Robin, how about a comparison to the one I built?
The Carverfest Amps you built sounded like crap...as long as I had them on crap speakers.
When I finally put them on the Khorns they made the Khorns sound the way the were supposed to sound. I know a lot of folks say just put a tube amp on the Khorns and they will sound dreamy, but that hasn't been my experience. I put two different 300b amps on them and as far as I am concerned the 300b tube doesn't bring the bass out in them at all. The pair of mono blocks you built finally delivered the full range of sound I was looking for from them.
How do the Carverfest Mono Blocks compare to the VTA20? It's too early to tell. Currently I am running one VTA 20 in stereo mode on the Khorns and using a Sonos connect as a preamp/dac to drive it. I had the CF Mono Blocks hooked up to a Grant Fidelity DAC and used the GF DAC for volume control. So I need to pull the second VTA20 off the Klipsch CF3s and run a pair of VTA20s to compare them. Or I need to put the GF DAC back in to see what that does to the volume control situtation.
Using the CF Monobocks and GF DAC I can get a comfortable listening level with the volume control at 9 o'clock. Using the VTA20 in stereo mode and a Sonos connect for volume control, I have to get to 12 or 1 o'clock to get the same levels. Is that a function of 40 wpc vs 20 wpc or is that telling me I need a preamp and dac on the VTA 20? Don't know yet, but I aim to find out. I think that maybe the answer because the other VTA20 is running on my Audio Note preamp and AN DAC and that setup is delivering unbelievable volume and sound at 9 0'clock on the preamp volume control.
I'll let you know more when I finally a/b them, but my initial impressions would be it will be hard to tell the difference, they are both that good
Congrats, that's a beautiful amp. We'd love to see a review if you have the time.
I promise a review when I am done playing
Did you pick that up from Tom?
No, I wish I could have because I like buying from Tom, Carver is offering a trade in program where you can trade in your CF amp plus $1,000 and get a VTA 20. I used that to trade in 2 CF amps to get 2 VTA20s. I suspect when all is said and done I will need two more VTA20's down the road and those I will get from Tom. Really, what people should walk away thinking is that there is a great tube amp that can be bought for under $2,500, being able to buy it from a local shop is a huge plus.
For Example:
a) person buys a $2,500 chinese amp off ebay. If they buy it from a local shop a couple hundred bucks stays in the local community and the rest of your hard earned money goes to the enemy...I mean China.
b) A person buys $2,500 amp off ebay from China...all of your hard earned money goes to China
c) A person buys a Carver VTA 20 from Tom, a couple hundred bucks stays in the local Pittsburgh economy and the rest goes to Kentucky ( Made in the USA Carver amps). All of this money stays in the USA and supports local jobs. I know I am a nut, but I look at things like this. When I buy Audio Note stuff, they are built in the USA with parts coming from Canada and England so i like where my monet flows to. When I buy blue jeans for my kid I buy them from Texas Blue Jean company, my money goes to Texas and stays in the USA. Told ya I was a nut
Is the soundstage as good as described in the net?
The sound stage is unbelievable. When i talked to Tony Ferraro, he mentioned that Bob thought the sound stage on the VTA20, Cherry 260 and the Black Beauty 305s should all be the same.
Here you can see my second VTA20 driving my Klispch CF-3s. You can also see my Cherry 260s in the same pic. I wanted to AB the VTA 20 with the Cherry 260s. These CF3's will deliver bass that shakes the floor. These are the same speakers I used on my Sunfire Classic tube preamp and Sunfire 600 x 2, that combination was probably the best overall sound I ever put together. I can still deliver volume levels like I did with the 600 x 2 but with a richer sound, and I can do this with either the Cherry 260s or the VTA20s. Keep in mind the CF3s are pretty efficient @ 100db. Granted, the VTA20s might run out of steam on less efficient speakers, but I was shocked at how nice the VTA20s sound on these speakers.
Initial impressions are at 9 or 10 o'clock on the volume control the VTA20 delivers the same through your chest bone rattling bass notes as the Cherry 260s or the Sunfire 600 x 2. I still need to spend some time comparing the two set ups, but out of the box I am very impressed.
I have to run now, but I will have more later.
Right now
