Carver Amazing Loudspeakers Silver Edition

Olecranon

Active Member
There are a pair of these locally that can be had for $600. They are supposedly in great condition and fully functional. I've never heard them. Thoughts?
 
I also have a deal pending on a pair of original Amazing's...did alot of research, heard the Original's, the Silvers, and the III's. They all sounded fantastic (or Amazing). I really like the airiness of the ribbons, and how lifelike the soundstage is. That is a good price for a set in fully functioning condition, but be aware that any problems can and will be very expensive to repair.
 
Are the ribbons the primary point of failure? I've seen a listing on ebay advertising repair for rattling ribbon tweeters.
 
Are the ribbons the primary point of failure? I've seen a listing on ebay advertising repair for rattling ribbon tweeters.

The ribbons are the main musical source on the Amazing's, they generally cross at 100hz to the woofers, so yes the ribbons take the abuse, but that being said, they are still hardy, and sound incredible. If the one's your looking at are functioning properly, they should be good to go for a long time...just don't overdrive them, use good judgement. The rattling is from the magnets coming loose from glue failure. In the service manual it tells you how to maybe overcome the rattle with tightening the screws around where the rattle is coming from. The trick is finding the rattle...the manual says to use a very high power amp at a somewhat loud volume using piano notes to locate the rattle, then tighten the screws around where the rattle is at, unfortunately, this doe's not always take care of the fix, and a new ribbon will be needed.
 
Thanks LoStrings.

I'll try to pay attention to that. I'm going to take a look at them this weekend and bring along some of my gear to try them out. My plan is to drive them with a 200 Watt/channel Rotel RB-1080 amplifier if I pick them up. I'm thinking some Diana Krall and Steely Dan might be good test material.

I talked with the seller on the phone. He said that these were never his main speakers. He's a Klipsch guy and uses Klipschorns and La Scalas for daily use. These were located at his lake house and got used a few hours per month. Hopefully they'll pan out. Theses are the oak version and look great in the photos.
 
i really miss mine. i started with big Plats then downsized by necessity to Silvers, and then eventually to my conventional smaller speakers. the price is good if they are aren't buzzing at volume. The gold colored ribbons sound the best but the newer ribbons are fine. the foams must also be in good shape. i completely rebuilt my Silvers once and it is not an easy job (those magnets bite...HARD!). the wavefront these will launch at you is impressive though!
 
Here are some photos
 

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I knew I'd seen those before. They have been for sale for a very very long time. Not too far from me but ....

It's a buyer's market on those. I'm not saying to pay a fair price but look and listen real close-been up for sale on and off a year or more.
 
I knew I'd seen those before. They have been for sale for a very very long time. Not too far from me but ....

It's a buyer's market on those. I'm not saying to pay a fair price but look and listen real close-been up for sale on and off a year or more.

Yep, I also noticed these have been for sale for a long time. It seems like the seller would have them up for a few months, and then they would disappear for a stretch. To be honest, I've done the same thing. I throw something up for sale at a price I'm willing to part with, and just get a few low ball offers. At that point I just let the ad expire. A few months later my wife tells me to stop being a hoarder and I put it back up for sale again :)

You have a good point though. Are people checking them out and walking away for some reason? The seller is only 10 minutes away. I was pretty shocked anyone within 20 miles of me even had a stereo (pretty rural out here). It's funny, I was looking through the Minneapolis craigslist today and saw another pair of Carver Amazings in ebony black for sale in Brooklyn Park for $700. They look like the bigger version of these. I thought about road tripping to check those out, but wasn't excited about the idea of driving 80 miles with them in the back of my truck with temps in the 30's

My main daily speakers are a pair of Klipsch Chorus II's. I also have a pair of Vandersteen 2CE sigs I bought years ago at Audio Perfection, a pair of older Vandesteen 1b's, a pair of Triangle Celius 202's, and a pair of Polk Audio RTi A3's that I use for rear surrounds..
 
Those look very minty.

So, you need to inspect the foam surrounds. If the owner has never replaced them they are overdue. The biggest problem there is finding the proper surround, which to the best of my knowledge does not exist. The complete woofer used to be available, but I don't know if they still are.

If you like loud music they are not the speaker for you. Even throwing mega watts at them doesn't help.
 
Those look very minty.

So, you need to inspect the foam surrounds. If the owner has never replaced them they are overdue. The biggest problem there is finding the proper surround, which to the best of my knowledge does not exist. The complete woofer used to be available, but I don't know if they still are.

If you like loud music they are not the speaker for you. Even throwing mega watts at them doesn't help.

Thanks for the info F1nut

I wonder if these would work?

https://www.midwestspeakerrepair.com/carver-amazing-silver-12-inch-refoam-kit-f12-10

From what your saying; These speakers aren't going to be the best fit for hard rock or heavy metal. Probably very nice for acoustic, jazz, soft rock, and maybe blues?
 
I wasn't aware of those. Perhaps check out the two Carver forums to see if anyone has used them.

Definitely not the speakers for rock and heavy metal.

I tried to get on one, but I think the registration process is broken. It's supposed to send a confirmation email to verify yourself. I never get the email even after telling it to send me one over and over.
 
The Carver amazing 12" surrounds are available from Simply Speakers they have an unusual profile wide roll very thin speakercones and a small magnet and voice coil. They are difficult to align properly but they are amazing....
 
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