Carver Making a Comeback~

[TNRabbit]

Check it out:

http://www.carveraudio.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=147&t=11168

http://www.carveraudio.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=147&t=11523

[TNRabbit]

Sneak peek at speakers:

[TNRabbit]

PIC 2

[TNRabbit]

PIC 3

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pic3

[TNRabbit]

These are basically a line array, 92-94 inches tall, built from the design of the Sunfire Cinema Ribbon speakers. The great thing about the aluminum extrusions & multiple drivers is you can make them anywhere from 2 feet to XX feet tall~just add side-firing woofers & ribbons.

[tube fanatic]

Came across this by chance:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180448871518&

[TNRabbit]

Bob has sold about 5 or 6 pair of those thus far~

[TNRabbit]

Bob's latest pair of tube amps sold for over $10k!!

[winchester21]

Great stuff- I was a Phase Linear 700b junkie back in the 70s. years later I grabbed a carver 3 channel power amp for my HT setup which I enjoy daily. I love the raw power which suits the HT deal so well. I have never heard a set of carver/sunfire speakers. Would love to at some point based on reports from others.

I hope carver makes a comeback in all areas.- speakers and amps

[joetraff]

Wow !!!

Great speaker !!!

[jt1stcav]

I too was a Carver junkie, owning some of his greatest hits like the M-400t and TFM-35x power amps, the C-1 and C-4000 preamps, etc...even an M-240 amp for my car's audio system. Bob was a visionary with extremely unique (if not gimmicky) ideas that were also quite functional; it would be sweet to see him prosper in the audio world once again.

[edwinr]

I don't know about the design of the speakers. If I saw them in the flesh I reckon I'd have an overwhelming desire to reach for the insect spray...

[TNRabbit]

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...

[oldmako]

I wonder how they'll mate up with my "Sonic Turd"???

[]

[TNRabbit]

I wonder how they'll mate up with my "Sonic Turd"???

Would that be the one which produces the infamous "Brown Note"? [:|]

[TNRabbit]

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

[jacksonbart]

..

[Ironsave]

Top Notch!

I tawt I taw a putty tat!