Vintage HiFi Audio Forum
Audio Discussion => CARVER => Topic started by: OldiesButGoodies on December 01, 2016, 07:46:58 PM
-
We were fooling around with the Baby Carver 20-watt-per amp and decided to try it in place of the Carver 305s, driving the gynormous VMPSs. We were positively surprised. The small tube amp cannot get very high volumes out of the monoliths, but the music it does make is beautiful. The soundstage loses a little to the 305s, but I for one could learn to live with it! >:D Recommended amp!
OBG
(https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5710/31327314116_d61da64c5d_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/PJhF4s)RM40 Driven by Baby Carver (https://flic.kr/p/PJhF4s) by Jose Sifontes (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsifontes/), on Flickr
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5660/30541771104_196a95d678_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/NwSyuq)RM40 Driven by Baby Carver (https://flic.kr/p/NwSyuq) by Jose Sifontes (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsifontes/), on Flickr
-
Very nice! I'd love to hear those speakers some time.
-
Are those Bose speakers?
-
Are those Bose speakers?
Woa - no, they are KLH cubes (they do look like Bose though) for the rear surround in the home theater setup. Ryan would not be caught dead with anything Bose, I suspect. :)
-
I'm inspired, I think I'll try my 40wpc tubes on the Dunlavys tonight.
-
The 20 watt carverfest amp was a little less dynamic than the 305's (or 350's?), which was expected, but it sounded surprisingly good. That little thing has oomph! fun experiment
-
Pepe showing little to no respect for the lowly Provocative Percussion LP underneath the Carver ;)
-
The 20 watt carverfest amp was a little less dynamic than the 305's (or 350's?), which was expected, but it sounded surprisingly good. That little thing has oomph! fun experiment
That is one of the original prototype 305s - I think the only ones in the area are Big Tom's (Huffman), Tom's (OCCD) and Rev's. I had a pair and traded it away. Later Carver produced a variant called the Raven 350 that claimed 45 watts more output - I think that one is still being sold. Not sure what Bob changed in the design to claim the higher output - from the outside the 350 and the 305 look identical.
Yep - that was fun. Now we need find a pair of Silver 7s to wake the RM40s with... :P
-
Next time, hook up those klh speakers to the 305s and watch them melt.
-
So who owns the Carverfest amp as I recall there were serial #s issued for about 68 amps. I have 4 units myself . Angelod was the big winner that year he left the fest with 7.
-
Angelod was the big winner that year he left the fest with 7.
Doesn't that actually make Bob Carver the big winner?
-
If you ask me the people that came home with the units in 2011 are the big winners!
-
Harry I have 3, one needs built one repaired and one that works after repair. In a set up with the LucasLabs(tm) line stage you have the start of a great rig.
ray
-
Harry
I left Carverfest 11 with serial #11, after making the LucasLab Line stage, I gave them both to my daughter
who lives in Vancouver. Both items working fine today.
Brian
-
I bought 4 and sold one to my friend who attended that year. All still working(I guess???) as they have not been used since Carverfest 12. Might have to crank them back up for Christmas...
-
Ray as you may or may not know I left Carverfest 14 with 2 Lucas Labs linestage Preamps . That with the 4- 40 watt monoblocks is the making of 2 great systems. At CF14 I had only the 1 fest amp with the Dahlquist DQ10's and the 2 DQ1 subs the Bobfather came by the cabin while I was in Bryson City and commented to Markie that my setup was the best he had heard at that years fest.
-
I have one, bought it off of Tom. Mine came with upgraded binding posts, and just two russian 6ax7's (6n2p) - no output tubes so I spurged and put in four NOS Seimens E84L's, it just rules. Very quiet, sweet, and powerful for its specs.
Used it exclusively for about 1.5 years with Klipsch Forte II's and Van L transmission line speakers. Also experimented with it with two different preamps. An Audio Research SP-6 that yielded a slightly softer and more holographic tone, and with a Carver C-1 that seemed to help tighten up the bass and make it "faster". Right now I have mine in a display case, I pull it out and hook it up every couple of months and eventually plan on getting some nice bookshelf speakers of appropriate efficiency and pairing it with the CF amp for bedroom system. I cant remember the serial # at the moment but I want to say it was in the #60's for some reason.
Dig yours out and have a listen if you haven't for a while!
-
I'd like to hear a head to head comparison of this Carver baby amp and my Pilot SA-232. While being about the same size as the Carver, I bet it out weighs it by a factor of 5-10X. Be interesting to see if weight really does matter in Hi-Fi.
-
Funny, because I have been wanting to hear the Pilot. Saw a completely refurbished one for sale very close to my house but I didnt have the spare cash at the time and it sold. Maybe its the one you have, from millvale?
-
scotty is in the Atlanta area, doubt that is the same Pilot O0
-
I live in NE MS now. Lived in Irwin, PA until about 2 years ago.
Picked up one of the baby Carver amps at Tom's shop one time. Was surprised at how little it weighed for a tube amp.