Bob Carver Corp Crimson 275 stereo tube power amplifier.

maxward

Looking forward to the online store and future products.

Tony M

I'm glad to hear Bob and his wife have a new partner with "their" ambitions as the end goal,

and not some "un-named" one's goal anymore.

I still own a Bob Carver tuner I bought new. I'm PROUD to own one of Bob's creations.

I bought a used TFM-35THX amp a few years ago and am also proud to own it too.

Maybe there'll be a Bob Carver tube amp in my future now that the Carvers are sailing their own ship with you helping out.

tonyb

Well, anyway....it appears Bob Carver and his products going forward are on a different path than before, and Frank apparently isn't part of that path.

That's a good thing in my book.

mhardy6647

It's like Kurosawa's Rashomon -- but with hifi.

treitz3

tonyb wrote: »

Well, anyway....it appears Bob Carver and his products going forward are on a different path than before, and Frank apparently isn't part of that path.

That's a good thing in my book.

THANK GAWD!!! That man was a one man detriment to civilization itself. What a worthless putz.

Tom

SeleniumFalcon

invalid

It sure would be nice to hear this from Bob carver himself instead of always in the 3 person.

pitdogg2

Jim Thank you for clearing up the facts. Personally and this is my opinion and mine only. I was embarrassed for Bob after listening to Frank at Axpona.
I wish nothing but the best for Bob and this new endeavor he has put forth. I may never be able to afford a new product but like the original TFM series I WILL be able to one day afford a good used model and that I look forward to.

Jim I wish you the best in this endeavor as will GOOD LUCK and you are close enough to come see the gear for myself.

nooshinjohn

Welcome aboard Jim, and thanks for clarifying things. We all look forward to seeing how things shake out and encourage you to drop by from time to time. We also have some experience in assisting manufacturers test new product here. Backert Labs for one, sent us one of their new preamps for test and demo purposes, and that process went well for them. Being able to get a piece of gear in the hands of actual end-users to gauge performance led to improvements in their offerings and also drummed up more than a few sales among the group. I would encourage you to do the same.

John.

oldrocker

OK, this is NOT directed at Bob Carver or his Corporation!!!
Thank you, Jim Clark, for taking my phone call earlier.
AND this is typed on notepad as I'm sure you can tell.

The reason I returned the amplifier "which I never even plugged in or used" was due to
one individual, along with his unprofessional/inconsistent business practices, having no
manual or even knowing if a manual is to be included and then making me an offer to make things
right by having me stop by at some audio show sometime to buy me a drink.

I didn't want a drink; I only wanted my Carver tube amplifier!

I did eventually receive the amplifier but after the numerous erroneous conversations and then
open the box with no manual which would have insured me, I was doing everything correct
in the setup, that was it for me, I returned the amplifier.

FWIW, I have NO doubt you tube amp owners would have no concerns in setting up a new tube amp,
tubes can only go in one way, right?

I just wanted to not screw something up, like get one tube not seated right, is there a correct pattern for tube inserting, power up, make connections?
I didn't want to risk damaging the amp or get shocked.

I specifically ask, "what in the event a problem arises"?
Answer, "they never have problems, tubes self-repair which is why we don't have a repair center".

Although I consider myself quite thick skinned as it was also made quite clear at this time; I would be the only customer to EVER in history to return a Carver product in quite a condescending way.

It truly was a disappointing nightmare on my end.

Then, for whatever reason, the conversation changed, I was told some other similar story, about numerous problems/delays happened once before with a different new product rollout and how upsetting it was for him "in his words" everybody was mad at him.

I was told later, finally that eyes are on my amp, shipping out, will be delivered on
such and such date, ready and complete.

So, like a dummy, not listening to my gut, I have an expensive custom-made acrylic cover designed specifically for the amp which BTW is now in storage, unused and unreturnable. I couldn't return the cover due to its being then 30 days past return date.

BTW, the amp arrived about 18 or so days past the last quoted delivery date.

I don't know, perhaps, I am too "old school", but I've always been taught to try to learn
from your mistakes, so in going forward you have less of a chance of problems when you try again.

As I reflect back, maybe, perhaps I should have kept it but since then I've read numerous performance reviews from other sites, ponder on opinions from WAY smarter people here that I REALLY trust along with re-reading past emails, I'm glad I followed my gut back then.

That's mostly it.

But not all is lost, I still have my azz kicking Dayton Audio tube amp!
She ain't caught fire yet
Still works
And the tubes still GLOW

Clipdat

Sounds like you got Malitz'd.

Clipdat

Who by the way needs to update his LinkedIn page:

michaeljhsda2

The shysters address is Buffalo...

F1nut

For some reason these lyrics from Won't Get Fooled Again come to mind, "new boss, same as the old boss."

nooshinjohn

Bob has made some great stuff in the past, and also some bad ones, especially when greedy SOB’s like FM get involved. Jim appears to be on the level in terms of setting a new course and seems to have the engineering team to support those efforts. I think he deserves some degree of slack.

I made the decision to no longer recommend anything that had FM involved(with my luck he now works for Arcam). Now that he is a shadow in the rear view mirror, I am willing to see what is coming next and give it a fair shake.

JimclarkatCarver

invalid wrote: »

It sure would be nice to hear this from Bob carver himself instead of always in the 3 person.

Within a month the on-line store will be open at Bobs site.. We are planning an interactive feature so guys can talk to Bob directly. Its Bob's company. I'm just doing some of the lifting along with a great team of men.

treitz3

Hey, Jim. I can't recall if we have ever met or not but thank you for chiming in. Bob and I have known each other for some time (I am the one who created Carverfest) and I hate to see his name being slung through the mud.

I'll be honest here.

Frank and I have spoken to each other and he is one person that should never have been associated with Bob. I'd go so far as to say that David (omitted - his old college roommate) is also another person that should have never been associated with him. They both took credit for everything Bob did and made him out to be the dunce of the operation, with the both of them being the brains.

It's good to see you taking the helm, as I respect Bob and Peggy both. (She is a sweetheart, or at least has been around me). I wish you all the best of luck moving forward and I hope that your comment you made that you are not here to make friends was just a knee jerk reaction to the negative commentary presented on the aforementioned topic.

Polk and Carver have for a long time been a marriage of good sound. I personally know of Bob's talents when it comes to tube amplification/designs/thoughts and I'll be frank here. The man is a genius when it comes to tube sound.

While Bob has always said that "Any press is good press", I don't think this latest press is as good as it was for the Carver Challenge. I think we both know why. I just hope that Bob has completely separated himself with both Frank M and David, with the exception of possibly a personal level. On a business level, the both of them should have NOTHING to do with him at all. They simply stab him in the back behind the scenes, whether or not Bob knows this or not.

If you would be so kind, please tell Bob I said, "Hello and that I hope all is well with him and Peggy".

Tom

JimclarkatCarver

treitz3 wrote: »

Hey, Jim. I can't recall if we have ever met or not but thank you for chiming in. Bob and I have known each other for some time (I am the one who created Carverfest) and I hate to see his name being slung through the mud.

I'll be honest here.

Frank and I have spoken to each other and he is one person that should never have been associated with Bob. I'd go so far as to say that David (omitted - his old college roommate) is also another person that should have never been associated with him. They both took credit for everything Bob did and made him out to be the dunce of the operation, with the both of them being the brains.

It's good to see you taking the helm, as I respect Bob and Peggy both. (She is a sweetheart, or at least has been around me). I wish you all the best of luck moving forward and I hope that your comment you made that you are not here to make friends was just a knee jerk reaction to the negative commentary presented on the aforementioned topic.

Polk and Carver have for a long time been a marriage of good sound. I personally know of Bob's talents when it comes to tube amplification/designs/thoughts and I'll be frank here. The man is a genius when it comes to tube sound.

While Bob has always said that "Any press is good press", I don't think this latest press is as good as it was for the Carver Challenge. I think we both know why. I just hope that Bob has completely separated himself with both Frank M and David, with the exception of possibly a personal level. On a business level, the both of them should have NOTHING to do with him at all. They simply stab him in the back behind the scenes, whether or not Bob knows this or not.

If you would be so kind, please tell Bob I said, "Hello and that I hope all is well with him and Peggy".

Tom

Hi Tom,
I believe we met in 2017. If I remember correctly you brought an extensive rig with you that year.
I cannot debate your character assessment. My 'not here to make friends' comment was in reference to Bob Carver Company. The company is now running well, but I did not make any friends correcting that process. The old business model was scrapped entirely. I made some enemies by doing it.
Total agree about Polk and Carver being a marriage of good sound. It goes back a long time. Bob is doing good. His back is giving him issues the last couple days. You know he's had back issue since childhood. I talk to Bob and Peggy every day. You are correct, she is a sweetheart of a lady. She has Bobs back as well, and we both faced criticism in the post. Its all good. I'll tell them you said hello. Good talking, Tom.

Jim

treitz3

Yes sir, that was me and my system. The system has had some major improvements done to it since you last heard it but that was the last year that is was to be featured anywhere. From that year on, if anyone wants to hear it? They have to come to where the system permanently resides now. I wish Bob lived out this way to where he could come hear what the rig does now.....it's completely different.

Good to hear from you as well.....I thought we had met. Congrat's on being involved with the company and getting things back on the right track/lifting Bob's name back out of the mud.

BTW, pay Amir no mind. Words can't describe just how off the rails that man is. Word of advice? Don't even engage in a conversation with him. It would be nothing but an exercise in wasting time. Lucky for us, he is not on this forum. His circular arguments get really old, really quick and we actually had to boot him off of a well known forum because of his behavior. It's really sad because he is a smart guy, he just uses his smarts in the wrong way.

Have a great day!

Tom

treitz3

Here ya' go, Jim. This is the system you heard that year. Man, have things changed since then. The rack almost looks nekkid. LOL.

I have a question for you and Bob/Peggy. Maybe you will both entertain it....maybe you won't but I'll ask anyways. We have a history on this forum of having gear passed around only from long standing members to other long standing and trusted members. MIT cables, Furutech LP Flatteners, Polk speakers, Subs, demo's, etc...

We are NOT a measurement based forum. I would venture to say that the vast majority of the members are the end result as to hits your ears kind of guys....at least the veterans of the forum are.

Would you entertain the thought of "donating" an amplifier of your choice to this forum to turn the tides?

Please don't slap me like you are Will Smith.....I'm just asking....

Food for thought. You will get it back and it can even be one of your prototypes that have been beat up....(so long as the circuitry is the same). Looks don't matter. The sound does.

PM me if you want to take further discussions/details offline.

Tom

nooshinjohn

As I mentioned elsewhere, Backert Labs did so with us, and it made their gear better, along with making a few sales along the way...

muncybob

I enjoy trying out gear. Wile I did not purchase the Backert Labs preamp (just didn't have the $$ at the time), it was what got me into tubed gear. Would love to get my ears on some Carver stuff.

JimclarkatCarver

Hi Tom and Polk guys,
I'm not opposed to letting a demo unit float around with you guys. I sold a Crimson 275 to a guy who drove 7 hours and brought his Polk book shelf speakers with him to the demo. I don't recall the model number of the Polks but with the 275 the guys wife shed tears, in a good way. We have some great new products coming this year.

I do have a Crimson 275 demo unit on hand. They work well with a variety of speakers. If you guys would like to play music and drive your loudspeakers with one, you might be very impressed. The vast majority of people replace their other amp.. Let me know how to hook you up.
Jim.

The Polks were not crazy expensive but they impressed all of us.. They wrote a nice letter. This was from Nov 2020.


always owned pretty modest audio gear ( a NAD receiver, low line Nakamichi cassette and CD player). Decent and good enough for me. A divorce and letting go of my modest gear I just stopped listening to music regularly. A new recording would get me back in for a while but listening to it on the computer I would soon just get bored with it again. I missed the feeling of being blown away by my first Pioneer stereo in 1980.

With a new wife (who sacrificed much to dig us out financially), a new life and a few good tax returns, I wanted to rediscover audio. My new wife Marisa, was a concert pianist from Argentina, but her exposure to audio was pretty much just a cassette walkman and boombox. She had not even heard her first CD until 1998. I wanted to have music back in our house along with Marisa’s piano and show her how exciting good audio can be. I read an essay on the ‘magic’ of tubes from a photography ( my trade) website https://kenrockwell.com/audio/why-tubes-sound-better.htm. It talked of the glory of old McIntosh gear, but I remember the luster of my old Pioneer fading after 4 or 5 years. What chance did I have with 50 year old gear? Does anyone even make ‘new’ tube amps? I mean other than the $20,000 ones I see on the cover of Stereophile.

Looking around, I caught sight of the Crimson 275. I remembered Bob Carver from the 80’s. I remembered The Cube, Sunfire, etc. I figured if anyone could have the most up to date take on tubes, Mr. Carver would. I liked some of the unusual ideas he put into it. I didn’t really understand them (that’s where Mr. Malitz comes in) but just the fact someone was trying something different, easily worth a listen. And it was just under $3,000, not cheap, but with a stretch, within reach. I never really thought of myself as a separates guy. I had never even owned an integrated amplifier before. A separate power and pre-amp was madness I only read about in magazines

Frank gave me a quick education on why the Crimson was worth a look compared to a few other competitors. He pointed me to Jim Clark for a demo. A seven hour, Thanksgiving vacation drive to Jim’s, dragging CD’s, speaker, stands. I wanted to make sure I could hear a difference with my modest Polk LSiM 703 speakers. The Crimson grabbed those speakers and wrung everything out of them they had. We heard details seeping out of the music we’d never heard before. Subtle differences and powerful bass(not boomy, I HATE boomy bass). So dynamic, so exciting. After several hours of listening, my wife, who never even owned a stereo before was convinced this would be money well spent. When your wife says to buy gear, its time to buy gear. I love Marisa.

To Frank, thank you for convincing me to take a seven hour drive to Jim Clark to hear this gear. To Jim, thank you for letting my wife and I into your home for almost three hours to set up our very modest speakers and play our favorite CD’s. And giving us a great deal on this amp and pre-amp package. AND the classical CD set you kindly gave to Marisa. To Mr. Carver, Mr. Cobb, and Mr. Smilay, thank you for the care you put into you put into your amplifiers. Your love of music makes us listen long into the night, many hours after we should have probably gone to bed.

The hard work of everyone in this chain, to make and sell these magical pieces of gear is greatly appreciated. Marisa and I thank you for bringing our music back to life.

John and Marisa Bruzewski
Brighton, MI

warren

audioluvr wrote: »

I don't know anything about tube amps but this sounds like Chinese / American copycat at it's finest method for making money off an original design.

That’s good every ones a winner, I’ll bet it would sound great!

RCM

New contributor here. Just finished reading this whole thing, and decided to inject something different. Actual ownership and listening experience. I've read MANY technical reviews about the Crimson 275, including the mentioned ASR one. Putting all it's supposed short comings and the questionable marketing partners aside, I can say from my own personal experience that my current listed set-up has achieved something I never thought would happen in my lifetime; I am no longer actively seeking upgrades to my system. After over fifty years of calling myself an audiophile and spending more money than I care to admit on gear, I have a system that sounds exactly the way I have always wanted it to sound. I'm not going to go into my impressions of the sound quality because that is completely subjective to each individual listener and has no relevance here. The same goes to the haters concerning my choice of components. I built my system to please me and no one else, and I achieved that goal. I won. How many of us in this hobby ever get to say that? I did, and I achieved it with a supposedly badly built, under weight, bad spec, huckster hyped piece of audio gear. I would still be on that long seemingly endless road to audio nirvana if I had listened to and believed all the negative reviews rather than actually buying and trying. Just some food for thought. Don't judge a book by it's cover, or a piece of audio gear by it's specs or reviews. Sometimes you find exactly what you were looking for in the least likely places, but only if you actually look.


The Gear:
Bob Carver Crimson 275 with stock tubes
Vincent SA-31MK
Sony HAPZ1ES
Technics SL-1500C with Ortofon 2M Bronze and Schiit Mani
Klipsch Cornwall 3
Furman SPR-20i
Pangea Audio Premier SE interconnects and power cords
SKW Speaker Cables