Adcom shook up the high-end audio world back in 1979 with its GFA-1 two-channel power amplifier. Seven years later, the company's GFA-555 offered so much performance for the price that Adcom quickly came to dominate the market for high-powered, great-sounding budget amplifiers. I was an audio consumer back then (I became a full-time audio reviewer in 1989), and, after auditioning a GFA-555 on a trial basis at home, bought one.

A survey that includes the Adcom GFA-7805, Cary Cinema 5, and the Ayre V-6x.