Best Carver stereo solid state amplifier design

08-28-09: Jimjoyce25
I run two second-hand Sunfire Signature 600 amps, one per channel, with Marigo Ultra 5 power cords to deal with RF issues. In this configuration they far exceed the performance of the original production Atma-Sphere MA-1 mono amplifiers they replaced in my system.

the atma-sphere were from the early 90 i guess but did the sunfire beat them in every respect.My brother just compared a carver pm 1.5 to a spectron musician 2 and found the spectron to be much more transparent and maybe a bit flatter than the carver.

By a mile. But you definitely need the power cords with them, or you won't get anywhere near the performance. Without them the RF issues with the Sunfires mean that you won't hear the detail they're capable of.

The 600s are not in production anymore, so only available second hand, and they usually sell pretty quickly. Average price is probably 1500 or so per unit. (Note that the Marigo power cords are quite expensive, so they add significantly to the cost of the amps. But you can try them for 30 days without obligation.)

btw: What do the Spectrons cost?

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I know you requested info on stereo amps. But, the Carver Silver 9t monoblocks have to be reckoned with in this thread. I own the Sunfire 600 stereo amps and the Carver Silver 9t monoblocs. The Carver Silver 9t monoblocs are the way to go. A pair of the monoblocs cost about the same as a used Sunfire 600.
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What do the Spectrons cost? They cost about 1200.00 450 watts at 8 ohms,620 watts at 4 ohms.

The Carver Silver 9t monoblocs are the way to go. A pair of the monoblocs cost about the same as a used Sunfire 600.
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Mitch4t

So Mitch youre saying that the tube amps from carver are better than his solid state design.Have you listened to the lighstar serie.thanks pat

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The Silver 9t are solid state monoblocs. Never heard the LightStar amp, I've heard nothing but good things about it though.
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