Not a bad solid state amplifier from the 70's.....Mr. Carver was right about having sufficient power to handle musical peaks. I ran mine for about twenty-odd years with nary a problem. I bought mine back in 1976 (Series 1), and it ran reliably day-in day-out, year-in year-out. The only thing that went bad was that the lamps behind the VU meters burned out. It was the most powerful stereo amp back then when it came out (350 wpc). I still have my Phase Linear 700B, safely in storage and in perfect operating condition, but it has been long retired. Other amps resided in my system since then; now I have tube monoblocks. Maybe one day I'll dig out my Phase for fun and hear how it sounds with my present system.
Review: Phase Linear 700b Amplifier
Category: Amplifiers
I have on a mission to find a clean natural sounding amp to power the ALIII. The ribbon drivers present a very difficult load. I found a 700 b rebuilt by an electrical engineering professor who does it as a hobby. WOW. So this a a mint 700b and maybe upgraded slightly from original. Without going into long analysis of music this amp has massive power and transparency and it does sound more tube than solid state unless you drive it to clipping. The closest thing I have heard that compares is the Boulder or Levinson amps which are thousands of dollars. In 1978 money this amp approached the $5000.00 price tag. Anyway I only paid $500 and what a steal. It is like buying a Ferrari for the price of a Chevy Cavalier. And being vintage it will go up in value. I would avoid overdriving. However, if this amp was used on efficient speakers of the cone design one would be operating at about 5-10 watts giving you massive reserves and low distortion. This amp would probably blow a high efficiency speaker. I assure you that you will be listening to all your music all over again. This amp proves that solid state does not have to sound harsh.
Associated gear
Carver ALIII speakers
Carver CT17 preamp
Similar products
Audio Research, Krell/ Mark Levinson
I have on a mission to find a clean natural sounding amp to power the ALIII. The ribbon drivers present a very difficult load. I found a 700 b rebuilt by an electrical engineering professor who does it as a hobby. WOW. So this a a mint 700b and maybe upgraded slightly from original. Without going into long analysis of music this amp has massive power and transparency and it does sound more tube than solid state unless you drive it to clipping. The closest thing I have heard that compares is the Boulder or Levinson amps which are thousands of dollars. In 1978 money this amp approached the $5000.00 price tag. Anyway I only paid $500 and what a steal. It is like buying a Ferrari for the price of a Chevy Cavalier. And being vintage it will go up in value. I would avoid overdriving. However, if this amp was used on efficient speakers of the cone design one would be operating at about 5-10 watts giving you massive reserves and low distortion. This amp would probably blow a high efficiency speaker. I assure you that you will be listening to all your music all over again. This amp proves that solid state does not have to sound harsh.
Associated gear
Carver ALIII speakers
Carver CT17 preamp
Similar products
Audio Research, Krell/ Mark Levinson