TNRabbit
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I know this post is ancient, but in case anyone still cares.....
I've know Russ from the Carver forums for a long time. The mods were actually designed by Rich Percararo who runs www.thecarversite.com. Rich freely shares the mod details & Russ has done many successful mods with 100% satisfied clients to my knowledge.
These modified amps are the REAL DEAL. They run cooler & have WAY higher output than the original (the output of the M1.0t was very underrated at 200 wpc for marketing reasons) while retaining the great original sound. -
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Bob's responses to comments made on AudioKarma forum:
Bob Carver here.
I've been reading the commentary on my new speaker and find the interest very exciting. Some of the comments I will address now.
One: It can't be done
My answer: Of course it can. Not only that, but I am used to being
accused of inventing things that can't be done, beginning with the Phase
Linear 700 watt amplifier of long ago, all the way to my current
high-pressure subwoofer. So I'm used to that.
Two: The ribbon looks like it's from Parts Express
Of course it is. I designed that ribbon over thirteen years ago for a
loudspeaker I ended up developing and calling the Sunfire Cinema Ribbon.
The ribbon was built in China by Hi-Vi for Homni, my Chinese supplier
for drivers at the time. Shortly thereafter I sold the design to Hi-Vi
as part of a joint cooperation agreement for manufacturing tooling, and
subsequently it was delivered into the public domain by my intent.
Hi-Vi, under the joint cooperation agreement, markets it worldwide and
now sells it to Parts Express. Again, it was originally designed for my
Cinema Ribbon and is still used in Cinema Ribbons today. It is truly an
amazing ribbon, if I do say so myself.
Three: 121dB SPL
121dB SPL is an enormous sound pressure level but the numbers that teach
us how it does that are comprised of simple arithmetic. I begin: A pair
of the small woofers as utilized in the tried-and-true Cinema Ribbons
produce a loudspeaker that has a sensitivity of 89dB SPL. The Cinema
Ribbon was designed to absorb all the power that my 200 watt per channel
amplifier could deliver. At 80 Hz it's peak-to-peak excursion is 0.48".
Now, my new Amazing Line Source speaker has 22 of these drivers per
channel. Since each driver can take 100 watts (92 watts with crossover
losses), how much can each Amazing Line Source speaker handle? Well, 92 x
22 is 2,024 watts. At those power levels and at 80 Hz, those woofers
are moving back and forth 0.48". Or, from another point of view, 80Hz/4
(20 Hz) allows equalization and yields flat response down to 20 Hz with a
450 watt per channel amplifier, assuming a room gain of 8dB at 20 Hz
(Theoretically it's 3dB per boundary, and there are three boundaries in a
room for each speaker).
Four: Low Frequency Response
A line source that goes from floor to ceiling is a weird, spooky, and
interesting thing. Imagine that your floor and ceiling are mirrors, and
the line source has 22 candles instead of woofers. If we look at it, we
will see candles going up infinitely to the sky and down infinitely
below. The amazing thing is that each reflection of each candle
generates real light and so do the reflected sound sources of the line
array. Spooky because it seems as if it's something for nothing, and it
almost is! The same holds true for the ribbons. Each ribbon, on speech
and music, can easily absorb 200 watts rms and there are thirteen of
them per channel. Finally, 200 watts x 13 = 2600 watts - a walk in the
park for these ribbons!
Five: Sensitivity - 96dB
Each time the area or the displacement is doubled - all other things
held constant - the sensitivity increases 6dB. Here is the arithmetic:
One ribbon = 89dB. two ribbons = 95dB. Four ribbons = 101dB. Eight
ribbons is 107dB, and 16 ribbons would be 113dB sensitivity IF the
voltage across each were held constant. Since these ribbons are in a
complex series/parallel configuration we must subtract 17dB because the
voltage across each ribbon is substantially lower (approximately 20% of
the original voltage) yielding 96dB SPL sensitivity. The precise
calculation is as follows: There are thirteen ribbons, so 10 x log(13)
is 11dB. 11 + 89 = 100dB, and the crossover throws away 4dB, for a net
of 96dB sensitivity. That's the science.
Six: "Distortionless"
Strictly speaking, nothing is distortionless. However, in hi-fi, if the
distortion is below our threshold of audibility we can color it gone. If
it's gone we can't hear it and I consider it sufficiently
distortionless to call it thus in my use of colloquial English.
Seven: "fast and loose with hyperbole"
I plead guilty for hyperbole, not guilty for fast and loose; my designs
always deliver the performance and the numbers, for real, every time, as
evidenced by independent reviewers over and over again through the
years. Wait and see.
Thanks guys, your comments and passionate responses to this new loudspeaker have made me think.
Great comments, warmest and best,
Bob Carver -
I wonder how they'll mate up with my "Sonic Turd"???
Would that be the one which produces the infamous "Brown Note"? [:|]
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Pics from the very first ptototype development of the new Carver ALS (Amazing Line Source); I guess we know what those tube amps are going to be used for....:
Left-Builder, James Sauter
Right-Bob Carver
Wood mock-up of the support legs:
MSRP is stated to be a staggering $18,000.00
According to preliminary reports, Bob states these are the best speakers he's ever designed, and others who've heard them say they project a sound stage so wide & deep it is hard to believe.
Custom colors will be available. 13 Sunfire ribbons speakers make up the front of thearray, with 11 4.5" woofers on each side of each speaker.
I'll post more as it becomes available...
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FYI regarding "adamantine steel"directly from Bob Carver's mouth:
The first time I ever heard the expression Adamantine steel
was as a young child when I watched the classic science fiction movie,
“Forbidden Planet”, the screen adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The
Tempest”. William Shakespeare loved Adamantine steel. It appeared in
several of his plays, most notably “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in which a
sword of Adamantine steel was crafted. In recent times my use of the
expression Adamantine steel derived not from the Fantastic Four comic
book, rather the Conan comic book in which the minor wizard Xolotan
(sp?) crafted a beautiful sword of Adamantine steel. The most enduring
image I have of Adamantine steel is when the Krell monster from the Id
of “Forbidden Planet” broke through an impenetrable steel door crafted
of Adamantine steel. It seems that more than one audiophile has used the
Krell of Shakespeare’s forbidden planet to define something regarding
amplifiers.
In truth, Adamantine steel is an actual steel
developed early in our century (I think in the 1930’s or 1940’s) to
define the hardest steel known to man. And it still is. At least as
early as 1952, U.S. Steel had a catalog including Adamantine steel with
a hardness rating at the top of the list of all the steels it produced.
I chose the Krell Adamantine steel for my output transformers
because to this day it is the hardest steel known to humankind. And the
harder the steel, the lower the induced eddy currents and the better the
transformer.
As for designing this amplifier without true
science, using only the language of audiophiles severely misses the
mark. It’s not possible to design an amplifier at this level of
performance without extensive use of physics, science, and mathematics.
To believe otherwise exposes one’s own knowledge to be of a meager and
shallow kind.
A final word. Since I invented these output transformers, I get to call them anything I want.
Bob Carver -
I've heard some pretty stellar Martin Logan electrostats, and McIntosh's big $40k line arrays are impressive, but for the money, the Carver Amazings are REALLY hard to beat. At CarverFest 2007, we set up 3 pair of the 4 models made (out to inner: Original, AL-III, Platinum) with a Sunfire 400x7 amp....it ROCKED~
The only version not represented there was the Silver model (3 12" woofers, one 48" ribbon)
I think the most impressive thing about the Carver Amazing line is that they continue to compete with speakers costing MUCH more than they did new ($2-$3k).
One of the few drawbacks (other than SIZE) is they are incredibly inefficient. There are stories of folks using 1,000 watt amps to drive them...
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It's all advertising games. ALL companies fudge the size on woofers through this type of trickery.
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If you're able to make it down to Watershed Cabins in NC from 10-20 Sep this year for CarverFest, you'll be able to hear a little of everything Carver made:
Join the forum for TONS of info~
That said, the TFM-75, Sunfire & Lightstar amps are the BEST Carver solid state amps I've heard. His new custom tube amps are impressive & off the charts.
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I spent a few hours this week replacing the circuit breakers on my AL-IIIs with fuse holders (not convinced they were working properly as they NEVER blew) in order to ensure a future for my ribbons/woofers.....
I also replaced the wood screws holding the woofers in with nice stainless steel hex-head bolts & blind nuts to save the MDF from certain destruction (had to tighten them occasionally as they tended to loosen from the vibration). Actually I'm glad I took them apart because 1 of the surrounds with was coming loose around the outside edge of the Infinities. Apparently, they changed the outer surround mounts at some point in production & glued them down with double sided tape. So, I re-glued them with silicone caulk. I was getting some strange bass sounds...that may have been why.
Now that I'm fully active, I might reconsider using JL Audio woofers insread of the Infinity ones. For thise who don't know, I had decided on the Infinity woofers as they were at least 4 dB more efficient than anything else I found, but it's immaterial since I'm able to dial in the crossover to match....
Pics:
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/TNRabbit/Audio/DSC02967.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/TNRabbit/Audio/DSC02976.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/TNRabbit/Audio/DSC02981.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/TNRabbit/Audio/DSC02984.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/TNRabbit/Audio/DSC02983.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/TNRabbit/Audio/DSC02992.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/TNRabbit/Audio/DSC02991.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/TNRabbit/Audio/DSC03006.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/TNRabbit/Audio/DSC02992.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/TNRabbit/Audio/DSC02996.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/TNRabbit/Audio/DSC03017.jpg
Heat sinks are important when working with insulated wire & plastic connector parts~ -
I agree with the two posts above; Amazon.com is a fantastic place to get standard CDs, LPs, and SACD/DVD-A titles. There are a few rare titles that will cost you big $$ but most are very reasonable.
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Good Luck, Richard!
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Turn everything off but the sub then listen. You can pinpoint with a carboard tube from paper towels held to your ear.
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This is a common problem with the Sunfire subs as they are SO powerful & such a small enclosure so more X-Max is required to acheive the same SPL. They literally shake themselves apart~
Glad you were able to fix the problem.
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Up to $31,800 now!!! WOW~
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Want me to stop? Just thought some might be interested.
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US $20,100.20 and 5 days left on the auction; that's got to be a record for tube gear....
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Bob's back with a pair of updated/new Silver Seven Tube amps: 900 wpc into 8 ohms!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180665282517&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
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Dianna Krall "Temptation" from The Girl In The Other Room, has a GREAT upright bass riff at the beginning; fantastic for check realistic bass.
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Great Googa Mooga; they sold for over $10,000!
Now he has a rebuilt Citation 1 preamp at auction; current price is $3k: Citation1
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He's got another pair up for auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180655213414&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
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Is it me or are the amps just too non-descript? If I'm paying $4000 for a single amp I want it to look as great as it's supposed to sound. Those things are just boring to look at.
What are the silly 1940's style gauges for? They look cheesy and like something that can be bought from a catalogue for $4.99 each.
The amp is a 305wpc but the gauges only go up to 200? They can't be WPC gauges then right? If I'm paying $4000 for a single amp I think it should have some sort of gauge on it that's not only accurate but looks great... maybe even a nice blue or red LED guage that shows your current WPC output.
Look at the McIntosh gauges?! Now, those are worthy of the price. They scream QUALITY.
Don't even get me started on the .99 toggle switches he used on these amps! Come on Bob... you could have done so much better than that on a $4000 amp.
If you knew Bob Carver, you'd know he is a Physicist & Engineer with a flair for audio. He doesn't subscribe to the vancy is better school of audio engineering, which is why so many of us have been able to afford hits creations. These amps weren't PRICED at $8k, they AUCTIONED for that price because they are worth that and more. Those who have heard them know they stand among the great amps in the world.
Also, the guages are for setting the bias, not output watts~
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I've heard the Cherry 180 watt models on my Carver AL-III speakers & they are incredible. I can only imagine the difference witth the extra headroom.
What are the best 5.1 Blu Ray concerts and movies? The must haves for audiophiles?
in Home Theater
Posted
I'm going to bring this thread back to life with "Jeff Beck: Live at Ronnie Scott's". Absolutely fantastic in all aspects.