Carver Power Amps

It's hard to imagine that any audio power amp would have problems in the LF range. That's the easy part. Making it work well at high audio frequencies (above 10KHz) is harder.

One flaw Ive found is their output wattage rating. They rate their output using the lame IHF dynamic power rating. Basically their telling you what it can output with a 1khz test tone for a millisecond. 380 watts at the IHF rating could very well mean that its true RMS value be at least 3-6db(1/2-3/4 less output power)or even more below its listed spec. My guess is that the amp is realistically capable of putting out about 50-100 watts of true full bandwidth power at best. And looking over its power supply and output components on some online white papers looks to confirm this. Never been a fan of ANY "Bob Carver" product myself though. I dunno, I cant do a product you see in a Cambridge Soundworks retail store that you know has a 60-65 point markup.

The Parasound HCA does not have a built-in bass boost!It has a much beefier power supply, two huge torodial tranformers,and huge storage capacitors.Its bass is CLEARLY better extended,punchier,tighter, and better defined than the Carver A-760x.The top-end is also more open and extended than the Carver.I owned the Carver for years and had it repaired once by Sunfire Corp.and they said everything checked out as good as new,so the unit is not defective! Alot of amplifiers have trouble in the low frequency range,especially with sustained high level low bass material.It takes a beefy power supply with lots of current capability and lots of power supply filter capacitance to PROPERLY reproduce deep,tight,extended and accurate bass.It is hard to get a solid state amp to sound right in the top-end.Its usually a compromise between a grainy,etched quality or a dark,rolled off quality,but the bass is just as hard to get right.

Hey,
find the review of the Carver A-760x in the May 1997 issue of Secrets Of Home Theater And High Fidelity by John E.Johnson Jr.Read the last page of the review.Read about the measured output power!

I dont think its a matter of power amplifiers having a problem with low frequency reproduction, its a matter of low impedance fluctuations with lf drivers that are relatively inneficient compared to their hf counterparts. Most full range speakers have impedance dips in the lower octaves combined with low sensitivity which alot of times with an anemic amplifier will sound washed out or blurry,and/or less defined than amplifers that can truely control a hard load. Most hf drivers have very high sensitivity abilities combined with easy to drive reactive loads of a higher impedance. I dunno, I would question any amp that has a smaller power supply than my current CD player. LOL!

Danvetc: Its kind of hard for you to state if you got good lf extension or not since your using a pair of monitors with a seperate powerd sub wouldnt you say?Let alone the band-aid control RDP-1 I see you've got listed(why didnt you just invest the money spent on one of those for better monitors,amp and room treatments?Lot of money that could have been put to better sonic gains in your system if you ask me). Even so those speakers are easy loads to drive. You could get a radioshack amp to sound good with them Im sure in reality.