I owned another tfm Carver amp and was quite surprised. It taught me how much different an amp can sound. It was awful. Fortunately I had only bought it to toy with. It sounded thin and had no soundstage. I'm a guy who doesn't believe that amps sound much different too. This one did. You can get an old Hafler or Adcom that works for less than you may have into the Carver and be much better off.