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Carver TFM-45 yard sailing

Kahoona

Kahoona

Super Member
Hi
My wife and I went yard sailing today and I grabbed a Carver TFM-45 power amp. It looks like it will clean up nice and there is no obvious damage. Is this a nice amp? I have heard good things about Carver.

PS
OMG! I just googled it and saw what I might have here! I sure hope it works!
 
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The Carver TFM-45 is a very nice amp. :thmbsp:

I currently have three of them. 2 run my bi-amp AR9's and the third one powers a set of AR-LST's. They drive them with out any problems at all.

If you plan on keeping it you may want to think about sending it to Bob' Carver's repair shop. Because of it's age it's a good idea to do so. Rita will get it back to factory spec's. Plus if you ask, Bob will personally sign it! He's signed all three of mine.

Here's the link to his repair center: Carver Repair

Good luck with it.

John
 
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LOL. I wondered how long the "worthless without Pics" would take to show up. I will do some nudies when I get back. I am leaving for a bit of a drive in a couple of days and I may not get back for a couple of months. I will be out WI FI and phone for much of it so any serious stuff has to wait. I paid less than a portrait of Jefferson so I am happy:yes:. There is a paint blotch on the top and some on the cord otherwise it is perfect outside. I can remove that easily. That is a good idea sending it to Bob for a checkup. I wonder what the price is. Here is the rub in a nutshell. I only keep one amp at a time. It is easier and I am very poor. It has only been a few months since I got my Yamaha MX-1000. That is the biggest and perhaps best amp I have had (with the possible exception of a pair of Dynakit MKIII.s which might have sounded better. I love that MX. Love the sound and the accurate meters, the size and weight and the sheer outrageousness of it. When I had it hooked to the B&W Matrix.s I did notice some distortion near their rated maximim volume though. I just got the Carver hooked up and it works well. Serious testing is needed and will have to wait for now. I hate the "which is better " posts but I think I need to do that now. I hope that your input can steer me one way or the other though I am leaning toward the Carver. I did research and Bob is my kind of guy for sure. I have heard of a few reliability issues though (humm for one) and these are still "mid-fi".
I know the Yammy is Mid-Fi too but it is dependable.
With you'r kind co-operation I will ask for feedback. See the next Posting please
 

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Carver TFM-45 or Yamaha MX-1000

I have these 2 amps and I can only keep one. I really am afraid of a mistake here. They are both cool. I think that in the end sound quality is what I want but would I know it if it bit me at this level? It will be used for my main stereo speakers NHT VT2,s and for everything else I get my hands on. It will also power those main speakers as part of a surround system. I am using a Yamaha RX-V2500 A/V as a pre-amp and surround for the other speakers. Source is PC and much of it is DVD, WAV or 24bit digital in FLAC.

Carver
Pros
Its a Carver
More power
Honest great specs
Analog meters
Light weight

Cons
No level controls make it hard to integrate into surround and won't let me reduce gain to save smaller speakers.
Light weight
Alleged reliability problems including humm.

Yamaha
Pros
Gain controls
Nearly bulletproof
Wonderfully heavy and massive
Sounds great
3 speaker outs (I test a lot of speakers)
Peak reading digital meters make it safer with smaller speakers.

Cons
Massive size and weight
Might be some distortion running near max. I think I noticed some when I was running some B&W Matrix speakers but it could also be from the preamp.


That about covers it. Both have power. I prefer the Carver approach over the Yamaha one but which one will please me the most in the long run. I do plan to run them both for quite a while but I fear that I might not be able to determine which is actually better for now and might make a mistake. I could use your input here. I am going to learn things here and that is what I am after. I did research already but you guy:thmbsp:s rule.
 
Specs aren't everything, but the Carver THD runs 166X that of the Yamaha MX-1000, at .5 vs. .003. The .5 is about as respectable as a good tube amp. But I bought MX-1000s for "clean" (and power). I've never heard distortion through any of my MX-1000s run routinely all-out. I'd be checking that preamp. (But I'd keep both. :D)
 
jaguar06 said:
Specs aren't everything, but the Carver THD runs 166X that of the Yamaha MX-1000, at .5 vs. .003. The .5 is about as respectable as a good tube amp. But I bought MX-1000s for "clean" (and power). I've never heard distortion through any of my MX-1000s run routinely all-out. I'd be checking that preamp. (But I'd keep both. :D)
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I am glad you mentioned that because I had run a pair of Theils at 250w with no distortion at all. It was effortless. I was using a good CD player that had a earphone out and I went right into the power amp. That leaves either the pre or the B&W's as the culprits then. I can check it with the carver now. Thanks
 
for me, its a no brainer, if you're dead set on only keeping one amp, it'd be the carver. Definitely get it checked out by someone who knows carver amps, but I'd keep the carver. Or you could just sell the carver to me :)

Of course, I'd keep both, and split your inputs so you can drive both amps simultaniously. It's what I've done. Does the tfm 45 have line level outputs like my tfm 15?

jaz
 
jazzmans said:
for me, its a no brainer, if you're dead set on only keeping one amp, it'd be the carver. Definitely get it checked out by someone who knows carver amps, but I'd keep the carver. Or you could just sell the carver to me :)
jaz
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I have gotten to listen to it a bit and I am thinking you are right. It is slightly warmer sounding than the Yama and I like that better. And you are second in line for the Carver with nobody wanting the Yama:scratch2:
jazzmans said:
Of course, I'd keep both, and split your inputs so you can drive both amps simultaniously. It's what I've done. Does the tfm 45 have line level outputs like my tfm 15?

jaz
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Nope. 2 speaker pairs only. Very minimal (which is fine).
 
I vote Carver. They are great amps and sound more natural than the Yamaha TO MY EAR. I always thought the Yamaha sounded surgical. Bob Carver voiced the TFM to sound like tubes but still has the detail and speed of SS. There is a guy in Oregon that does a better job than Rita Carver working on the Carver amps. Can't remember his website, but just google Carver repair in Oregon.
 
I sez keep the Carver . . . had the M500 way back when . . . warm sound with a thousand man army of power . . . can only imagine the TFM's are that much better . . . imo, of course
 
djnagle said:
I vote Carver. They are great amps and sound more natural than the Yamaha TO MY EAR. I always thought the Yamaha sounded surgical. Bob Carver voiced the TFM to sound like tubes but still has the detail and speed of SS. .
Click to expand...

That is a great way to say that. I was trying to figure out how to put it myself. When I got the Yama I was thrilled to have the surgical accurate sound and the NHT's reinforced it but I noticed when playing the Carver that it sounded like tubes a bit and had more personality. I noticed too that there is more bass. Not overdone but definitely more grunt where it is needed. I also think that it will go well with the NHT.s and soften their sort of clinical sound a bit.
 
Decision Made

Hi
I have been doing some listening over the past couple of days and The Carver I agree with what has been said here. The Carver stays. It seems to let the personality of the music through particularly at higher volumes. I think I am hearing the difference between one mans vision and 1000 engineers consensus. The Yama has no soul (although it is a magnificent beast!) This Carver does not hum either. I love analog meters glowing dimly in a darkened room. It reminds me of the late 60's. I will be away for a couple of months but I'll drop in when I have WiFi and when I get back wou will probably see the MX-1000 in Barter Town. It is a good amp! I changed the system list on the signature. Thanks for the advice and Happy Listening.:thmbsp:
 
sorry to hear your keeping it.....:tears:

I wanted it! :yes:

Good luck with the Carver, I know you won't be disappointed. :thmbsp:

John
 
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