Carver amp question(s)

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NotaSuv
NotaSuv Posts: 3,871
edited May 2008 in Electronics
Have done alot of searching and reading already..sometimes the more you read and dig the more conflicting the info becomes....in the past few weeks I have listened to 2 different Carver amps..one with EL's and the other with older JBL's....I really liked the sound...so much I would like to add a Carver amp to my setup ..both had a very different sound.....the EL's were run with a "tubelike sounding" amp...seemed like a warmer sound....looking for a Carver for my LS90's....recently added a Rotel 993 and it brought a bit more life into the speakers over the Denon 3806...would use the Rotel for a center and 2 rear LS50's..looking for a lil direction ..would the tubelike sound better? no experince with a A/B listen.....both setups were in CA so no way to take one home and try it as I am in Mn....Thanks in advance..for me always nice to get advice from those who have steered me in the right direction before:)
Post edited by NotaSuv on
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  • skipf
    skipf Posts: 694
    edited May 2008
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    I'm driving LSi9's with a Carver M-500t. It's a match made in heaven. The TFM series amps are very good, I would recommend the 35, 45, or 55. If you can find one, and that's very doubtful, the TFM-75 is a dual mono design that packs incredible power. The Silver 7t & 9t amps are monoblocks that will power any speaker made and operate well down to 1 ohm loads.
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  • Ron Temple
    Ron Temple Posts: 3,212
    edited May 2008
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    Not sure if I grasp your question...are you planning on mixing the Rotel on C and surrounds and letting the Carver run your 90s? If so, I'm not sure it's a match made in heaven. I tried to combine an Adcom GFA555 with a Carver TFM35. 2 different animals, putting the Carver on the fronts, Adcom on the surrounds, there was no synergy. The Adcom was too bright in comparison. It worked ok the other way around, but ultimately, I preferred mixing the Carver with a Luxman. I'd think you would have similar issues going Carver/Rotel.

    George Grand states that the M500t and the TFM35 sound like the same amp. They are both fairly easy to come by. The TFM45 and 55 show up on ebay/CL from time to time, but not as often. The 35x and 55x, I don't believe are modded to sound tubelike since they are spec'd for THX. The TFM42, 45 and M4.0t are the same amp, different face plates.

    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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  • ohskigod
    ohskigod Posts: 6,505
    edited May 2008
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    the carver for mains and rotel for the center will be fine. I did it and it was pretty good. the Carver will sound good with those LS90's I used LS90's in my theater before going all LSi. when I sold my LS90's, I had a Carver amp in my theater driving my LSi's. I hooked them up to demo them to a potential buyer and I was a little taken aback how good they sounded compared to the Rotel rb960 I used before (and the rb960 was no slouch)

    the LS90's responded to the power, not as drastically as the LSi's do, but they responded none the less
    Living Room 2 Channel -
    Wiim Ultra. Jolida CD player. Fiio k11 R2R DAC, XTZ as300 Edge amp. Focal Cobalt 826 towers,

    Upstairs 2 Channel Rig -
    Classe Audio 5 Preamp, DIY1200as2 Icepower Amp x 2, Wiim pro streamer and Topping E70 Velvet DAC, California Audio Labs DX1 CD player, Polk LSi15's with MM840 woofer upgrade.

    Studio Rig - Scarlett 18i20(Gen3) DAW, Schitt Saga 2 preamp, Topping a90 headphone amp, Mac Mini, Audiophonics Hypex NC252m amp, Polk r200's
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited May 2008
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    I used the silver 9t for a couple years, I would not really say they sounded tube like, lots of power though, although I have seen reports of mosfets sounding tubelike I guess its subjective, tubes sound like tubes to me, quite unique. Sand amps have different timbre's as well but my experience is there is alot that goes into making an amp sound one way or another besides the basic tube/ss difference.

    That said Carver is an amp any audio nut should enjoy at some point.

    RT1
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  • NotaSuv
    NotaSuv Posts: 3,871
    edited May 2008
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    Ron Temple wrote: »
    Not sure if I grasp your question...are you planning on mixing the Rotel on C and surrounds and letting the Carver run your 90s? If so, I'm not sure it's a match made in heaven. I tried to combine an Adcom GFA555 with a Carver TFM35. 2 different animals, putting the Carver on the fronts, Adcom on the surrounds, there was no synergy. The Adcom was too bright in comparison. It worked ok the other way around, but ultimately, I preferred mixing the Carver with a Luxman. I'd think you would have similar issues going Carver/Rotel.

    George Grand states that the M500t and the TFM35 sound like the same amp. They are both fairly easy to come by. The TFM45 and 55 show up on ebay/CL from time to time, but not as often. The 35x and 55x, I don't believe are modded to sound tubelike since they are spec'd for THX. The TFM42, 45 and M4.0t are the same amp, different face plates.

    Right now a Carver for the LS90's keep the Rotel on the center and rears ..only used with HT..cant really afford a 5 channel right now and this would give me some listening time with the Carver ..but if all sounds good with the Rotel then no reason to take it out..if it sounds off with the Rotel but I like the Carver then another Carver in the future..the ears will tell

    Thanks for the replies..
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  • Ron Temple
    Ron Temple Posts: 3,212
    edited May 2008
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    NotaSuv wrote: »
    Right now a Carver for the LS90's keep the Rotel on the center and rears ..only used with HT..cant really afford a 5 channel right now and this would give me some listening time with the Carver ..but if all sounds good with the Rotel then no reason to take it out..if it sounds off with the Rotel but I like the Carver then another Carver in the future..the ears will tell

    Thanks for the replies..
    It will be fun giving it a go at any rate. Find a nice Carver and let us know how it sounds. I'm sure you'll love it on the 90s.

    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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  • engtaz
    engtaz Posts: 7,675
    edited May 2008
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    Good Luck on your decision. I simple have fallen in love with my Carver M1.5T on my SDA SRS 3.1TL's. They have never sounded better.


    engtaz
    engtaz

    I love how music can brighten up a bad day.
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