Which Carver AMP works best with SDA

nooshinjohn
nooshinjohn Posts: 25,420
edited December 2013 in Electronics
:confused:Hi guys... In my search for an amp capable of driving my sda-1c's to their best potential I have come down to the Carver line as that is well within my budget and having owned Carver before am familiar with their sound... That said, my old system suffered a fatal flaw that ultimately claimed the life of my amp, as it was not a common ground design. It has been 20 years since I used Carver for anything at this point, so am wondering if any of you guys know which Carver amps are safe to use with sda and which are not. As always I am humbled by the knowlege base in this group and grateful for the help...:D
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
Post edited by nooshinjohn on
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  • megasat16
    megasat16 Posts: 3,521
    edited January 2009
    Carver fans here and die hard carver fans in the Carver Forum. It used to be one forum but there are two now. :eek: I owned carver speakers but not the amp. It's been hard to find a good carver amp lately. I think they'll say Carver Silver 7 (t) or 9 (t) models or some TFM series or M1.5 (t). It's hard to get a hand on these stuff these days. Well, I am on a lookout for some myself.

    I know the fact that most Polkies are also Carver regulars so I am so they will chime in for you.
    Trying out Different Audio Cables is a Religious Affair. You don't discuss it with anyone. :redface::biggrin:
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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited January 2009
    Have used a TFM-25 in the past and currently have a TFM-45. Both do a great job
    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
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  • 2-tall
    2-tall Posts: 98
    edited January 2009
    I use 2 TFM 24's with my 3.1TL's
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,420
    edited January 2009
    are the tfm series common ground designs? m1.5t common ground or do they need some kind of adapter?
    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
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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited January 2009
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    Which Carver AMP works best with SDA?

    Common ground ones. :D
    Jake
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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited January 2009
    I have a customized Carver PM1201 which works really well and is common ground. If you are looking at a Carver, or any amp, you really just need a DMM to check if it is common ground. If I was SDA amp shopping right now, I would choose the amp I best wanted for the speakers, then just buy an A1 IC from Ben and not worry about the whole common ground thing.
    Jake
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  • Ron Temple
    Ron Temple Posts: 3,212
    edited January 2009
    TFM 35 = very good
    TFM 45 = better

    Haven't heard any of the others, but I believe all Carvers in the TFM series are common ground except the TFM 75 (good luck finding one). The M500(t) is not common ground. The M1.0 is and isn't depending on which rev and the M1.5t is.

    Combo rig:

    Onkyo NR1007 pre-pro, Carver TFM 45(fronts), Carver TFM 35 (surrounds)
    SDA 1C, CS400i, SDA 2B
    PB13Ultra RO
    BW Silvers
    Oppo BDP-83SE
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  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited January 2009
    If I might suggest something,, try some tubes on those 1C's and it may be the last amp that they ever see. I'm powering mine with a 40 watt EL-34 based Anthem and could not be happier,and yes, I have a TFM 45 that I tried with them for about one day,,nothing wrong with it,,but,,, tubes rule,,good luck,, let us know what you end up with.
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited January 2009
    george daniel wrote: »
    If I might suggest something,, try some tubes on those 1C's and it may be the last amp that they ever see. I'm powering mine with a 40 watt EL-34 based Anthem and could not be happier,and yes, I have a TFM 45 that I tried with them for about one day,,nothing wrong with it,,but,,, tubes rule,,good luck,, let us know what you end up with.

    I'll second that. I was very impressed with Georges tube when he brought them over:)
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • Ron Temple
    Ron Temple Posts: 3,212
    edited January 2009
    Lasareath wrote: »
    Eventually I want to find a pair of TFM-55X's

    Another added bonus is that Bob Carver now will bring them to spec for only $170 each + shipping each way
    I've always wondered were the 45s and 55s offered during the same years? Seems like the 55s are placed like a newer model with an ascending rev number. A new and perhaps improved version of the 45 (though from what I've heard the 45 sounds sweeter than the 55). The RMS power is certainly close 375 vs 380.

    Combo rig:

    Onkyo NR1007 pre-pro, Carver TFM 45(fronts), Carver TFM 35 (surrounds)
    SDA 1C, CS400i, SDA 2B
    PB13Ultra RO
    BW Silvers
    Oppo BDP-83SE
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,420
    edited January 2009
    what about the tfm-55... would this be overkill?
    also found a set of silver7t's.... location a secret for now... that I may be able to get for 700.00
    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
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,420
    edited January 2009
    thanks guys... got a tfm35 for 200.00
    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
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  • marcusmy2k
    marcusmy2k Posts: 13
    edited December 2013
    This is an old thread but in case others are looking I will throw this out there. I have 3 sets of 1.2tl sda speakers and my first pair I wanted to run with one of my pairs of silver 9's and I can tell you from experience they are NOT common ground. Right when I hooked them up the speakers let out a massive shreak that scared the hell out of me and left me standing there in a daze for about 30 sec before I said what the hell!!!! After checking all my drivers and finding out that only one 6.5 tore the VC off the cone I was happy could have been worse. Now for the good news, I strapped the grounds together between amps and it worked perfectly. I know there was info about this when they came out because the SDA polks and carver amps were released close but I payed no heed.... I have run my SDA speaker's over the years with a variety and I tell you they really do not require much power like everyone always says. I run one set downstairs with a carver TFM-25 and it does an incredible job of controlling the monsters. Another pair downstairs I am using one of my pairs of silver 9s still. The silver 9s have a sweeter warmer sound with a very nice tube sound and great soundstage, but the TFM-25 makes my other pair dance better? Upstairs my last pair is being run by my Audio Research D-125 and for a tube amp it does an great job of controlling them. I have 3 tubes with lights on and I think that is why at medium to moderate levels the clip lights flash alot. But even with the tubes getting low it still does not distort and has stronger bass than the silver 9s do. Hope that helps someone, oh I tried all of my carver amps on my SDA 1.2tls except my TFM-75 and I will say the best sounding are the TFM-25 the 45 the 500t and the silver 9s. I dont have a 6a 22 or a 400, my least favorite was the TFM-35 and the .5t.
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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited December 2013
    marcusmy2k wrote: »
    Right when I hooked them up the speakers let out a massive shreak that scared the hell out of me and left me standing there in a daze for about 30 sec before I said what the hell!!!! After checking all my drivers and finding out that only one 6.5 tore the VC off the cone I was happy could have been worse.

    Terrible, but I'm glad only one driver was damaged. Do you have an exact replacement?
    Jake
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