Adcom GFA-545 & Vista's

[Shub]

I just joined the club..... I have admired and lusted after a pair of ML's since I was in my twenties (I'm a good deal older now ;-)

Well sad that Tweeter went out of business but then again that is the only way I could have bought myself into this club!!!!! The price was just too good to pass up... so I got a pair of Vista's NIB from them.

Still breaking them in but had a question about amps. I know that ML's used to be amp killers (or at least you really needed a pretty bullet proof amp to get decent sound out of them) but it seems like they have made strides in that area.

I have a Adcom 100wpc amp that I bought in 1988 and is still going strong ( I love it actually)

I was wondering if there are others out there with experience with this combo and if they have any tips for me -- i.e. good combo, bad combo -- if so, what amps do you recommend.... how about tubes???

Anyways -- long post for simple answer - I'm just excited to finally have a set of ML's :bowdown:

I will be searching the forums vigourously - so please no posts telling me to search first -

thanks
Shu

 

[jtwrace]

Shu-

Welcome to the ML club. I used to have a an Adcom 545 II that I drove ML Questz's with. Yes, it did struggle depending on music but actually sounded really good. The Vista's are much easier to drive so you should be OK until funds become available b/c you will want to upgrade.

Have fun!!!

 

[JMAUSGP]

I used to have a Adcom GFA-5503 3 channel amp that ran my ML Logos center channel and two ML Stylos speakers in a HT configuration. I actually still have it. This amp ran at 350 watts into 4 ohm and it handled the MLs with no issues. The Adcom was relatively quiet and yet when you wanted punch it was there in abundance. I had Yamaha Class A amps running the rear ML Stylos and on the side I had Infinity bi-polars. Then I had a Sunfire powered sub. I ran this configuration for several years but heat finally did become a factor. Even though I had mini-fans hooked up to the back of the audio cabinet that housed the amps, heat finally overtook one of the channels on the 5503. First I bought a replacement 5503 which I still own but I finally swithced it out for a Sunfire TGA 7400. It freed up space and runs much cooler and provides way more head room, so even when you play loud there is no heat to speak off. And the 7400 has both current and voltage output for your Martin Logan speakers, you can bi-wire them and the sound is absolutely tremendous. And the fact that you can get 400 watts at 8 ohms, 800 watts at 4 ohms and 1600 watts at 2 ohms kind of sealed the deal for my HT.

 

[MotorToad]

I also had a small, and very old amp when I got my Sequels; an NAD 2100, 60 Wpc but it's a stout amplifier. It sounded great at not-quite-loud-enough but broke up quite a bit when pressed. I would expect you'll have similar results if you listen loud enough, but the Vistas are a lot easier load than the Sequels so you might not reach that level.

I've owned a lot of ADCOM gear but never one of their amplifiers. By reputation they're a little harsh or bright, and if that's true the Vistas will let you know.

If you do find yourself having issues, there's a Rotel 1080 in our classifieds. Another popular budget path is to check audiogon for an older Carver or Sunfire amp. I moved to a Carver TFM-42 and it's got all the power you'd want and isn't the least bit fatiguing on the ears.

 

[Shub]

Thanks for replies

Yes - I have found that the adcom is a little harsh - I know part of this is probably also related to break-in for the speakers. But over the years with different speakers, the harshness was there. The thing I do really like about the adcom is the stability with low ohm loads and the dynamic headroom......

curious about getting a warmer sound with tube amps but don't want to break my wallet (still recovering even though I got a 40% discount off retail on the Vista's - still painful