Carver ALiii impressions

[Reverend]

As you know, I picked up a pair of ALiii Plus's a week ago.  I've had a interesting week of trying to fit them into my setup and get them sounding as I feel they should.  I think i'm finally at the point that after a long day of listening in their current configuration, I am very happy.

Cosmetics:  I'd say 8/10, the black hides imperfections very well in a darker basement but overall, except for one dent near the top cap, they are in excellent shape.  Hence the 8/10 rating.  The dent is going to haunt me but i'm not sure what I can do.  It's on the edge where the wood is tapered and the veneer is pushed up which makes it appear worse than it is.  That, and one of the overhead lights is almost shining down directly onto that edge.  I removed the grills but the housing around the ribbons was unpainted metal and to me, I really didn't like the look.  So I put the grills back on adding a pair of newly made badges from the carver guys in Florida.

The sound:  Like with my Silver's it took a long while to get them positioned for the room.  A good amount of measuring (within a 1/8") and several tries of moving away from each other and the back walls.  I was having issues with bass boominess, movement and acoustic treatment wasn't helping.  Surprisingly, I found that they sounded better removing the acoustic tiles, go figure.  Then, I decided to move them 1" further from the wall and bingo, it made a huge improvement.  I'm using my ESC-U control box to remove a little bass so I don't have to use the tone controls on my pre.  My ceiling is only 7'  in the basement so having a speaker that is almost floor to ceiling looks and sound pretty kick ass.

I wasn't sure how i'd feel about the low end as compared to the Silver's as they have a way of punching you in the chest.  Drivers pointed at you just seemed like it would sound be more natural.  The down facing drivers of the ALiii's work very well and transfer nicely sitting on carpet.  Sure you get the low end vibration from the floor but they project nicely.  I'm shocked that I actually have more glasses rattling on my shelf then with the Silvers.  Also a plus is they are 4ohm compared to the Silver's which are 8.  Having 600wpc to throw at them as compared to 385 makes a noticeable difference. At low volumes, they are much more detailed.

So far, i'm running them with stock crossovers.  I'll probably redo them sometime in the near future.  I also made a pair of bi-wires, removing the factory terminal jumpers, which made a big difference.  I added a little wood glue to one of the caps that was loose and was creating a slight rattle.  I think when I redo the crossovers i'm going to get some thicker gasket material and place that around the woofers and back plates.

I'd take some pictures but black speakers in a dimly lit basement isn't really going to work out.  I do have a picture of the new bi-wires I made just for shits and giggles.



How do they fair against the Silvers?  Hard to tell right now, the Silver's are a hell of a speaker.  In my mind they are still better than the ALiii's but some A/B testing in the near future should tell all.

[Kingman]

Thanks for the review Rev! 

[thuffman03]

Very nice review Rev.  Looks like you are having some fun with them!

[OldiesButGoodies]

I am withholding judgment until I have had the opportunity to do a live auditioning with a beer in hand.  It would be great to mark the floor position with masking tape,  move them and put the silvers back and compare them back to back.   

[Reverend]

I am withholding judgment until I have had the opportunity to do a live auditioning with a beer in hand.  It would be great to mark the floor position with masking tape,  move them and put the silvers back and compare them back to back.   

We can do that, we have the technology.   

[MacGeek]

It might be fun to measure both pairs with some pink noise and an RTA.  Measuring can also be useful in determining the best placement.

[BrianT]

Ryan.

You did good on that deal, I'v always wanted a GOOD cheap set of ALIII

Hope to see you soon at CF12

Brian

[Reverend]

[icravcarver]

Very beautiful looking down there in the basement.  I think the low ceiling helps the look of the setup.  I really would like to try a pair myself one of these days.  Just to do a comparison of my SDA-1C's vs the ALiii's.  I am very partial to my SDA's, just am curious about ribbons vs. tweets.  (I haven't done the upgrade on my tweets yet, still SL2000's, and most likely won't until one goes, or I get lucky on a small lottery ticket or something like that.)

Are you still using the sub that is next to the one in the picture, and if so, where have you set your cut off?  (You may have posted it, but I didn't remember seeing it.)  I would like to also try out some silvers, but I do believe my room is too shallow for them (I am only 8' away from my setup.). 

Great review.

Neil

[OldiesButGoodies]

I have yet to listen to a pair of SDAs properly positioned and with me in the sweet spot.  What impresses you most about yours?  Are they extra finicky about room size and placement?

[icravcarver]

I guess I would say, it makes me feel as if I am immersed in the sound.  It never fatigues me, no matter how loud it gets.  As far as setup goes, it is a little tricky, and a smaller room will make it somewhat difficult.  I am about 8 feet away from my system, and based on the distance between the speakers, I am at the minimum distance for being able to experience the SDA effect.  There is a balance that is required between distance from any side walls, from the back wall, and how far in front of anything the faces of the speakers need to be to avoid any interference with the SDA effect. 

All I can say, is that I most llikely won't be replacing mine anytime soon, as I never seem to get fatigued lstening to them, no matter what kind of music I am listening to or even how loud I listen to them.  I get lost in the music, even at extremely loud levels (even to the point of being able to fall asleep with it cranked!). 

I definitely would like to hear other speakers, but I just don't see replacing these any time soon.  As they say, if ain't broke, don't fix it, and if it sounds good to you, don't mess with it!

Neil

[Anders]

I've fallen asleep to my system with Pink Floyd blasting.
There is no fatigue whatsoever with full range electrostatics.
I never wanted to turn them off but it is hard to choose one record when there are over 4000 to choose from.

[Reverend]

Are you still using the sub that is next to the one in the picture, and if so, where have you set your cut off?  (You may have posted it, but I didn't remember seeing it.)  I would like to also try out some silvers, but I do believe my room is too shallow for them (I am only 8' away from my setup.)

The sub in the picture is part of my HT setup, I run two separate systems for HT and Stereo.  I have a Sunfire Sub that I use in conjunction with the ALiii's/Silver's.  I have it set at the lowest cutoff point which I believe is 35Hz.  Volume wise, I barely have it on, I use it just to hit those very low tones.  To feel it more than hear it.  Both the ALiii's and Silver's get quite low already.

Space is the key with the Silvers.  Plan on at least two feet from the back walls and several feet from the sides to get them sounding like they should.

[TNRabbit]

Having heard all the iterations of the Amazings, and save the NEWEST ALS speakers, I find that the AL-IIIs image better than the others, perhaps in part to the wave guide design & narrow body of the "wings".  The Platinums have the most outstanding bass I've heard from any of the stable.

[OldiesButGoodies]

Rev:  Of the two models,  which manages the transition from cone driver to ribbon better? One design has a woofer looking at the floor, the other has three on each side looking at you directly.