Carver Pro ZR1600

Kool39...A "full review" of the amp is something that I am really not qualified to do. Others have evaluated and reported on this amp, and their reviews are the reason I bought it. I could write some glowing praise using all the usual words (tranparency, punchy bass, etc) but these are all subjective things that you really need to hear for yourself. I therefore condense my comments to the statement that "this amp is something special, particularly in view of its cost, and it is worth you while to try it".

If I had to put my finger on one characteristic that is better than my Adcom 5503 (350 wpc) it is that in an orchestral recording, individual instruments of the orchestra seem to be separately distinguishable. (Subjective as hell!). I am unsure of how much credit should go to the amp's sonics, as opposed to the Magneplanar speakers. It could be that the more powerful amp is simply getting more out of the Maggies. Different speakers could give different results.

El: I don't doubt your observation comparing the ZR1600 to the Adcom. Adcom amps to me have always tended to get muddy, blurred and jumble things up at volume. This also includes the big ones that Nelson Pass designed and Adcom built to their own spec.

As far as your comments about bypassing the switches, you need twice the amount of contacts on a switch in order to reduce audibility of a decent switch. In other words, two contacts in and two contacts out wired in parallel reduce the audibility of a single switch in the signal path. As such, where one is using a single pole double throw ( spdt ) switch, going to a double pole double throw ( dpdt ) would work better. The only thing with this is that you end up with a whole lot more making and breaking of the signal path and solder joints galore. If you have no fear of overdriving the amp, i would suggest using good quality cabling and bypassing all of that. On top of that, don't forget to break the connections feeding into the circuit at the board level. Having circuitry that is still connected at various points but not active will cause differences in signal loading. Sean
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Gmood1...Yes those reviews and others like them is what got me all excited. The comment "uncanny ability to unbundle instruments" is exactly what I hear.

Sean...Undoubtedly multiple contacts on a switch or relay is a good idea. Sliprings that we use in the gimbal system of the missile guidance system that I work on have (for each of the many circuits) two brushes each with spherical tips riding in a v groove, so that there are four points of contact. But these are sliding contacts.

The sound of switches (unless the contacts are dirty, and resistance is measurable) is something that I personally don't worry about, but let's not get into that one. As to solder, some day when I have nothing else to do I will use about 20 feet of roll solder as speaker wires and see how it sounds. If 20 feet of solder isn't a total disaster, I will conclude that a few millimeters is OK.

Eldartford- I highly recommend you pick up some Neutrik Speakon NL-4FC cable connectors for you speaker connections. The CarverPro is set up to accept these. They cost about $5@ and are easy to install.

I think waiting to get a handle on the amps before doing any mods is a wise move. Stan Warren is reported to
be looking at these amps. I'd wait until a real pro like Stan comes up with a mod.

Have fun.