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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
crawfojb
jnewman2-4604
1 posts
 
I still have the series 1. It ran hot and I installed fans in the back to keep it cool. It destroyed many a great speaker-- and I would not have had it any other way-- Nothing today comes close.
John
hiend2's avatar
hiend2
418 posts
 
Yes I had the original 700B when it first came out then the series2. I could get 625 per channel out of it then i would start taking drivers out. Tweeters then mids then woofers:)
crawfojb OP
13 posts
 
This is a follow up. This amp as well as any vintage piece should be restored with a complete rebuild if it is to be used on a regular basis and maintain reliability. About $700 to upgrade and restore this amp. But at this point we are then talking about a different piece of equipment. I do not recommend this amp for difficult loads.
marcatio
2 posts
 
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.
hdblackdog
1 posts
 
I know I'm late adding a follow-up 2 1/2 years after the last one but I just inherited a 700B amp; 4000 pre-amo; 1000 noise reducer and I don't know a thing about them other than the little I've picked up on the web. This equipment has been stored by several members of the same family. It belonged to a deceased family member and even though no one wanted to use it, no one wanted to get rid of it either. I feel very fortunate to have inherited it but am on a fixed income and can't afford $700 to rebuild the amp, let alone the other two components. I was considering cleaning it up, both inside and out, applying deoxit to the switches and connectors and possibly purchasing a variable transformer to bring it on line very slowly. Beyond that, I am lost and I certainly do not wish to destroy this valued equipment. Help!!!
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