What's The Verdict Matt (Paden501) ?

[Falcon]

Hi Paden, Can you bi-amp your speakers??  Maybe, i'm not sure how it would be, you can use the tfm-25 on the woofers, and the 1.0t on the mids and tweets.. The best of both amps

Mike

[paden501]

Thanks for the encouraging words Mike and Bill. I'll be sure to keep writing down my thoughts.


@ Mike, I can't bi-amp my speakers.  They lack the cross-over design to allow that.

If I were able to bi-amp, I think that doing just as you have suggested wouldn't be a bad option.


Let me clarify though.  The 1.0T is no slouch on bass.  It's just not quite as dynamic as the TFM-25.  If I hadn't heard the 25 just hours before the 1.0T, I may not have even felt it lacking.  But coming directly off of the 25 to the 1.0T, it was apparent.  That said, I like the overall presentation of the 1.0T better than the 25.  I feel like it's a little more warm sounding.. .not as dynamic, but a smoother presentation.  I listened to the 1.0T for hours last night and never got tired of it.

Also, as far as the bass goes.  The 1.0T has PLENTY of power, so a little tweak of the EQ and you get the bass presense back (I know, EQ is like blasphemy for HiFi).

I like the 1.0T a lot, and I don't think that it'll be going back to Tom's shop anytime soon.

Of course, that doesn't mean that the 1.0T is necessarily superior to the TFM-25.  It just means that I think it works better in my system as it's currently configured.

[Kingman]

Keep the info coming...I think we all enjoy your opinions. 

[Falcon]

Hey Paden, you may have just described the difference between tube and solid state... My opinion is the 1.0T really sounds tube like, and the tfm-25 sounds solid state.. The bigest diff. being solid state has the low end slam!! But IMO the tube sound has the better mid bass on up
  I really liked the 1.0T and REALLY regret no longer having one.
Also if you can get a hold of one I really liked the TFM-42 IMO the best sounding Carver amp I ever had..
And I will get another when the opportunity(sp?) arises.

Good job on the reviews

[BB3]

Matt,

Great news about your decision on the Carver Amp. You're process through all of  it was certainly the right way.

I'm real happy for you Matt. Happy Listening Sir........

-----BILL(BB3)

[paden501]

Trouble in paradise.

Well it looks like I havent found the amp of my dreams with the m1.0T    At least not with this particular one.

I noticed today that only one of my speakers was giving me much 'SDA Magic'.  It seemed like the SDA was working on the right channel but not the left.  Thinking that this was odd, I looked into it a good bit.

It turns out that there were two versions of the m1.0t amp.  The one I have is not common ground... well... sort of.  It was 'inverting'... meaning that the hot terminal on one speaker is connected to the ground terminal of the other.  If your m1.0T does not have a 'mono' switch on the back, it is inverting.  This one just happens to be one of those, which means that while it sounds good... it's not giving me the full SDA affect.  I've wondered about this on a few recordings up to now... but not knowing where to place the blame I assumed it was in the recordings.


SOOOOOOO my search continues.  luckly my 1Cs are the pin-blade design, so using non-common ground won't harm anything.... it just wont give me as much SDA affect. (which is exactly what i'm noticing on the inverting channel).


I'm not sure what I want to look at next.  I sort of want to try a TFM-35x. 

[BB3]

OH SHOOT Matt. I'm Sorry, I've Should Known That About That Amp And Warned You About It. Damn It !

Whether That 35x Will Get The Job Remains To Be Seen Of Course. I Would Be A Little Surprised If You End Up Liking It Better Than A 25.

Remember Though Matt And No Arguments Here, Its What Sounds Good To You That Matters.

Again I Apologize For Not Recognizing The Above Amp Situation Sooner.

Sincerely, Bill

[paden501]

No worries bill.

I'm just glad that I have the more forgiving generation of SDAs.... if these had been SDA1's or 1a's, I'd have just toasted a xover 

We'll see what happens.  I really did like the 25 also.  No bad choices here. 

[paden501]

Ok so I took the m1.0T back over to Tom's place, and came home with a TFM-35x to try.  I've been really busy this week, so I haven't had much time to listen at all.  Buuuut so far I'm fairly impressed with the 35!

I feel like the 35 is very much between the 1.0 and the TFM-25 in sound.  It's not as smooth as the 1.0T, but it has more control and more punchyness.... however, it's not as punchy and dynamic as the TFM-25. 

On the flip side, I feel like the TFM-35x is a little rolled off on the edges.  Cymbols don't have that crisp sound as much as I'd like... On certain recordings, I feel like the sound can be a bit 'muddy' (this is the first time that I've really understood what that term means in audio lingo).  But then again on other recordings I don't notice it.

The jury's still out on this one.  I have to listen more.

[Falcon]

Hey Paden, I am sure to piss someone off, but, maybe try something other then Carver
 Tommy has, or had a nice Nakamichi Stasis PA-5 amp designed by Nelson Pass, sounded pretty darn good. I know it is not a Carver, but might be just the sound you are looking for. Also he may have some Mosfet amps, my personal favorite. I never heard a mosfet amp that I didn't like.


Mike

[paden501]

I'm really between ideas right now.  I'm actually thinking about saving some money and taking the plunge on a Dynaco ST-70.... But I'm worried that it won't have the power that I need for such a large speaker.  Of course that's a huge departure from the direction that I was heading a few short weeks ago also.

Tom, you're the only guy I know with an ST-70.  What do you think about it and particularly about having it pared with a speaker as large as the 1C?

As far as other SS gear goes, I'm not 'stuck' on Carver, but it's a good place to start because of the incredible bang for your buck.  None of the amps that I've tried so far have been sub-par.  Each has its own sonic characteristic for sure but none are undesirable.  The Nakamichi is interesting.  The only Nak gear I've ever heard was a CD changer.

[Reverend]

I was kind of in the same boat.  I have a M-500 but I prefer my Crown over it for the speakers I'm currently using. 

[BB3]

Ok so I took the m1.0T back over to Tom's place, and came home with a TFM-35x to try.  I've been really busy this week, so I haven't had much time to listen at all.  Buuuut so far I'm fairly impressed with the 35!

I feel like the 35 is very much between the 1.0 and the TFM-25 in sound.  It's not as smooth as the 1.0T, but it has more control and more punchyness.... however, it's not as punchy and dynamic as the TFM-25.  

On the flip side, I feel like the TFM-35x is a little rolled off on the edges.  Cymbols don't have that crisp sound as much as I'd like... On certain recordings, I feel like the sound can be a bit 'muddy' (this is the first time that I've really understood what that term means in audio lingo).  But then again on other recordings I don't notice it.

The jury's still out on this one.  I have to listen more.

Matt, I might be onto something here for you......do me a favor and with either the 1.0T, the 25,or even with the 35x, ask Tom to borrow one of those Denon CD Players that he has now in stock and hook that combination up for me.

I've got a feeling about something that I'm not going to disclose to you yet Matt, just do me and you this favor and let me know your findings please.

I'm not kidding Matt, I really think I'm onto something here for you and your overall listening pleasure.
Please give the above combination a try with music that you are very familiar with.

------Sincerely, BILL(BB3)

[paden501]

Well the 1.0T is out for sure because of the non-common ground issue. 

As far as changing the CD player goes, I get where you're going. Synergy is important in a system, and too many 'warm' components can muddy the sound overall.  I could be hearing some of the 'rolled off' affect coming from my Jolida player.  It is noted to be more of a 'warm' player than a 'detailed' player, as are the Carver amps.  So I could have a synergy issue.

However, I really like my Jolida player, so I'd rather find an amp that plays well with it than change my CDP to match the amp.

Like I said.  NONE of these are bad options.  If I had to rank them, I'd rank them so far in this order:
M1.0T (even though I can't use it)
TFM-25
Hafler DH220
TFM-35x

But the truth is I like them all.  I just need to decide what direction that I want to go in.

[Slim-Shaddy]

I would try the Nakamichi, one of the Technics, Philips, and if you have the money the big Adcom before you land on one. The big Adcom looks and sounds really nice, but it's pricey.