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Adcom or Carver ?

oldskl

oldskl

Well-Known Member
I currently have a carver M-1.0 amp that I got at G.W. for a super price. To me it sounds great with my Adcom GTP 500 pre. I have been thinking lately about selling the Carver and getting a Adcom to match my pre, I just dont want to make a mistake by getting rid of the Carver. So if you have experience with Adcom amps or both please give your opinion.

Thanks.
 
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if the Carver sounds great to you, I would keep it. If it were me and I was itching to upgrade, I would get a different preamp.
 
I have no experience with Carver but can recommend Adcom. My main 2-channel system is all Adcom. GFA 545 II amp, GFP-555 pre-amp and GFT -555 tuner. The amp has plenty of power and very good sound at both ends of the spectrum.
 
I have a Carver TFM-22 and an Adcom GFA-535. The Carver is in my main system and the Adcom is under the stairs as a backup. Just my opinion, of course.
 
I have not heard the Adcom you mention but I have heard a Carver M1.5t and a TFM-55 for extended periods of time and they are wonderful sounding amps. If I owned them I would not part with either.
 
I'd keep the Carver amp which is quite good and find a good used pre-amp...something better than a Carver or Adcom preamp.
 
Keep an eye open for a Luxman C-12. it is a stellar preamp that frequently sells for under $150. All film caps in signal path, the caps are easily upgraded taking it too the next level. The C-12 is in another class altogether.
 
Strange you'd ask, as my main system consist's of Adcom pre, and large Carver "A" series power amp's. While generally not a Carver fan, these are no nonsense design's when Bob left the company. Other than sufficient cooling in factory form, doubt there's any better amp out there.
 
Adcom and Carver are my favorite US-amps. :tresbon:
First I got two Carver M-400A at my Infinity Kappa 9.
The better choice at last was a GFA-555, real plenty power at critical speakers.
 
What preamp would you recommend ?
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well, how much money do you have :D
I am sure many are tired of reading me saying this, but imo the preamp is the one thing that can drastically change your system. Besides tone (which hopefully will be more neutral then anything else) a good preamp opens up the sound stage, imaging depth etc etc.
There are a million preamps and no one opinion could be best for you. For me, a tube preamp is the only way to go now. I am sure there are ss pre's that can do what my tube amp does, but I am guessing they would be more expensive, plus with tubes I can roll the tubes for a little different flavor if I desire.

a tube preamp does not have to be expensive. I stumbled on a CJ PV2AR that had been upgraded considerably for like $325.00 - I honestly never knew a system I owned could sound so good.
A tube preamp is also a good way to get started in tubes as there isn't anything you really need to adjust (bias).

Took me quite a while to settle in to my preamp, I just kept looking every day and after a few months, found the CJ for sale about an 1 1/2 away.

I am a huge preamp fan, but I would spend as much money as I possibly could on my preamp. My preamp took what I thought were good speakers and made them into excellent speakers (for me)
 
Well, coming from another Carver owner, I'll put my vote in to keep the M-1.0t amp, too. That was one of Bob's favorite amps and it was a very underrated power wise. I own an M-1.0t (which Rita and Bob rebuilt) and also a TFM-55 (which Rita went thru) and they won't go anywhere. I sold Adcom from around 1985 to 1993 or so and moved quite a few of the GFA-555's, 545's, 535's, and the rest of the GTP, GFP, GCD, etc, line but never wanted to own one...even at employee purchase price. I saw enough, and did enough, return authorizations to scare me off. But they sure sounded good when working. Lots of people seem to rail on the Carver stuff for failing, etc....I guess they never sold Adcom for 8+ years.
 
I'll add my vote for a new preamp to what a couple of others have already said. IMO and experience Adcom preamps are OK but nothing to write home about.

avguytx:
Isn't the Carver M-1.0T the first amp he released as a result of the Stereophile Carver challenge? I've heard a lot of good things about that particular amp over the years. Unfortunately I've never heard one.
 
Personally, I own an M-1.5t at the moment, and previously owned an M-400 "Cube", both from Carver, and I have always been pleased. I have heard stories of Adcom amplifiers going nuclear, and they take the speakers with them, but I can't vouch for that personally. If you scored a M-1.0t from GW, I would hold onto it. There is a man who can rebuild them, and make them more powerful.

You should go check out the website: www.thecarversite.com Rich is a good guy who knows his stuff. Also, he was a Carver tech when Carver was making the M class gear, so he knows the stuff like the back of his hand.

As for a preamp, if you choose to go with a Carver pre, there are only two that come to mind: The 4000t, which is the final incarnation if the C-4000. Very high quality compared to the older C-4000's. The other one is the C-17 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier, but that one is worth quite a bit of money, so I would go with the first choice.

Outside of Carver, I would recommend the LS-3 from Audio Research. No tone controls, and the sound is identical to their tube gear. My dad has one, and it has an amazing sound. If I had the money right now, I would get one. For that matter, just about anything from Audio Research is great gear, and is worth the money.

Just my two cents though.
 
JoeESP9 said:
Isn't the Carver M-1.0T the first amp he released as a result of the Stereophile Carver challenge? I've heard a lot of good things about that particular amp over the years. Unfortunately I've never heard one.
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Yes. It was modeled after the Conrad Johnson Premier Five. I don't know what the M-400t was modeled after, but I do know that the M-1.5t was modeled after the Mark Levinson ML-2.

In both cases (the M-1.0t and the M-1.5t), both magazines were not able to tell the difference between the Carver amplifiers and the original amplifiers. Needless to say, Bob Carver became a legend overnight for his deal with Stereophile. The review from The Audio Critic of the M-1.5t was not as well known, but the results were the same nonetheless.

I personally enjoy my M-1.5t, and the 600w headroom is outstanding!



-Jason
 
The M400t was modeled after Carver's own Silver Seven tube amps.

AFAIK the actual production models of the "t" series amps didn't null in the 60 to 70 dB range like the tweaked prototypes.
 
You left out some details that would mislead those unfamiliar with the history behind these Carver amps. The "Carver Challenge" was a "one off" prototype that he brought to the offices of Stereophile. The first day of listening, there were differences that even Bob Carver noted during listening sessions to the then unknown reference amp (CJ Premier Five). More tweaking and second day, results were closer but not identical. More tweaking and third day, results were identical.

The controversy is not that he indeed made his "one off" prototype to sound identical, but rather how how that would result in a mass produced product. The production M1.0t amp nowhere near sounds like the CJ amp nor does the M1.5t sound like a Levinson ML-2 which was the targeted amp.

jhaan92 said:
Yes. It was modeled after the Conrad Johnson Premier Five. I don't know what the M-400t was modeled after, but I do know that the M-1.5t was modeled after the Mark Levinson ML-2.

In both cases (the M-1.0t and the M-1.5t), both magazines were not able to tell the difference between the Carver amplifiers and the original amplifiers. Needless to say, Bob Carver became a legend overnight for his deal with Stereophile. The review from The Audio Critic of the M-1.5t was not as well known, but the results were the same nonetheless.

I personally enjoy my M-1.5t, and the 600w headroom is outstanding!



-Jason
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As I said, "modeled". I don't believe them to be identical either, but there are some sonic similarities between the ML-2 and the M-1.5t. I can't vouch for the M-1.0t or the M-400t, but I would guess that it would be along the same lines as the M-1.5t....but that is just my guess.

Either way, I'm still happy with my Carver amplifier. I liked my M-400 as well, but I needed more power.... :D
 
oldskl said:
I currently have a carver M-1.0 amp that I got at G.W. for a super price. To me it sounds great with my Adcom GTP 500 pre. I have been thinking lately about selling the Carver and getting a Adcom to match my pre, I just dont want to make a mistake by getting rid of the Carver. So if you have experience with Adcom amps or both please give your opinion.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I have a hard time dumping good stuff. I have an Adcom stack now that I really like, though the FM tuner in the pre is not reliable (like FM matters any more:D). But I really like Carver stuff too, so if it were me, I'd be looking for a Carver Pre AND an Adcom amp and have two systems. But then, I get all my stuff at estate sales. Here's my Adcom stuff along with the stuff I got with it. The whole stack was $20. It will also give you a hint at why my default is to just get two systems.

P1000339.jpg
 
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