Carver M400 cube amp, Good or bad choice

faster100

I was wondering, I have came across the carver M400 cube amp on several e-bay auctions and for some reason be price,looks and specs decided i might get one, of course they are used and have been out for a long time from what i understand. But what do you guys think or have you even heard of it? or anything good,bad what ever? I read alot of reveiews on audio review and they seemed to really like it. They says it 200 wpc x2 @8ohms. seems like a good choice for rear surrounds??? what do you think
I'm new here so let me know all you know so i can decide, Thanks

TroyD

Thumbs up for the Carver.....my only complaint with it would be the spring clip connections.


BDT

faster100

Exactly, But I can deal with that i guess. wish they all had 5 way binding post : ( tHANKS

TroyD

No worries, I've never understood why Bob did that with some amps. I understand the cost thing but really, he could have added good binding posts, charged another 10 bucks per unit and still sold a ton of 'em.

BDT

RuSsMaN

A great deal for a under a dollar a watt. Rears? Sheesh, this is my main cave amp right now....

Great amp, but I agree with Troy on the clips.

Cheers,
Russ

TroyD

201wpc of Carver power will drive JUST about any speaker you could think of. PLENTY of power. Maybe not RBH inwalls, but about anything else.

BDT

faster100

So how small is this amp anyways? I heard it was like 7" square thats pretty small. what advantage or idea was behind a amp that sit on the floor(im assuming) rather than in a audio rack? I think it looks cool myself but looks don't make it go either. Neat little amp, Dont know what i want for my rears???? amp wise
I am into looks as well as sound and so i want a cool/nice looking amp as well being it takes up one wall with the audio rack, 46" big screen and speaker mains. thanks again

TroyD

Yeah it's pretty small, 7" is probably about right. Who knows why, maybe because you could (and they were cheap enough) use them as monoblocks. Quality wise, well, it's a Carver and that is good enough for me.

BDT

RuSsMaN

Its drives anything I've thrown at it, Polk SDA, Thiel, B&W.... Good headroom, lots of clean (in-expensive) power.

Exactly a 7inch cube (minus the feet), tips my bathroom scale at 14lbs..

Cheers,
Russ

hoosier21

Mono blocks? I am thinking these were stereo only?

TroyD

I was thinking if you had two and bridged 'em. I'm pretty sure you can bridge them, at least I thought so.

BDT

hoosier21

I have not seen one on a while but I was thinking you can't, hey I 've been wrong before. Russman can you?

RuSsMaN

Yeah, you can, 400w/rms into 8ohm bridged, supposedly 2 ohm stable, just under 3db of headroom if I remember right....

Cheers,
Russ

faster100

Well the general con census seem to be great about this amp, So my question was answered Thanks !!!! I am still thinking wheather i want a amp on the floor or on my audio rack??? Decisions decisions........ Thanks

RuSsMaN

I use the m200t also, VERY nice amp. 100w/ch rms * ohm, bridgeable to 200. I've ran 2-4 ohm loads on it with no issues, other than a *little* heat....

Cheers,
Russ

faster100

So the only way of running a lower ohm load is by the speakers right? or is there another way?? My speakers now are 8 ohm RTI 70's

RuSsMaN

Whatever ohm load your speakers draw is what you will run. Some speakers (DQ10's, Maggies) dip very low in impedance, so an amp being 'stable' at a certain ohm could be important.

Other possible scenarios, running multiple pairs through a switch (with protection circuit disabled) in a whole-house or multi-zone rig (as I do), or for use as a sub amp for low-impedance woofers, multiple woofers, dual-voice coil woofers....etc etc... (depending again on how they are wired)

After all that babble, the simple answer to your question is 'yes'.

Cheers,
Russ

faster100

Great, Thanks, My M-504 is stable at 8,4 and 2 ohm. I really really want the LSI 15's as mains but just dont want to change the whole Line, Center and rears to the Higher priced LSi's, Could i use the cs30 center,rti28's rears and still be happy with the lsi 15's as mains?? I actually have the R15's as rears now but plan to upgrade to the RTi 28's soon.

jmasterj

Hi faster100,

As you see we like Carver. The M400 cube was the first magnetic
field power amp Bob Carver made. It hit the scene and became
a overnight success. It was just what people needed a high powered amp at a reasonable price. I'm glad to hear they are still around that's a testament to the quality. I think the unique cube shape was intended to increase product recognition. If I had one,
or preferably a pair I would bridge them and have two 400watt amps. Why don't you consider building a small amp stand just for it. doesn't have to be real complicated. I would showcase them/it
It's a collector's item and a piece of history.

smglbrth

A friend of mine has two of these, each bridged, and let me tell you!! Wow, to say the very least! He also has a 200t which I used for a short time.
Older Carvers are excellent amps, in my OPINION, which doesn't hold much weight anyway.

TroyD

Why wouldn't it hold much weight, brochese?

There are a lot more folks that would agree with you than those who would disagree.

Old Bob brought high end sound (with amps voiced so as to be indistinguishable from some HIGH $$$ amps) to the masses. He and dear Mr. Kloss were the patron saints of audio for us poor folks.

BDT