Teajay, I'd like to offer some, what I hope is, some constructive criticism. As a prospective buyer of this amplifier your review leaves me with a few unanswered questions. For example you listened to the amplifier and I'm left with this unanswered statement.
"Sonically, it is supposed to offer the midrange delicacy and body of the EL-34 tube with the extension, slam and control of the KT-88."
OK fine, did it or did it not offer the midrange delicacy and body?
"In the price bracket around $12,000 for tube-based power amplifiers, the major competitors would either be Audio Research Corporation Reference 150 Stereo Amp 9, valued at $12,995, or the Vacuum Tube Logic S-200 Stereo Amp, which is valued at $10,000. Both are new editions for each company. I have auditioned both companies' last generation of amps. In my opinion, the 305 Black Beauty Mono Blocks offer many of the strengths, the natural timbres, the ability to produce a large soundstage, have precise imaging and the capacity to drive all types of speakers that the other companies' amps deliver. However, because the Black Beauty 305s are mono blocks, they can be placed closer to the speakers to gain the advantage of shorter speaker wire length, along with each mono block having its own power supply."
Hear you mention amplifiers you haven't auditioned and supply the reader with a price comparison. Regardless of what model, its well known that ARC and VTL have strikingly different presentations. Its well established that ARC has a more analytical almost solid state presentation. Conrad Johnson is another established manufacture of products with a far more relaxed or glowing presentation. It could be said that VTL is generally somewhere in the middle. In your opinion where is the Carver in this mix? The ability to convey the degree of warmth, speed, and transparency by comparing commonly known presentations is the meat and potatoes of a successful review.
Unless it's just another ultra linear or pentode design in some silly exotic and expensive casework I find the technical description of a new product can be very interesting. So exactly what kind of amplifier is the Carver? Was there anybody else in on the design? What's the printed circuit board made of?
From Carver LLC
["These amplifiers offer extreme performance that is difficult to believe, and each amplifier features a high impedance input, an automatic DC restorer circuit, a set and forget it bias adjustment, and low idle current which greatly increases output tube life. They have ultra-wide bandwidth output transformers with interleaved windings capable of the most nuanced voice as well as huge peak output capacity. Selectable feedback control allows the user to change the sound of the amplifier from vintage classical to modern contemporary."]
It also has an attenuator so you can connect a source component directly to the amplifier.
Teajay, sorry to bust your bells but you are so not alone on this amp. I've read a few reviews and I still don't have a decent idea of what Bob Carver's amplifiers sound like.
