Anyone here into old Carver stuff?

[motorstereo]

Yes I like my tfm amp quite a bit also. The only thing that bugs me about them is that stupid meter light set up. Mine's been burnt out for a while but today I'm planning on swapping out those incandescents to leds. Hopefully the leds won't burn out for a long long time.

 

[hausdok]

love my Carver stuff

Years ago I had the Carver reciever but it's long gone. I had a Kenwood after that to keep me in the grooves. It's been moved to the garage so I can listen out there. I shopped ebay for a system and came up with some nice stuff...
My preamp is Carver C-15v, amp is the 5 channel Carver AV 505. I also picked up the Carver 400 cube just for some more power. Also from Carver is the C 9 sonic holistic generator. Then I got into the DBX stuff, had a 1bx, (now in the garage too) got me the 3bx-ds, a snr 1, 120X for bass control, and the 200 route selector. Picked up a Teac tuner TR670 at a garage sale for $20 and a Teac eq EQA 20 (usually in out position but spectrum analyzer looks great anyway). Two items I bought new are Sony 300 dvd carosel and 50 cd one as well. I had a Sony TC RX 420 cassette from somewhere but it's never used, still it's wired in the loop. The latest addition is a Magnavox dvd/vcr recorder I use to record dvd's off stuff we rent or tivo, kinda handy. Most of the stuff is rack mounted but I need a second or taller rack cause I'm out of room in this one. One last thing almost forgot is the old Technics SL-D2 turntable, my second one since the first was so awesome but long gone.
For the sound to come out I have a set of Klipsch and a set of small DBX for surrounds and a Velodyne powered sub that ROCKS well. I have JBL, Technics, Fishers, Kendoods Pioneers to name a few all in the garage in case I wanted a swap but I love these Klipsch in the house about the best.
For my screen I have a 43" Polaroid HDTV mounted on the wall set up so I can swing it to watch at my desk or over there on the couch.

It took me a few years to acquire this setup but it's dependable, sounds awesome and we love it.
the pic is old, I rearranged since the screen went up on the wall.

 

[barnoah]

Carver Forum

Plenty to learn here about Carver gear......Bob has his own shop for maintenance on his gear....reasonable and expert...

http://www.carveraudio.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=74&sid=dc5b7ce6a168a0ead47d4d3eca42e864

I have owned plenty of Carver gear, as well as Mac, Yamaha, NAD, Sansui, Kenwood, Pioneer... I think the Carver gear is top notch and if well maintained, will serve you and please you well. I especially like my M1.5t.... 600 watts RMS per channel....this dude will rock the neigborhood with my JBL L300's... :yes:

Or if you have a few bucks, you can buy one of Bob's custom made tube amps..... here...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180458977705&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

My advice....get some Carver and try it out.... I recommend M500T, M1.5t, TFM 35 or 45 or 55....you got nothin to lose....

God Bless, Barnoah

 

[Klipschornman]

Carvers, ya either love 'em or hate 'em. I seldom see or hear any middle ground. My experience listening to store set ups was that Bob Carver was right up there with Amar Bose at hype marketing. They did not seem well made and perhaps the reason you see so few for sale is so many died and were never repaired.

Being an older fella, I've been in and out of the equipment searching
mode. One day the bandwagon stopped on a Carver hunt. Had the M-400t,
The M-500t, the TFM45, The Carver Receiver and some Platinum Amazings
and Silver Amazings. The Best sounding amp to me was the 400t. Litttle
thing was so quiet and just kept on going. The Amazings are so inefficient
and I bought some from a friend with the ribbon damaged, so made one
myself. Great sound, so transparent. Carver made many people unhappy
by leaving the dealers and owners out in the cold. Even now with his
Sunfire products, you can't send them to the factory for repair, but farms
them out to other techs. Bob Carver is a brilliant inventor, engineer but
needs to stand behind his products more. The Carver hunt was a pleasant
stop along my continuing journey for audio gear. I'm just happy that there
is Sooooo Much out there.
K-man

 

[70chevelle]

I have a dedicated 2 channel system consisting of a TFM45, CT6, SDA360 changer, NAD 525bee playing thru a set of Vandersteen 2C's. I love that it's vintage and love the way it sounds. I started with Carver in 1991 with a HR732 Reciever, the SDA360 above, and a pair of Boston Acoustic T930's. The reciever is still working, but is a little finicky. It plays thru a pair of BA A60's I also bought new in the mid-80's. I also have a M500 (non-t) running my front surrounds in my theater system along with an Acurus A200x3 running the center & rears.

 

[Blast]

I own a couple pieces, the M400 and the 1.0t, both purchased new.

I had some trouble with the M-400 about 20 years ago. Somehow, I don't remember how, but I blew it out. I sent it to Carver for a $200 service bill. I'd get it back and it would act funny and blow again. Finally, after 3 or 4 trips back and forth they got it right. And it's been working great ever since. It's not my main amp now but serves as PA monitor amp for band practice. The noise it makes when turned off sounds like the 4th of July- anything from squeals and fizzles to loud thumps and pops. Weird... I keep thinking it's going to blow again but never does.

The 1.0t was purchased at the time the 400 was going back and forth to Carver service. The 1.0t hasn't failed yet. It's a "weekly driver" and never fails to impress me.

Brian

 

[TNRabbit]

Being an older fella, I've been in and out of the equipment searching
mode. One day the bandwagon stopped on a Carver hunt. Had the M-400t,
The M-500t, the TFM45, The Carver Receiver and some Platinum Amazings
and Silver Amazings. The Best sounding amp to me was the 400t. Litttle
thing was so quiet and just kept on going. The Amazings are so inefficient
and I bought some from a friend with the ribbon damaged, so made one
myself. Great sound, so transparent. Carver made many people unhappy
by leaving the dealers and owners out in the cold. Even now with his
Sunfire products, you can't send them to the factory for repair, but farms
them out to other techs. Bob Carver is a brilliant inventor, engineer but
needs to stand behind his products more. The Carver hunt was a pleasant
stop along my continuing journey for audio gear. I'm just happy that there
is Sooooo Much out there.
K-man

FYI: Bob was FORCED out by the Board of Directors at Carver after the company went public. They proceeded to farm out all manufacturing to China/Japan & went down the toilet. When they BEGGED Bob to come back a few years later, they were ELEVEN MILLION in debt (Bob was always in the black) & it ended up going Chapter 11.

 

[Klipschornman]

FYI: Bob was FORCED out by the Board of Directors at Carver after the company went public. They proceeded to farm out all manufacturing to China/Japan & went down the toilet. When they BEGGED Bob to come back a few years later, they were ELEVEN MILLION in debt (Bob was always in the black) & it ended up going Chapter 11.

Thanks for reminding me. No disrespect intended. The name Carver was
ruined for many dealers is all I was trying to say. It was too bad. Brilliant
man.

 

[pezzzzx]

I have 2 80's Carver receivers ( a MRX 150 and a 130) Plenty of power and crystal clear. The Tuners are wonderful

 

[jlaw]

Cool, my first post and I didn't even have to resurrect this 5 year old thread! I have a feeling old school Carver components and this thread are going to be around for quite awhile.

I bought my first Carver in 2007, The Carver Receiver 900. I love it so much I bought another one yesterday. The first one is in my tiny 300sf studio apt with a pair of JBL LX44's and a pair of Infinity SL40's. I put the second one in my 600sf shop with a pair of large vintage Advent's and an experimental pair of KLH 1206T cabinets with speakers and crossovers from a pair of Sony SS-U7190's installed.

I've read a lot of opinions on here regarding sound quality but IMO the difference between my Carvers and the Pioneer's, Kenwood's and Onkyo's I've owned and/or tested, in my shop with my speakers, is the difference between listening to a CD and hearing it live.

I am far from being an audiophile but with the help of all of you here at audiokarma I'm beginning to catch on. When you can listen to music in your own home that sounds like you're listening live at Red Rocks amphitheater it's hard to settle for anything less. I was going to buy a new mig welder but I bought another Carver instead! LOL!!

I have to wonder how in the world you guys with mega watt amps and low resistance, high powered speakers ever get to utilize all that power? My set-up, with only 90 watts per channel and 8 ohm speakers will damn near vibrate the stucco off the building if I crank it for too long!

jlaw

Now if I can find that thread where someone was telling how to test voltage to the speakers I'm going to dig in a little deeper and try to figure out why I've blown so many tweeters on the left channel of the first Carver.

 

[Blast]

Cool, my first post and I didn't even have to resurrect this 5 year old thread!

Welcome to AK!

I have to wonder how in the world you guys with mega watt amps and low resistance, high powered speakers ever get to utilize all that power? My set-up, with only 90 watts per channel and 8 ohm speakers will damn near vibrate the stucco off the building if I crank it for too long!

jlaw

I get to utilize the power because I'm single and live in a single family dwelling. When I was married I had to build the car stereo- couldn't blast the bi-amped system in the house

Watts and decibels are funny things. Everything else being equal, as an example, my bi-amped Carver 1.0t 200w/ch system is probably only 3-4 db's louder than yours. Probably wouldn't seem like a whole lot of difference at all.

 

[jlaw]

Welcome to AK!

Watts and decibels are funny things. Everything else being equal, as an example, my bi-amped Carver 1.0t 200w/ch system is probably only 3-4 db's louder than yours. Probably wouldn't seem like a whole lot of difference at all.

Thank you for the welcome Blast,
I've been told it takes 10 times the watts to actually be twice as loud. Judging by the difference between the 5 ohm KLH woofers and the 8 ohm Sony woofers I'd have to say that it's not as simple as that formula makes it sound. The Sony's are acceptable but the KLH's THUMP! And I swear the Carver hits a few octaves lower than any other receivers or amps I've tried. It's the difference between rattling the shelves and rattling things off the shelves!


These are thrift store speakers that I'm enjoying toying with and maybe even learning something too. I'm going to put the KLH woofers back in and keep the Sony mids and tweeters and see how that works out. But that's for another thread and another time.

jlaw

 

[whoaru99]

...
I've been told it takes 10 times the watts to actually be twice as loud. Judging by the difference between the 5 ohm KLH woofers and the 8 ohm Sony woofers I'd have to say that it's not as simple as that formula makes it sound. ...
jlaw

10x power to sound twice as loud is true, but it assumes all other things are equal. When other variables are introduced they must be factored in accordingly.

For example, you could have a 10W amp with 100dB/W/m speakers and a 100W amp with 90dB/W/m speakers and the volume of the two systems would be the same. That's just the beginning of the twists and turns.

 

[jlaw]

For example, you could have a 10W amp with 100dB/W/m speakers and a 100W amp with 90dB/W/m speakers and the volume of the two systems would be the same. That's just the beginning of the twists and turns.

I hear that whoaru99 but what a fun bunch of twists and turns it's going to be! I'm a mid 40's single guy that loves good friends, good food, GOOD drink and jammin music. The only thing I like more is learning. I do believe I'm going to enjoy being a part of this community!

 

[mr3putt]

My 2 Cents

Owned Carver products since 1992
HR 895 reciever - A truck but only Dolby Pro logic
TFM 15 - Great sound but blew it up running 4 ohm speaker config
SD/A 490T CD - Great sound
1770 Tape Deck - Good for a tape deck

Recently purchase a Sunfire Ultimate Reciever - Awesome power with great features and a super remote control. 7x200 watts

Prices on all used Carver and Sunfire gear is going up as people are exposed to the quality of the sound.
If you need repairs there are at least two shops that are highly respected
Rolland and Rita.

:thmbsp: from me

 

[Dawgme85]

I've been a Carver fan for 30+ years. My first exposure was a friend's Phase Linear 400, followed by hearing about and seeing an M400 in the local Stereo Shop when they (and Carver) first came out. Sonic Holography then caught my interest when it appeared, further fueling my Carver interest/lust. Needless to say, I was attracted to Bob Carver's innovative approach to audio reproduction.
Upon graduation from college my first purchase was a Carver Stack (C-1, TX-2, M200t), B&O RX-2 TT, Nakamichi BX125 Cassette deck, and Dahlquist DQM-7C speakers in 1985. In 1989 I upgraded to a CT-Seven pre-amp/tuner and an M500T (both of which I still own, and have recently had re-built).
A further testament is that, after listening to an extended demo of a TOTL Pro-Ject, McIntosh, Martin Logan system, I came home and my vintage Thorens, Carver, Dahlquist (now DQ20's) system sounded very nearly (if not) equal to the $30k system (at least to my ears!!). YMMV.

 

[soundtravels]

PM Series Amps

Here's part of my collection of PM series workhorses. Pick about any venue and I can fill it.

 

[imglocked]

Carver, the man, the myth, the M500!

Stumbled here on an unrelated search of Ak, but here's my 3 cents (inflation).

I used to run a C2 pre and an M500 amp (not "T" but an original w/ no power button or the tube simulation circuitry) and various input devices to my beloved Infinity RSM's.

I think I was first drawn in by aesthetics and then by the performance. The simplicity and clean lines of the pre contrasted so nicely with the flash, and size!, of those beautiful analog meters. And the gunmetal finish was, well, just different and projected a certain degree of refinement or maturity that the gee-whiz bright silver and black 'try to read my markings, I dare ya!' finishes just did not have. Of course, now that I am actually mature, I see the beauty in it all, and indeed own some of each (much to the chagrin of me wif!) And I sprung for the rack-mount kits for both, just to add some visual punch. Plus, with the lites down low, the soft glow of the meters as the needles danced to the music was downright hypnotic.

Performance-wise I could not have been happier. My sources sounded as they were supposed to with no additions/subtractions from the C2, and the dynamics were easily handled by the M500's seemingly endless headroom and muscle. Any speaker I tried was driven with out effort, but my favorite was the RSM's.

I had them both for a while after I got married and then the AV revo hit and I was sucked into the vortex. I still to this day, in this order, kick myself for having sold them off to buy AV stuff, and look for that certain deal where I can once again possess them. In the interim, I have acquired many pieces of gear,and while I am satisfied, overly so according to you know who, there is still that gap, that hole in the soul that needs filling. Someday . . . someday.

Oh, and after reading reviews of each, soon after buying, in various audio rags in which my admiration and love was validated by both measurement and opinion, I knew I had chosen wisely. I recall reading something about how the amps from Carver didn't use AC as other things did, thereby they actually did not cost as much to run? Anyone?! Maybe I AM crazy:scratch2:

Jim

 

[revox-b77]

My daily driver is a 6200 reciever. Lots of power, sounds gerat through my Polk monitor 10's and ADS L9E's.

 

[TNRabbit]

... I recall reading something about how the amps from Carver didn't use AC as other things did, thereby they actually did not cost as much to run? Anyone?! Maybe I AM crazy:scratch2:

Jim

Not EXACTLY; here's a link to everything you ever wanted to know about Bob Carver: http://www.carveraudio.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=34

That is soooo cool! I would love for Bob to autograph my ALIII's.

Jimmy

Jimmy: I have a pair of AL-IIIs autographed by Bob; bring your @$$ (& speakers) to CarverFest this year & he'll sign them for ya with that gold pen of his~