Phase Linear

I owned an audio retail/repair shop in Florida for years(early 80's). Most in the industry referred to them as, "Flame Linears". Back then(70's/80's) solid state was in it's early days still and people of the "louder is better" set really went for the power of these units. 'Til they self-destructed(usually). The high-end audio press panned or slammed them(horrendous sound), as they did the rest of his designs for years afterwards. He built a very lightweight, high power amp that Yamaha violated his patents rights on back then. The Absolute Sound magazine said that Yamaha had, "succeeded in duplicating the Titanic, complete with the hole"(cracked me up). He's still building audio gear, and some of it has received rave reviews(again- in the high end press).

Great boat anchors

Well, I guess I am the proverbial contrarian here but; last night I played music for 2 hours non stop to start braking in a new pair of speakers I just purchased. I got the Wharfdale Pacific Evolution 30's. These speakers are rated at 6 ohms, 89 db sensitivity, 200 watts rms. I played fairly loud and continuous for the 2 hours and the sound was very, very good. The amp was hot but no a hint of stress or distortion, or any other anomaly. The speakers are not the most easy to drive nor are they the most difficult out there. Again, I personally can't understand the persistent negative reputation of these amps? Either I got the only 2 great PL 400 amps or others are doing something wrong with them?

I had a PL 440 self destruct in the '80s, taking out the speaker drivers on one channel.

You might be interested in The Official Phase Linear Web Site.

Lots of history, technical, and repair information.

I've been a sound engineer for the past 30 years(a tech for years before that. I'm currently the sound tech for two local bands and my church. This gives me the opportunity to listen to live music(acoustic and amplified) at least twice a week(generally more). Live music has always been the criterion by which I judged a system's accuracy(timbre, soundstaging, rendition of the human voice, frequency response, pace, etc). My recordings are pieces that I am familiar with regarding venue, recording technique and artists. I've never heard a system that sounded live with anything designed by Bob Carver employed in it(from the early 80's through the 90's. Then again: I haven't heard any of his latest designs, and understand that some are quite good(the highest priced pieces).