Adcom Vs Rotel


Which one you guys prefer? i have B&W 802, i'm not sure which amp that i should go for. i know Mcintosh is the answer, but i dont have that money for it yet.
tzuo168
The Adcom amp is actually very good. I can't comment on the Rotel but they are/were imported by the same company and are usually sold by the same stores and paired with each other. A high current amp is a necessity with B&W though.
If I were in your situation (i.e.: couldn't afford what I really wanted or what any of the above posters suggested) I would probably keep my eye on a budget line like you mentioned. Rotel, Adcom, NAD, Parasound, etc. I would take my time and do my homework, then buy used so I could resell fairly easily if it didn't work out. Narrowing down between 2 or 3 componenets as opposed to 2 companies as Stanwal suggested will help as well.
Take your time. You'll find something to hold you over and give you good, if not great just yet, sound.
I would put Classe on your list. I have paired a variety of Classe electronic components with my B&W 802 Matrix Series 3 speakers to my delight.
I have found in the past, that when I settle on an amp that is not the one I want, as soon as I buy it, the one I want pops up for sale at a real bargain!
My luck.
Take your time, research, wait on the right one, and you will be happier than buying one for now that doesn't make you as happy.
As long as we're talking Adcom and Rotel, why not discuss Parasound and NAD?

Some Adcoms are designed (or consulted with) Nelson Pass. It's my understanding, however, that John Curl is very involved with many (most?) of the Parasound designs. The Halo series gets good press everywhere and the P3 and A23 preamp and amp from the Halo line are pretty affordable.

I haven't have much experience with the latest NADs, but some refer to them as the "poor man's McIntosh" and they have certainly been racking up some great reviews in the audiophile press.

Also +1 on finding used Bryston or Classe that you can afford.

I have an Adcom 5-channel amp in my HT from their now-defunct FAT series. It's a wide bandwidth MOSFET amp and I like the way it sounds and behaves a lot. With really good speaker cables it sounds like a much more expensive rig. Adcom still makes a high current 200 wpc 2-channel wide bandwidth (3-130 KHz) MOSFET amp in the GFA-5500. These can be had new for less than a grand.

Another approach may be to get the Adcom GFA-7605, a 5x125 wpc amp. Bi-amp your speakers and let the amp's center channel go idle. It'll give you 250 total watts per speaker.

Regardless of amp choice you should probably factor in bi-wiring for this level of B&W; most reviews recommend it and it's my understanding that their complex crossovers with multiple crossover slopes do better with bi-wiring.