...Carver M-500 amp in house!!!

dee1949
dee1949 Posts: 1,425
edited January 2011 in The Clubhouse
.....What a difference it makes. Always wanted it for the large lighted analogue meters....I was wrong.....the sound is SWEET. Hooked it up to my secondary system....driving a pair of small PSB Alpha AV speakers.....review below:

http://www.stereophile.com/content/psb-alpha-av-loudspeaker

...a whole NEW dimension to the sound.

....these speakers peak at 100 watts.......but compared to an ADCOM 535 - (NO slouch - at 60 watts.........opened up a whole different spectrum.

Anyone have experience with the Carver M-500 amp? I have used the Carver M-1.0t and the PM-1200 before. I am presently using a B&K pro10mc preamp.
Post edited by dee1949 on

Comments

  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited January 2011
    dee1949 wrote: »
    .....What a difference it makes. Always wanted it for the large lighted analogue meters....I was wrong.....the sound is SWEET. Hooked it up to my secondary system....driving a pair of small PSB Alpha AV speakers.....review below:

    http://www.stereophile.com/content/psb-alpha-av-loudspeaker

    ...a whole NEW dimension to the sound.

    ....these speakers peak at 100 watts.......but compared to an ADCOM 535 - (NO slouch - at 60 watts.........opened up a whole different spectrum.

    Anyone have experience with the Carver M-500 amp? I have used the Carver M-1.0t and the PM-1200 before. I am presently using a B&K pro10mc preamp.

    As with any choice in life and those who post opinions as 'experts' on the internet - you'll find those that agree or disagree with what you like.

    Some think Carvers suck....some don't.

    If you are happy then that's really all that counts.

    Enjoy the journey.

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
  • danz1906
    danz1906 Posts: 5,144
    edited January 2011
    Congrats- I use to have a Carver TFM-55 back in the 90's.
    Linn AV5140 fronts
    Linn AV5120 Center
    Linn AV5140 Rears
    M&K MX-70 Sub for Music
    Odyssey Mono-Blocs
    SVS Ultra-13 Gloss Black:D
  • dee1949
    dee1949 Posts: 1,425
    edited January 2011
    Ciao Guys!!

    Reason i am asking !!!....is the power of the Carver is , or should be wasted on the PSB bookself's. What it brought to the table,....IS....a whole new life. Better highs, mids and bass. Never heard the PSB's sound this good. Is it "CLEAN" power or what?
  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited January 2011
    dee1949 wrote: »
    Ciao Guys!!

    Reason i am asking !!!....is the power of the Carver is , or should be wasted on the PSB bookself's. What it brought to the table,....IS....a whole new life. Better highs, mids and bass. Never heard the PSB's sound this good. Is it "CLEAN" power or what?

    It's all about synergy between components.

    Headroom in power (current or watts or whatever) is a good thing.

    I've experienced good returns in sonic performance with a good amp that has clean ample headroom -especially when you get that urge to fill the room with sound.:tongue:

    If you get that ear to ear grin in sonic goodness with your gear - then who cares what brand name is on the face plate?

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited January 2011
    I have not heard this Carver but there is a guy out there that mods them and has great results.

    I always liked the looks though.

    I have enjoyed the TFM-25, 45 and 55 that I have owned in the past.

    Congrats and glad it has brought some goodness to your listening.
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
  • ViperZ
    ViperZ Posts: 2,046
    edited January 2011
    Like Erik said, it's the synergy between the amp and the speakers...

    Personally, I have owned a couple of M-400 (pain in the @ss to work on, and didn't really like them), TFM-24 (great amp, tons of power), and now I have a refurbished (modded power supply) M-1.5t powering a quad-10" passive sub. I find that Carver solid state amps offer boat loads of power, but lack detail. You cannot go wrong with Carver, you'll get great sound and tons of power for not much money. I can say same for Adcom, but again, I find that, for example, Rotel and NAD will give you much more detail in the same price range, with less "watts per channel".
    Panasonic PT-AE4000U projector for movies
    Carada 106" Precision Series (Classic Cinema White)
    Denon AVR-X3600H pre/pro
    Outlaw 770 7-channel amplifier
    B&W CDM1-SE fronts
    B&W CDM-CNT center
    B&W CDM1 rears on MoPADs
    JBL SP8CII in-ceiling height speakers
    Samsung DTB-H260F OTA HDTV tuner
    DUAL NHT SubTwo subwoofers
    Oppo BDP-93 Blu-Ray player
    Belkin PF60 Power Center
    Harmony 1100 RF remote with RF extender
    Sony XBR-X950G 55" 4K HDR Smart TV + PS3 in the living room
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,389
    edited January 2011
    I will never go back to SS Carvers after going with Sunfire. The M-500's are a sweet amp, but when you can get a 300/2 Sunfire in your rig, you will never look back. Then there are TUBES, but that is another rabbit hole entirely.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • engtaz
    engtaz Posts: 7,663
    edited January 2011
    Congrats
    engtaz

    I love how music can brighten up a bad day.