Bob Carver LLC has been purchased by Emotiva

Good Luck to Bob. Wish him all the best.

Audiozen, before you go trashing Carver, what is your experience with his new line of tube amplifiers? I've had his 200 watt amplifier for the past 3 years and never had one single issue with the amp. It is the most reliable and stable tube amp I have ever owned. It is the quietest tube amp I have ever owned and as quiet as the quietest SS amp I've ever owned. It is capable of driving 1 ohm load (eg, Apogee Scintilla). The sound is one of the best I've heard from any amp I've come across. Dynamic, rich, extended, holographic, etc. It can drive complex loads with no problem. It's sound can be improved even more by some very simple inexpensive modifications. I've had past experience with amps from Atmasphere, Audio Research, Mark Levinson, Jadis, Krell, Pass, etc. You are misleading Agoners about Carver's new designs by posting your past dissatisfaction with Carver, whatever that may have been. I'm not defending Carver's past products because I have little experience with them, but his new products are winners in my book. The lower prices resulting from Emotiva ownership will allow more people to enjoy some of the best tube sound around.

So one has to wait forty years to get a decent product from Bob Carver? I bought a Carver system in 1989 from Magnolia Hi-Fi in Seattle. Within six months the detent ring in the volume knob jammed and locked up in the Preamp and the Carver CD player quit playing and skipped constantly. By the end of the first year of ownership I had the components serviced three times due to breakdown. I sold the entire system and never looked back. The best product Carver made was the Silver Seven amp. I could care less about Bob's current company. And Emotiva? Looks like component rack gear you would find in a Korean disco. Parasound is a much better option than Emotiva.

Audiozen by your own admission you purchased some Carver mid-fi at a low point.

I purchased two Phase Linear 400s in the late 60s for use in a PA rack. They were knocked around for almost nine years and were sold in working order. I didn't know much about the Man other than some unusual products, the Cube Sub, and some of his branding issues.

I was incredibly skeptical of purchasing his 200 watt tube amp. A bit more research I found out his participation in the company and manufacture was limited. Once home and run in these amps are stunningly well made.

Stemming from a grudge formed by someone who would consider Carver Mid-Fi from a Best Buys Magnolia HiFi, your lack of audio knowledge then seems to be still working against you today. Carver Tube LLC is not the same stuff

Your estimation of any aspect of the Kentucky built Carver Tube Amplifiers is grossly misleading and without any practical contemporary experience.

I have very guarded feelings regarding emo manufacturing practices. I am hoping when the time ever comes to sell, my Carver LLC amps will have an increased value over their new owners output who must be purchasing their first soldering stations to accommodate a newfound foray into US manufacturing.

Frankly, It wouldn't surprise me in the least if one out of fifty of their tube amps was manufactured in the US.

Lack of audio knowledge? Baloney. Bob Carver made his career on glorified hype with his magnetic field amp which was nothing more than a large modified block transformer. Sonic Holography? More hype. Nothing more than a phase delay circuit to create a dimensional ambiance effect. Hell, the BBE processor's do the same thing only much better. I used a BBE processor in my system in the 90's and the sonic results was superior to Carver. Carver's marketing campaign in the 80's was overkill. His ads and ad copy were so cleverly written that it came across as the most advanced products on the market. The ongoing problems with the construction quality of his components was not short term but was on going for over ten years. Magnolia repair department in the 90's informed me that Carver separates were coming in every month for repair and they had a helluva time keeping up with the volume. I will admit that Bob's Amazing Loudspeaker in 1986 was a damn good speaker. I heard a pair in a small auditorium in the 80's hooked up to a pair of 500 watt mono-blocks. Blew me away. As low priced as Emotiva product's are, their construction quality is better that the Carver junk from the 80's and 90's. Carver went out of business because Audiophiles got wise and found better results from that time period with products from Threshold, Adcom and Parasound. So now that Bob Carver is approaching 70 years of age he finally wised up and is making good product's? No thanks. I'd rather wait for Haley's Comet.