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Soundcraftsmen vs. Carver???

S

SleeperSupra

Super Member
How do the Carver and Soundcraftsmen amplifiers stack up sound quality wise? I heard many of the Carver amps were class H just like many of the Soundcraftsmen amplifiers.

My uncle seems to think his Carver M4.0t amps will blow my Soundcraftsmen class H amps out of the water sound quality wise.

I don't think so.

I think his Carver’s are a little thin sounding but I have never heard them both in side by side A&B comparisons...

Any opinions? :scratch2:
 
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It's similar to the Class G of the Hitachi SR-2004.....power doubling for transient peaks.

Personally, I've been very impressed with the Carver gear I've owned so I know where the uncle is coming from. :D
 
Just about any Carver amp made after 1989 or so is going to be silky sweet on the top end. I've had M4.0t since then myself. Beautiful amp. The M1.5t before it is a very nice amp, but doesn't shine on the top end the way M4.0t and follow-ons do. The M-500 and M-500t from way back are also gorgeous sounding. I have a couple of those also. Lot of people like the M1.0t and the M-400 cube. Both rated at 200wpc, I think the cube is gimmicky and the M1.0t had the worst "Power On/Power Off" thumps ever. I had one of those and divested myself of it ASAP. TFM-22,24,25,35,42,45,55, and 75 all sound exactly like the M4.0t, they all just have different power ratings for the most part. I've had 35, 45, and still have 42.
 
I've heard the soundcraftsmen ma5200, and it was very good, thru jbl 4312's.
I've never heard a carver, but I do know he put out amps with brutal power
for such a light amp, and no heatsinks or fans. I have heard a Sunfire amp,
(carver designed ), and it rocked, big time.
 
Carvers are very nice, but I prefer the sound of the Soundcraftsmen amps.

Let me expand on my comment. I would certainly enjoy any of the big Carver's TA mentions. They are very fine amps.
I do, however, prefer the pure, lush sound of the big Soundcraftsmen amps.
I did really love the sound of my The Carver Receiver and had one of the earliest models.
 
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doctorbongo said:
are those power on/power off thumps potentially damaging to the speakers, toasted?
Click to expand...

I'm not toasted (in either sense of the word...:D ) but I can confirm that those on/off thumps CAN be damaging to speakers. They can actually fry large woofers. Learned that the hard way once. :tears:

Tough call on which sounds better without doing an A/B comparison of units with similar power output, but I wouldn't be too quick to sell the big Soundcraftsmen short.
 
I always though Soundcraftsmen were way under appreciated. Maybe because they were a bit ahead of the times in audio fashon. It seems to me a lot of people who didn't like them in their day, dissed the because they were MOS-FET amps not BJT's. These days MOS-FET is high end.
 
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