Hi all ! The Carver amps are a heck of a lot better than their preamps . The TFM 35 I had sounded pretty good , not great but good for the price . The preamp ( cant remember the model ) was horrible , no dynamics and very veiled . Didnt really notice this until I put an ESS preamp in the system . After looking at the Carver preamp it was obvious what the problem was ...the whole power supply was no bigger than a walnut , well maybe 2 walnuts but I sure was tiny .
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Carvers are the best bang for the buck in terms of wattage/power for consumer/home hifi. PRO pyramid/pyle PRO amps are about the same quality as Carvers for half the price, which also has low feedback and high dynamic range up to 4000 watts and bigger sound stage output. I have own M1.5, M1.5t, M4.0ts, TFM-55s, and Carver Silver 7t. Carvers are ok for the beginner audiophile. If you want serious high resolution listening i would take the Mcintosh/Levinson monoblocks. |
. Bob Carver just designed a new reincarnation of his famous Silver Seven Tube monoblock amps. A pair of them sold for over $32k on eBay last night. 900 wpc, 4 chassis tube beasts. 25 tubes per side for a total of 50 tubes! Carver Monoblock Beasts . |
The Sunfire Signature 600 amp is simply outstanding replacing both SS and tube amps costing up to $18,000 per set in my system. They can be found used for $1500. Send them into Rita's Vintage Audio Repair and Bill will go through them updating power supply caps he knows will need replacing and updating. He does much more assuring the amp will sing for another 12-15 years with no problems. Sunfire Signature amp can, over time, need their rail voltages looked at and adjusted for precise imaging. I use one on my Soundlab M3 speakers. It puts out 2400 watts into 2 ohms and hardly gets warm. The sound is glorious and as good or better then any top dollar, high end amp I have heard. If you have not heard one totally gone through by Bill at Vintage Audio Repair, then perhaps you might be inclined to doubt what I say. Once you do, you will be floored that such an amp can be had for $1800 or so once back from Rita's. It is magic on my very hard to drive Soundlab speakers. Very musical and easy on the ears even at 95db plus volumes.Huge stage, smooth and relaxed highs, powerful bass and very dynamic. Great separation and on and on... It has an input impedance of some 24K ohms so be sure and mate with the right preamp. I have used a Bel Canto Pre 3 and the amazing TRL Dude tube preamp with great results. This amp was designed and built by Bob Carver with his signature on each one. So yes he can build an amp that competes with well regarded amps by both the big boys and small one man companies. |
Yep, In fact I just bought two Carver M 1.5t's and couldnt be happier: The first amp I use to drive the front channels of my home theater system. Tons of power and is a huge upgrade from the relatively weak output of my HT receiver. I picked up a classic set of ADS L-1230s and the synergy is great. I can actually listen to music on that system now. I am looking for an older set of Altecs next (Model 19 with luck) and look out. I might even spring for the MKII upgrade. Overkill for movies but great for parties just add beer. The second amp drives my computer's analog output to a set of Proac Tabletts. I have to say, for what I paid it's quite good. I added an older Yamaha sub and I can now really enjoy the output without having to fire up the main system. Maybe not the best match for the Tablettes Id rather find a vintage tube amp but for now its pretty good. There are technicians that will upgrade the older Carver amps with various arrangements of new, high precision critical components. I am considering it myself. Supposed to make a good amplifier very, very good. I have picked through lots of positive reviews. Are my amps as pleasing to the ear as a Pass Labs X-250.5, Krell FPB or Rowland Model 8? Will they have all the tubby goodness of an ARC ref 600 set or a fully restored Citation II? Probably not, but you are talking about two different leagues. You couldnt buy the shipping cartons for one of the aforementioned amplifiers for what I paid for both of the 1.5ts. I just love em and God bless bob Carver for making a line of very good audio equipment that was really quite affordable. My first real CD player was a Carver and I saved for a couple months to cover the $700 it cost me. I picked up a Carver pre and a pair of 1.0ts powered a set of Klipsch Heresys and a 12 JBL pro sub in a large concrete basement. I entertained the better part of a two mile radius with that system. Ive mellowed a lot since then but I still appreciate the Carver amps; now for different reasons. Where they all that? Matched with the right speaker and musical content : Polk SDA-SRS, Infinity Kappa 9s, Klipsch LaScalla and good old rock and roll, they were about as good as it got without spending considerably more money and look a hell of a lot better than my mullet did. (just kidding about the mullet ... no really) |
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