So I'm leaning more towards the Adcom GFA-555 (original version, not the II version). Anyone have experience with this amp? Opinions?

Got my 805s in yesterday. They sound amazing, even when powered by my 50w stereo receiver! I'm dying to hear what they sound like with a decent amp. Found a Rotel RB-980bx for cheap, but it's only 120w per channel. Read that this amp is a good match to the 805s on some audiofile sites, but am wondering if that's enough power to use them for tracking and mixing. Would love some input.

Bumping an old thread, but i guess its still relevant.I have been enjoying the Matrix 805's for a while now, used for home listening, and i have some experience to share on different amplifiers.At the moment, i own a NAD C356BEE, and i find this a really good match for home listening. Now, I'm not able to play loud where i live, because of the way this building is constructed, and i don't want my neighbours to hate me.So at home, i have tried the C356, and the C275 with the NAD C165 pre-amp. (The power amp is the same power amp found in the NAD C375, but the C165 beats the C375 pre-amp.)I did not hear much of a difference between the two here at home, at my listening levels. I did however get the chance to listen to my speakers with different amps in another listening enviroment, with some good results:When i cranked the volume up a bit, it was easy to spot the difference between the 356 and the 375/275. The 375/275 made it way easier to separate the instruments, while the 356 got somewhat messy. Not bad at all, but a bit messy. The 375/275 did also have a whole other level of control in the deepest bass and lower mids, with a tighter and more controlled i also tested them with the Cambridge 851A. This amp has a similar power output as the 375/275. This made the sound stage a bit brighter, and rolled off the deepest bass a little earlier than the NADs. I prefer the the combination with the NAD amps, but the Cambridge is probably a great combination if you have problems with your listening room, when these speakers sounds to boomy in the bass. The 851A tightens them up a bit, and cuts off some of the deepest bass, and pushes the tweeters more into the sound stage, that makes them sound brighter.The last amp i tried, was the Denon PMA2020. The combination made the mids of the speakers more aggressive, resulting in tight but deep bass, soft silky tweeters, and powerful and somewhat aggressive mids. Sounds great if cellos, violins, saxophones and similar instruments is your thing. Good for jazz and acoustic music for sure, but they sound very intense and aggressive with instruments like distorted guitars. This combination was not my cup of tea.To sum it up: i prefer the C275 (or the C375 if you want an integrated amplifier). For normal home listening, the C356 works just fine as well. The NADs are basically the best all-arounder amp i have heard on these speakers so far. If you want to tweak the sound abit, both Denon and Cambridge is interesting alternatives.Hope this helps someone with their choice of amp for the 805's!

I also kinda like GFA5500.

dedumigu wrote: I also kinda like GFA5500.Great amp.Save up for a used Bryston 4B, you wont regret it.