Bob Carver's Amazing Loudspeaker
2-way Line source Planar/Ribbon hybrid loudspeaker.
Frequency response 18-20,000Hz
Power handling 1000 watts RMS
2-30" Ribbons are augmented below 100hz by 4 12" planar woofers
110dB Rock music spectrum, 113dB classical music spectrum
other equipment used for review purposes.
Carver SD/A-490t CD player
Carver TX-11 Tuner
Carver TD-1200 Cassette deck
Carver C-1 pre amp
Carver Research Lightstar Direct Preamplifier
Carver Research Lightstar Reference 2.0 Amplifier
Carver C-9 Sonic Hologram Generator
Carver ECS-U speaker control unit
Technics SL-1200b TT
Shure V-15 Type III G Phono Cartridge
ShitWire ICs
Shitwire speaker cables
Audio Note AN-9 speaker cables
They've been called 'Amp killers'. I call them "one fine loudspeaker".
I traded T-Rex one of my TFM-55s for this set of Amazings at CF'07. I needed to replace a woofer but other than that they've been great. The Bass is deep and taught, mids are fluid and the highs airy. Lightstar takes these speakers places my other gear just can't. I won't run them for serious listening with less than Lightstar, there isn't any point. I'm sure there might be other amps out there that will do as good a job but I don't own them and probably couldn't justify the cost of some big dog tube amp like Dave S found.
Right now I've got the Texas Tornadoes '4-Aces' playing in the 490t. i love this CD. My kids say it sounds like Polka. To our ears, Zydeco has alot in common with Polka. These guys Rock!! The soundstaging is solid and the image detail is what I've come to expect from my Carver ALS. Vocals come from the center with a bit of a halo of echo around the performer. the Drums are disinctly BEHIND the vocalist, guitar is to his right and Flacco and his accordian is on the left.
The only drawback of the Carver Research Lightstar Direct Preamplifier is it has no dedicated phono (MM/MC) input. I have to run my vinyl through the C-1 then to the LS Direct. Kinda hokey but since I sold my C-19 it's the best I can do. I plan to discuss this issue with Mr. Carver at CF'09, seeking HIS guidance selecting a suitable phono pre to mate with the Lightstar Direct.
I decided to try the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" on the SL. I really love my Shure TypeIIIG cart. The mids are really fluid, bass is extended, and the highs sing. I haven't spent much time listening to my TT, kids bouncing around ain't all that good for my precious vinyl collection. I was surprised how good it actually sounds. I like showing off my rig when I have people over, most can't remember hearing vinyl, nevermind hearing it sound pretty good. This is a great record. The Fab4 at their best. Lots of overdubbing, the lads were doing some serious experimentation. I gotta tell you, some of this holds it's own even today. next in rotation was the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds." Another great album!! Probably their best. Brian Wilson claims the Fab4 raised the bar with Sgt. Pepper and he wanted to do something in it's league. Pet Sounds was it. Great music, really well recorded. What more could you want.
These 2 records were so good I got lost for a bit in the music and forgot what I had planned on doing. Then it occurred to me..... Isn't that what this hobby is about? Getting lost in the music and forgetting for the moment the stress of the day? My Carver ALSs took me there.
ray
Tonight I spent some time doing serious listening to my Lightstar rig and the Amazings. Damn….these speakers are good! I listened to Manhattan Transfers’ ‘Brazil’, and the Indigo Girls - Nomads, Saints and Indians. These are 2 really good recordings. The soundfield is broad and deep, imaging is spot on and bass is deep and extended. I’m using my homebrewed ShitWires™ speakers wires that sport banana plugs I modified to fit these huge cables. In my system I like these speakers better than most of the others I currently own, they can handle Lightstar power and seem to have extended HF response compared to the 48 and 60 inch ribbons I own. Now it might just be in my head but I don’t care, it seems like the highs are more alive compared to my other speakers. My Lightstar amplifiers probably have a lot to do with this phenomenon. *IF* I measured these speakers correctly the impedance curve dips below 1 ohm at the frequency extremes and lesser amplifiers can’t manage the load. I put Robben Ford and the Blue Line’s ‘Mystic Mile’ in the Tascam, boy it sounds pretty damn good. Some further experimentation with loudspeaker placement yielded some further depth in the sound field and didn’t muddy the imaging. I like to find something in my music collection that hasn’t worked well and play with my rig to see if I can tweek a little more out of it. Today I won a little depth. Cool by me.
These speakers can be had pretty reasonably if you look around. If there’s a Lightstar or Sunfire in your rig or your future you might want to consider these speakers….they deserve a listen, you won’t be disappointed.
One more selling point….the surrounds don’t seem to rot away. These speakers have the original honeycomb driver.
ray
