Carver M500 T

Summerwind2
Summerwind2 Posts: 98
edited November 2013 in 2 Channel Audio
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/ele/4195196444.html

What do you guys thinks about this amp for 2B's??

Price seems high, OP has had it up for about two months.
Post edited by Summerwind2 on
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  • hochpt21
    hochpt21 Posts: 5,423
    edited November 2013
    I have been doing a lot of research on Carver gear lately, but I am no expert. I'll say what I think and the others can chime in.

    That amp looks to be in great condition, but is priced way to high.

    Also, the M500t is not common ground, so it won't work with your SDA's. Now there is some way to get some later model SDA's to work with a non-common ground amp, but I don't know what that is and don't know if your SDA's qualify.

    So there's my half-**** answer. Hopefully, more will chime in soon.
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,416
    edited November 2013
    The M500t should be common ground, but the M500 was not as I recall.

    If the amp has been recapped and serviced, it is a great price. If not, then I would agree that it is over-priced.
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  • trav0810
    trav0810 Posts: 1,056
    edited November 2013
    I didn't think that either of the 500's were common ground. The 500t is a great amp, but the past year or so the prices have become really inflated.
    The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has its limits.” -Albert Einstein

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  • Summerwind2
    Summerwind2 Posts: 98
    edited November 2013
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    The M500t should be common ground, but the M500 was not as I recall.

    If the amp has been recapped and serviced, it is a great price. If not, then I would agree that it is over-priced.

    OP states its all original and never serviced.
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  • strider
    strider Posts: 2,568
    edited November 2013
    Had an M500 with SDA 2Bs and had to use the AI-1 interface because the amp wasn't common ground. It was a pretty good combo, though.
    I'd say $500 is way too steep, especially if it's not had the caps replaced recently. I paid $300 for mine 10 years ago.

    That being said, not certain if the M500T is common ground or not, I'd assume it is non-common ground until someone could tell me definitively. AFAIK the only difference between the two was the power switch on the M500T, but don't take my word on that as gospel.
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  • michael1947
    michael1947 Posts: 775
    edited November 2013
    I have a couple of these and original owner as well, in original condition. I purchased them a year ago from the original owner (deceased audiophile) with plans to sell off the SDA 1.2tl's, which I have, keep one amp and think about the pre-amp (I think a c-2) and CD player as well as some miscellaneous other gear. I have not fired up either amp yet but will be doing so soon. I did audition the entire package and it sounded "ok" but that's just my ears.

    When I first made the purchase F1nut gave me some info on the Carvers and I believe it was that Carver gear was not a good sonic match with SDA's. I have read quite a bit lately on the amp and from what I can take away from it is that the amp is a common ground SOMETIMES, but it will kind of go back and forth as the load changes. We need a real Carver expert to clear this up as it seems to be a good amp.

    In the configuration I purchased the rig there was one amp for each speaker and I believe bi-amped high and low with a single wire interconnect cable. I now have all of the parts necessary to complete the A-1 Dreadnought project as presented by Darknight a year ago and will be setting it by January for some fun. The amps are M500T, the pre is C4000 and the CD is a TL 4000.

    Anyone with good information please chime in. Michael
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,442
    edited November 2013
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    The M500t should be common ground, but the M500 was not as I recall.

    If the amp has been recapped and serviced, it is a great price. If not, then I would agree that it is over-priced.

    John I'm going to call you out on this one (although you may be right)
    From what I remember the only difference between the 500/500t is the T has a power button both as I recall from Roland were non common ground...
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited November 2013
    Not to further muddy the waters and go off topic but I thought the 't' designation in Carver amps was a resistor across the output terminals that supposedly gave the amps a more tube like sound.

    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.
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    edited November 2013
    I think it might be the t has the tube sound or tube transformer or something to mimic the tube sound vs the non T version. I could be way off though.
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    edited November 2013
    Looks like Erik and I were typing at the same time LOL.

    Price is way too much unless it was an MKII
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  • Dawgfish
    Dawgfish Posts: 2,554
    edited November 2013
    Wow! Can't comment on the amp, but my uncle literally lives within a quarter mile of where they are located.
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  • Summerwind2
    Summerwind2 Posts: 98
    edited November 2013
    Dawgfish wrote: »
    Wow! Can't comment on the amp, but my uncle literally lives within a quarter mile of where they are located.

    I live about 1 mile away.

    Thanks for the info, hopefully we can definitively clear-up the common ground issue
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  • Dawgfish
    Dawgfish Posts: 2,554
    edited November 2013
    No kidding! Small world. Yeah my dad grew up on Kirk Rd. A large portion of my dad's family still lives right there in that area. Nice area! Last time I was there was about 3 years ago and man has it grown!
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  • hochpt21
    hochpt21 Posts: 5,423
    edited November 2013
    There was a thread on this exact same question on the Carver forum a few days ago...this is what was said...
    Looking at the photos of the amp you linked to, that unit has one inverted channel. You CANNOT use that amp with early generations of Polk SDA speakers unless you do not use the SDA interconnect. The last two generations of SDAs (having pin/blade interconnect instead of blade/blade) can use an isolation transformer in the SDA interconnect, and then your problems are over.

    Grab an ohmmeter, measure resistance from left channel negative speaker wire post, to the right channel negative speaker wire post.

    You'd better have less than one ohm.

    Or, look at the printed instructions for using the amp in bridged configuration. If you connect the speaker wires to both red terminals, you may have a common-ground amp. If you connect the speaker wires to a red and a black terminal IN MONO OPERATION, one channel is inverted. Look at the photo of the amp you linked to--in mono operation, speaker wires connect to one red and one black terminal, therefore one channel is inverted.
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  • Summerwind2
    Summerwind2 Posts: 98
    edited November 2013
    hochpt21 wrote: »
    There was a thread on this exact same question on the Carver forum a few days ago...this is what was said...

    It states that this amp is non common ground? Do you have the link to the Carver Forum? Thanks.
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  • hochpt21
    hochpt21 Posts: 5,423
    edited November 2013
    thecarversite.com

    I think you have to join to see the forum posts.

    Yes, it states the amp is non common ground.

    Here is a quote from strider earlier in this thread...only certain models of SDA can use the interface that he mentions
    Had an M500 with SDA 2Bs and had to use the AI-1 interface because the amp wasn't common ground. It was a pretty good combo, though.
    2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A
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  • Summerwind2
    Summerwind2 Posts: 98
    edited November 2013
    hochpt21 wrote: »
    thecarversite.com

    I think you have to join to see the forum posts.

    Yes, it states the amp is non common ground.

    Here is a quote from strider earlier in this thread...only certain models of SDA can use the interface that he mentions
    Thanks. Not sure if the "T" has an impact but will let ya know
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  • Summerwind2
    Summerwind2 Posts: 98
    edited November 2013
    I checked out the Carver Forum (nice site) it appears this amp has a floating ground and is not compatible with SDAs
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