Carver stuff

[Big Dan R]

Im interested in hearing any feedback on Carver amps, pre and tuners. How does Carver compare to Adcom ect?
Thanks,
Dan

[Zero]

Never had any experience with Adcom.

Here is my take on Carvers sound. The original gear (pre 90's era if I remember correctly) is not bad from what I hear.

At one point, I owned the M200t amp and was very impressed. It was powerfull, well built, old, and ran strong. A lot of quality - dead silent. Highly recommended.. it can be had for roughly 200 bucks on ebay.

I owned the CT-3 Pre-amp which was made after Carver left the team. Now that, I didnt like. Its tuner was damn near worthless, the quality of sound was "ok", and the hiss was intolerable.

Over-all, I feel if you get any good working original Carver, your good to go!

Incredibly reliable gear.

[Ceruleance]

I just picked up an M-200t for 115, shipped, off of ebay. Nice amp, I will probably Biamp a center channel with it. I havent listened to it long enough to give you the full run down. It has spring clips, which might be a problem if you are running preterminated wire, but otherwise you should be ok. I have the C-1. M-500t and M-1.0t, as well, but Im not going to give you a review because I dont have much to compare it to. Blows the pants off my JVC receiver, however.

[stubby]

Carver gear was the first equipment I have used that would let my speakers really breathe. They always sounded compressed or held back. With Carver stuff they are just so much more dynamic without losing transparency or subtlety.
I always wanted to try a top of the line Adcom amp and pre, especially a pair of old 565 monos with a 565 pre or a 5802 amp with a 750 pre.

Stubby

[jmasterj]

Hey Big Dan R,

Welcome to the forum, back in the day the mid 80's I use to have a Carver M1.5t power amp, and C-2 pre-amp. This combo was really nice with the Polk SDA-2's I miss it. I let it get away from me. It was the best 2 channel system I've owned. Today I have a Carver TFM 35x though not a powerful as the M1.5t was it still kicks my RT1000i's. I can't wait to hear the LSIi 15's on this amp. Never had any Adcom, dont know any one who has any.

[MxStYlEpOlKmAn]

Adcom makes SUPERB STUFF! They are heavy, very CLEAN and CONSERVATIVE power. They have 0 coloration of sound and are very good for the price. Their 60 watt can run 500 watt speakers with ease!

[madmax]

No coloration with the Carvers. Almost clinical sounding. Not always the most pleasant sound but very dynamic, clean and true. Too much so in my opinion. No soul. Don't get me wrong, I love mine but most of the time I prefer something more musical and less clinical. (I'm sure I probably spelled clinical wrong).
madmax

[SDA SRS 1.2]

All I can say is my 1.2's love the clean powerful sound of the TFM-45. With a dedicated outlet, the 45 can really rock and roll! The TX-11b pulls in distant stations clearly and has AM stereo. The C-16 preamp has so many features, I'm still learning what it can do after owning it for over 13 years! Well built and highly compatible with the Polks.

[axeman]

I have owned the C-1 and C2, and I currently have a PM-1200 and a PM1.5T bi-amping my 1.2 TL's and lemme tell you how sweet the sound is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can't go wrong with Carver gear!

Peace
Joe

[Big Dan R]

Ok Guys, now the match up: Carver vs Adcom.
To drive 1 pair of Polk 2.3TL's..

Adcom GFA 555 ll power amp w GFP 565 pre amp OR Carver M 1.5t power amp w C 1 pre amp. Which system should win??

Thanks again,
Big Dan and the ghost of Howard Cosell

[Ceruleance]

my completely partisan opinion is the carver, just because I own it and hope so! If you do a head to head, let me know!

[TroyD]

Dan,

I don't have a TON of experience with Adcom gear, a buddy of mine has a nice little Adcom rig and it is good stuff. I have a carver C-1 and m1.5t with in my 2ch rig. I love the m1.5t, great sounding amp. I like the C-1, it's a good preamp. IMO it adds just a bit of warmth to the m1.5t. Highly recommend that setup.

I think it's pretty much a win-win deal either way. For the record, with the m1.5t, most of my listening is done with an Adcom SLC-505 passive preamp.

BDT

[Tour2ma]

BDR,
Another big thumbs up for the M1.5t. Great powerhouse of an amp that made my SRS's VERY happy for over a decade.

Never owned Carver pre-amps, went from Yamaha to B&K. Point is don't overlook mixing manufacturers.... it's part of the beauty of going the separates route.

EDIT: Almost forgot, if you go M1.5t via ebay or such, go for serial number 10,000+, or an earlier one that has been serviced by Carver. Deal is the 1.5's went through a couple mod's during their production run and got sweeter sounding. I am the original owner of #2787 and had to send it in a few a years ago for a repair. They threw in tweaks that brought it up to the level of last ones produced. Difference was both noticeable and enjoyable.

BTW going ebay prices have been $350 to 450 depending on cosmetic condition with a couple outliers higher (including one that went for an unbelievable $700). Since Iraq listings have fallen off, but prices have too. Cosmetics vary a great deal as many of these amps were used in DJ rigs and have quite a few "battle scars".

[Big Dan R]

Great info guys, what is the difference between the Carver TFM, M1.5t and M- 500t amp model lines?
Thanks,
Dan

[Ceruleance]

A lot of the TFM amps are M-X.Xt amps in new clothing. (Uglier clothing if you ask me). I dont think the M-500t has a TFM conterpart. I own the M-500t and I like it a lot. I have an M-1.0t as well, and I might be looking to pass it off to someone, because I would rather have two M-500's. Let me know by email if in the future you decide to go carver.

[Tour2ma]

Believe Cer's right about the TFM line's origins (and agree with his looks assessment).

As for the 1.5 vs. the 500... the 500 is just lower powered (about 50% as I recall), has analog output meters and is not a common ground design (odd because I believe all the other M's were).

[Big Dan R]

What if any is the difference between the Carver M1.5 and the 1.5T?
Thanks,
Dan

[Ceruleance]

T stands for transfer function. Its some sort of improvement, but beyond that I really can't comment

[Tour2ma]

I'm reaching here (and a little too busy/ lazy to pulll an old reference), but as I recall the "t-function" was a previously undefined amp quality that Bob Carver quantified and believed gave different amps their "sound".
He then developed the "t" line to mimic a famous amp line (some said it was Krell). Later on, after he designed his Silver Seven tube amp, he mimicked it. The M-4.0t Silver Seven was the most famous example of this.
Whether a difference can be heard is up to the individual. But as I said earlier, I thought my updated M1.5t came back from Carver sounding better than ever.