The Carver Challenge

[dee1949]

.. ....have you guys read the Carver Challenge article from Sterophile mag.


http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache...ient=firefox-a

...interesting that this happened over 20 years ago. What tube amp would you want duped? How much do you think it would cost to build the M1.0t today?

[dorokusai]

$100.

[madmax]

$100.

What a load in the pants. At least $115 ya freak... :D
madmax

[strider]

Hee hee hee. He said diplodocus.....

[candyliquor35m]

Now I see why my carver stock keeps going up :p

[izafar]

I have heard about this experiment before but this is first time I read this, It was a good read.

[ohskigod]

Carver still gettin no LOVE!!!!! LOL

[Erik Tracy]

I have an M1.0-t.

Should I go sulk in the corner quietly while the grownups talk? ;)

Erik

[ohskigod]

nah, the only thing that would get you down is if you had to pay full retail for an amp that would outperform it :D

[Ron Temple]

I hadn't read the original article...great read except they cutoff the last page, probably to disclose the reference amp, which I believe was a Mark Levinson.

[skipf]

Check out Mr. Bob's newest creation:
http://www.carveraudio.com/phpBB3/vi...p?f=113&t=5340

[dee1949]

....By the way....I believe it was a Conrad-Johnson Premier Five.


http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/ar...p/t-77920.html

[treitz3]

This was one of many technological advances and innovations. Tip of the iceberg...

Many here are STILL listening to his work.

[TroyD]

It's like anything else, if you dig it, does it REALLY matter what anyone else thinks?

I know I dug my carver amps. In fact, I've got a Carver receiver playing in the background as I speak......I think Bob is a genius, some think he is a hack. Hey, whatever floats your boat.

I do know when I had to TFM-45's bridged, the cool factor was off the freakin' charts.

I'd like to have one back, actually.

BDT

[killerb]

i have a carver .5t and i think its a great sounding amp. i also have a rare carver m-4120 car amp, that thing is a beast! 120w x 4 into 4 ohms at 12v. some like carver, some dont. i say he's the man. after that challenge he made alot of enemies in the industry.

[Jstas]

I hear more crap about Bob Carver than any other designer. The guy can talk at length about his work, in great detail and present it to you in a such a way that you understand it like somebody just turned on a light switch. The best part is, he will talk to ANYBODY about it.

He doesn't BS and his gear shows it. I've been told that Carver stuff is wannabe stuff. I've been told that it isn't "high-end". I've been told it's junk and a waste of money. Then again, I've been told the opposite just as many times.

Bob Carver isn't liked because he showed the primadonnas of the audio world a mirror into their self-inflated egos and BS scams and they didn't like being exposed for the crock they are. Don't get me wrong, there is some nice gear out there and Carver is not the best but alot of the stuff is up there in that league. But when a guy is given an amp and told to duplicate it but you're not allowed to know anything about it and he puts up, everyone else should shut up and give the guy some respect.

Me, I'll have a pair of Carver monoblocks soon to power my pair of Amazings. I couldn't be happier! I just wish I could find a decent pre-amp in good condition from Carver that had a remote that worked. Until I find that, I think I'm sticking with my Rotel with the cool motorized volume knob!

[killerb]

i agree completely. he is a very talented audio engineer, and no one can take that away from him.

[george daniel]

isn't this a Bob Carver coffee can amp? I vaguely remember the story.

[treitz3]

That was his start. The coffee can amp. [M-400]

[engtaz]

Jstas,
+1 your comments. I have the Carver C-5 w/remote. I like it alot.

[George Grand]

The coffee can amp blew the McIntosh guys away at a McIntosh clinic held wherever Carver was living at the time. They would print up the results of the test for you. If I understand correctly, he took those tests to the local bank for some financing. The bank wouldn't give it to him, but the loan officer did. I believe that he went out and bought $5,000 worth of parts and Phase Linear was born.

Search function would've turned up at least two dozen references to the Carver Amp Challenge.

[lakesailor]

I used to have the Carver magnetic field "cube" amps and they were junk. Three quit on me. Likewise my Carver CD player died after a three year life span; and my Carver pre-amp also failed within the same time period.

Carver products and I never got along and I figured some of his products were likely better than others.

I will say that the one Carver product I should have bought (but sadly did not) were the "Amazing" loudspeakers - those were; quite simply "amazing" and were an incredibly nice sounding pair of speakers.

In spite of my issues with the gear; the performance was good and I liked what Carver was trying to do. The reliability side effects were unfortunate.

[jon s]

if you ever opened up a Carver piece, you will be amazed at the components. Carver electronics were cheaply built and were prone to failures. I had a Carver power amp that refused to work with anything other than a Carver pre-amp. I also had a pair of Carver ALIII+ speakers where one ribbon tweeter was DOA. It took about three months to repair as the speakers had just been discontinued and the dealer had none left in stock. In the end, they refunded my money...

[george daniel]

My experience with carver has been just the opposite,,TFM 45 still going,,bought in the early ninties(one tune up),,carver pre(can't remember the model) but my brother has it,again bought in the early ninties,,no problems,,I have one pair of Plats,purchased from the original owner about two months ago,,they aren't going anywhere.

[cmy330go]

Wow. That was a good read.

I had heard of this challenge before, but never took the time to read it.

I wonder how hard it would be to get a hold of one of the "t" version amps.

[TNRabbit]

Wow. That was a good read.

I had heard of this challenge before, but never took the time to read it.

I wonder how hard it would be to get a hold of one of the "t" version amps.

They are all over the place. Realize that many of them now are reaching the age where they need a good overhaul, especially the capacitors (start to leak after 20+ years), so the one on ebay that looks good is eventually going to fail & need work. But they are still awesome amps. Bob went on to start & run Sunfire, which are incredible amps (but much more $$$).

[engtaz]

I have a Receiver 900 (that my toddler used as a piggy bank {see vent slots}), 1 ch started giving me problems. Moved it out of my system only to hear change sliding around in the unit. I removed the change and it is still running today. 20 something years old equipment doesn't seam cheap to me. And yes I have other Carver equipment. Just my 2 cents.

engtaz
M1.5T
M4.0T

[amulford]

I have some, too. Say what you want. I like it...

[candyliquor35m]

My carver amps have all been reliable. I have no plans of selling them.

[amulford]

I've had some issues, still do AAMOF. But they are hittin' 20, so...