible sources, a one out of five...PLEASE, we can read between the lines.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha CDC765, JVC(model ?), Pioneer(model?)

Detail, balance, soundstage, function, form(if you like lights and buttons), precise rotation of the tray, easy load/unload, remote keys work first time/each time

Flimsy inner tray, their decision to use tape(?!) instead of transport screws to hold drawer in place during shipping.

I had upgraded from mass market gear to a Parasound HCA1000 power amp/850 preamp and B&W DM603 SII's a few months ago, but didn't upgrade the CD player (an old Onkyo). Then the Onkyo went on the fritz so I started shopping.
Comparisons
1) The Denon changer with HDCD had more bass response than my old player, but the extra bass was muddy, the treble harsh, and the mid-range absent. It presented less detail and sounstage than the old Onkyo. Why put HDCD into a unit like this? In addition, the drawer was extremely noisy and basic functions such as random play did not work properly. I had it at home over 2 weeks;it didn't get better. 2) The Parasound 1000 single disc player (dealer demo); a vast improvement over either the Onkyo or the Denon, but seemed to be missing any sort of "presence". It presented fairly good detail but the mid and bass were muted while the treble was slightly harsh. 3)The Marantz 6000SE single disc; more detail and punch than either of the others but was still harsh in the treble and a bit boomy in the bass. It colors the music. (This one's worth looking at; seems to be built very solidly and the fuctions and remote work very well. And it costs less.) I felt something was missing (or added).

On recommendation from my dealer and after researching on the web, I got ahold of the Adcom GCD-700. This thing is amazing! The new system finally sounds the way I expected it would. There is so much new detail that I'm listening to my CD collection all over again and am able to just let the music come to me. Balance and dynamics at the same time. Presence and soundstage beyond any of the others I listened to. The remote works very well (the Adcom literature says this is a newly designed remote). The unit has volume control through the remote and two sets of outputs, one to use the control(unbalanced), one to bypass it(direct) for better sound (I'm using the direct output). The two 20-bit DAC's may be the secret to the sound of this machine, but it also has a pure Class A analogue output stage and other internal wiring features that make this unit special.

Works great for me, sounds fantastic. A real value in sound even at $650 NIB.

Similar Products Used:

Parasound 1000, Marantz 6000SE, Low end Denon with HDCD, Onkyo 6 disc

Can be had for very cheap, Burr-brown Dacs, detailed soundstage. Adcom claims to have completely flat response

can sound very cold and uninvolving-system matching is very important

I'm personally not a big fan of adcom amps, but i got the chance to buy this from the goodguys for $200 ($260 w/ warranty), and I figured what the hell. I originally tried to mate it with a harman kardon avr40, and found that the sound just turned flat. I then brought it to a friend's place to feed his adcom gfa 5200 and paradigm minimonitor speakers (he usually uses a sony xa20es for his front end), and felt the same way: Way too analytical and not any fun. But even with the dullness in sound, I found the soundstage was much more detailed than with my hk fl8350, and I liked the overall neutrality-transients and background data didn't seem so dominant, but were still there. My problem was that my feet just weren't tapping anymore.
I ended up keeping the unit, selling my avr40, and went out hunting for an amp that brought some more musicality to the mix. I tried a used rotel, another adcom gfa5200 (this time mated with b&w602IIs), a creek 4330, and a nad c340. Personally, I found both the creek and nad to be great matches, but the warmness of the nad won me over.
Since then I auditioned a nad 522 single disk in my home system, and found that everything was way too mushy and sweet - i craved the detail of the adcom. And just so you know, I auditioned the nad exclusively for 7 days (I only listen to music, no TV, and I've been looking for a single disk player under $400 for some time for serious listening), and it just didn't come up to par. The gcd700 really is a great player.

associated equipment:
nad c340, ar 308ho speakers (soon to be replaced), audioquest ruby interconnect, kimber 8tc/4tc biwired

cd's most often listened to and auditioned with:
moby "play", pre 1978 dylan, radiohead "ok computer" & "the bends", post 1990 rem, u2 "achtung baby", pink floyd's "dark side of the moon" (possibly the greatest album ever made :) )

rating based on price paid and system above

Similar Products Used:

single disk: nad 522 & sony xa20es
multi disk: harman kardon fl8350

excellent sound reproduction

none so far

this adcom puts my sony cdp ca7es to shame give one a listen in home and youll understand have only had it two weeks but am extremely happy there are demos at goodguys for 1/2 price get the extended warranty though i did i havent had any problems but reliability is at question here from what i read.

my system:
adcom gtp 450 pre
adcom 5802 amp
infinity crescendo cs3009 speakers
monster wired through out

Similar Products Used:

sony cdpca7es

I have had the GCD-700 for just over a year now, and while it delivers better sound than many other CDPs in this price range, its unsatisfactory build quality mars its performance. While under warranty, its transport froze up twice holding the CDs within and wouldn't open. Since the dealer I bought it from had gone out of business, I asked Adcom for an exchange but all they offered was to repair it. That is lousy customer service. To ask a customer who had invested money and time in their product to pack it off to them and wait weeks until it got repaired is unacceptable. Having read the other reviews here, now I know my complaint was nothing new to Adcom.

I went to a local high-end audio store to audition the Denon DCA 360 (I mustadmit that I was compelled due to its appearence in "Recomended Components"
in Stereophile) and the similarly priced Rotel. I thought the Rotel had a nicer
sound overall (depth and presentation) compared to the Denon's more dynamic,
however, slightly brighter sound.

I had decided on the Rotel, but the other CD player sitting there was the Adcom
GCD 700 at twice the price. So, I told him just for kicks, lets listen to it.
Oops! What a difference, gorgeous presentation and unbelievable dynamics. It
seemed to go at least a half an octive lower. I was sold, went way over budget,
however, I know I would have kicked myself if I "settled."

Regardless of your opinion of this unit, I know everyone's preferences differ,
this would be a great opportunity to demonstrate the significant differences
between players to those friends of ours who are convinced all CD players sound
the same.

Finally, after getting hooked up to my modest system (Yamaha receiver, Musical
Fidelity X-10D and NHT 2.1 speakers). It sounds great. I may not need a sub
after all. (I highly recomend the Musical Fidelity X-10D as well).

Fantastically detailed sound; Did I mention the quality of the sound?, deeply discounted (clearance), speedy disc changes, the fix and variable outs are handy for auditioning cables (A/B tests... just get somebody else to switch the inputs on your AMP).

Dodgy feeling CD tray; tray drawer mechanism squeaks sometimes; no power button (remote);

The Marantz was a great sounding unit. However, the Adcom sounded more lively and real (to me) and the Adcom (on clearance) was slightly cheaper than the Marantz which is a single CD unit.

The NAD skipped twice during audition (apparently a common problem with this model) on two discs that I've never had skip before (or since) - arrivederci.

Now I can get Sony stuff at cost so I actually figured I'd end up with one of there models - BUT, I didn't. The CD90ES is a solid unit but not nearly as musical as the Adcom. I would say the Sony and Adcom are exact inverses of one-another. The Sony is built very solidly mechanically but its’ electronics (especially the DACs) aren’t up to par. The Adcom is a Pinto mechanically but electronically is exceptional (for the price). So it really boiled down to whether I was going to buy something because I didn’t expect it to break with no chance of it ever sounding better (the Sony) vs taking a chance on the perceived mechanical reliability of the Adcom but with exceptional sound (so long is it continues to work). I figured I’d buy an extended warranty to set my mind at ease and enjoy the sound of the Adcom.

As for the Sony SACD player… I was considering gambling on SACD (which sounds fantastic… of course depending on the re-mastering / recording) but decided I would wait and see how the next Beta vs VHS battle goes down. In the meantime, I went with the best sounding / value CD player at sub-$1000 prices. In the future I’ll always have CDs around that I want to listen to and hopefully the Adcom will be along for the ride.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz CD-6000, NAD 521, CDP-CX90ES, SCD-333ES (not really similar but still auditioned)

I read the reviews below (thanks guys!) and then I bought, two of them! Made in Japan! "refurbished" from Adcom looks like new. phase switch.

the tray carousel works ok, but Adcom's way of locking it down for transport, using a piece of tape, which has a tab sticking out of the closed drawer, which you use to pull the drawer open, and then CAREFULLY remove the tape from the carousel and the tray, CAREFULL!, the carousel is so flimsy it feels like it will pull right off with the tape! Come on guys, Sony invented a key lock to keep the carousel in place during transport over 10 years ago. Certainly the bean counters would have let you do better than sticky tape on such a high list piece!

I am finishing off my middle of the road system. Not esoteric, but good enough. The Adcom cd changer is a classic 5% product. 95% of the performance of a CD changer can be had for under $200, it's that last five percent that "gotcha!"

The sound is sweet, but how much of it is the new receiver's used as preamps, the new power amps, the new speakers, or the new cd player is v hard to quantify.

Suffice to say the ADCOM belongs in a good system. it will not embarrass you there. And if all that is left for improvement is a single disc player with incredibly expensive electronics, I'll pass. its too enjoyable mixing it up with 5 cds on random to ever go back to one at a time listening.

I think the Adcom is a worthy sucessor to my old Sony, but after 8 years of trouble-free changing, the last challenge for the Adcom is to pass the test of time.

Because it's a keeper!

Similar Products Used:

Sony 79ES

Sound

Drawer squeaks, moderately noisy changer, lame remote

The Bad News:
Toss the remote, it's nearly useless. Well, toss it after you program your universal, than the unit will recieve commands just fine.
Despite a few hours of effort I still could not solve the drawer squeak upon loading.

The Good News:
From the reviews below, I'll go along w/ this unit being system dependent. It sounds absolutely fantastic on mine. In fact, it sounds better through its analog than its digital connection. Soundstaging was excellent on my NHTs (2.1s and SuperTwos) up to moderate volume levels than turned a tad shrill (likely NHTs fault). On my new Boston VR975s, the soundstage remains excellent even on higher volume levels. Interconnects do have an effect here. I'm currently running Monster cable (forget the model but they run $100 a 6' set).

A Side Note:
As with other digital out players the Adcom unit will output dts music CDs. A handy feature if you have dts decoding and were unaware.

System:
Pioneer VSX-24TX
Boston VR975

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha CDC901

Sound quality.

None

A great playewr for the money. Faced with the usual partner who wnats a changer vs. the audio enthusiast I took my favorite CD to the store to compare players (an ASV recoding of a Schubert symphony)using headphones. This was by far the best of any I heard, single or changer at any price. And it was one of the cheapest in the store (a local audiophile mecca). With my old Proton amp amd Infinity speakers the sound is amazing. I heard things on a long loved CD I'd never heard before.

Similar Products Used:

Nad. Sony. HK.