2. amps-preamps
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Carver, THE standard of excellence IMO

I have read many discussions on these forums and others about many people having difficulty getting hold of or information from the manufacturers or dealers about problems with their gear.  Some wait weeks,months or forever for a response.Yesterday (Sunday) I thought I was having a small problem with my Carver Crimson 350 amps and I did some tests described in the manual to check the KT120 tubes.  I was getting some strange meter readings and couldn't understand why.  So I went to the Carver site and wrote a detailed email at that site, expecting to hear back sometime this week.  At the time I did not know it went straight to the president and co-owner Frank Malilz, but it does. Frank marked it "very important" and forwarded to Bob Carver who at 9:15 pm (my time) sent me a detailed answer that solved my problems.  Are you kidding me!!!! straight to the pres and then to the designer (we all know who is a legend) and back to me within 6 hrs ON A SUNDAY!  To paraphrase a truck commercial....Carver doesn't raise the bar, it sets it.

I know not everyone can afford a set of $9500 monos but I am sure the service would be the same on Carver's new 275s at less than $2800.  I have heard the 275s at Axpona and they are voiced extremely close to the 350s just not as much power.  For most set ups they would be magnificent.  Who else gives the amp AND tubes a TRANSFERABLE 5 yr warranty?  Both the 350 and 275 play for hrs and never get hot.  Handmade in the USA and signed by the legend himself.  If you are looking for a tube amp in this category that plays far far above it's price you owe it to yourself to check out the 275 (or the 350s if you can go that way financially, 10 yr warranty on everything, if you talk to Bob he would probably give you a 50 yr warranty on amp AND tubes, I am not kidding in the least.)  I have no interest in any way with Bob Carver Corp other than a love of it's products and service.  I've posted some here before so you know I'm not a shill. I just wanted to educate some on this forum about my experience, about a great product and outstanding service from the people who make that product.  I believe they really care about audio and their customers.
DrMark  (Doc from MI on some Carver sites)
drkingfish
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
No, and its clear he meant actual fires. If he meant figuratively, then "fires" would be his way of saying "controversial design". But what he actually said was, "Amplifiers designed, manufactured, and marketed by Bob Carver" leaving no doubt he means it literally.

Probably his best defense would be to say that "designed, manufactured, and marketed by" is a nervous tic he has where he just always has to repeat, regurgitate, and re-state everything he says over and over and over again, and without ever giving any thought to whether or not what he is saying bears any relationship with reality. In other words he could say hey look I'm a bloviating buffoon, and everybody knows it, so no harm done.

Any judge or jury would then just look at his posting history, throw up their hands and say, "case dismissed."

Or at least that is my opinion.
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three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
Nobody says "fires" and then references "insurances companies" without being literal in the chosen words.  That was disgraceful.  I'm surprised the Mods haven't removed his post yet so it doesn't cause further harm to the manufacturer.
Post removed 
drkingfish OP
79 posts
 
Geeqner,I'm sorry to disagree.  My OP was directed to and at the great customer service I received from Carver Corp.  The fact that I mentioned my 350s was only incidental to the topic.  This was not a post of the pros and/or cons of any Carver amp new or vintage.  It was a post about how I felt of them going the extra mile on a Sunday to make sure my problem was taken care of.  Any company doing what they did yesterday would meet a hypothetical standard of excellence.  I doubt few exist outside of  Carver but I don't honestly know.  Text from me 3:15 EDT Sunday 09/11 directly to Carver CEO/part owner (which at the time I didn't know) in Chicago relayed to Bob Carver marked "very important", replied to me at 9:15 EDT 09/11 by Bob Carver who lives in Seattle that tells me how to accomplish my task, not we will get back to you, I'll call you later in the week, etc. which would have been very acceptable on the same day I asked them.  The problem came in when "amps on fire" came up and IMO had to be addressed.  I hate to repeat myself but this was about a company responding to a customer in a very unusual amount of time on a weekend day to make sure the customer could take care of the problem.  Carver decidedly deserves kudos for how they took care of me and I truly believe it would be any of their customers.  I don't think Frank knew me from Adam when he received the text and the fact I did a few things with Bob last year was not within his memory bank.  My only intent was to tell this forum of my great experience (and I was impressed) and perhaps motivate them to take a look at Carver knowing it was a company who truly cares about the people they serve.  They've already got my money yet they make sure I'm taken care of. As kren006 said pretty cool!
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