Funny thing about opinions, everybody has one. I too have owned all the above amps and completely disagree with the previous posts. The adcoms are all highly mediocre sounding amps with flat 2 dimensional presentations and somewhat dry and brittle high ends. They have very good to excellent low end control and power but can sound overdamped on speakers that already have tight bass. The B&K's have a much warmer and full bodied sound with a lot of the palpable presence one gets with tube amps. They may be slightly less detailed than the Adcoms but present a much more musical overall picture. The bottom end on the B&K's is not as tight as the Adcoms and will sound a little plump on some speakers. The bottom line is I still own and enjoy the B&K's and the Adcom's are long gone and not missed even a little.
B&K vs Adcom – opinions please
I 'm looking to put together a 2-channel system with used mid-90s gear – either an Adcom GFA545 amp/GTP500II preamp-tuner or a B&K ST1400 amp (non-series II)/AVP1000 preamp-tuner. Each setup costs about the same. They will be used to drive a pair of bi-wired floorstanding 2-way speakers with 10” drivers and ribbon tweeters. I am looking for tight and full bass, good soundstage, and accurate highs for day in and day out listening. I listen to a range of music – jazz, rock, classical, vocals. I’d appreciate opinions on which amplification setup will give me better sound. Thanks for your help.