82 Cornwalls Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 https://www.bobcarvercorp.com/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeydeal Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 Well that’s a shame… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Chi-town Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 I wonder if it is financial or health related issues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 Lots of people enjoyed their products for many years. Sad that they are quitting the business. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the real Duke Spinner Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 I have had many prices of Carver/ Sunfire/ Phase Linear. Etc Not exactly top end stuff But still enjoyable Hanging on to my Phase 400. For nostalgia. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 Don’t know if he’s involved with any of the day-to-day stuff but he is 81. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avguytx Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 I've always been a fan of Bob and he was always a blast to talk to. I guess I've known him for about 35 years now and still email on occasion. I have an M-1.0t amp signed by him (in avatar pic) and a picture of him with it somewhere in my files. The rep firm I worked for from 2001 till 2009 represented Sunfire and Elan (home control) and we had an event called, "A Night With Bob Carver". It was a great time and dealers came from all around with various pieces for him to sign. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_Klipsches Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I’ve just had my M-1.0t refurbished & upgraded, also recently had my Sunfire Cinema Grand repaired, after a power surge. I listen to his amps most every day. I hope he’s doing ok. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 Bob Carver is a true legend- sad to see it all come to an end. Here's a link to the Carversite thread where Jim Clark explains the situation: https://thecarversite.com/topic/26870-bob-carver-llc-bc-audio-llc-what-is-the-difference-what-happened-why-closing/ "What happened? 1) Glass audio crashed in 2021 and left Bob Carver Co closed, with backorders and 2000 unanswered emails. 2) I talked to Bob and Peggy about building high quality products and starting yet again another company to build Bob Carver tube amps. 3) In Feb 2022 Bob Carver LLC (Bob and Peggy) and BC Audio (Jim and Lerma) were formed. The Crimson 275 was a planned source of revenue while designing other new world class products. 4) A 'well connected' industry veteran convinced me he had an existing supply chain that could provide manufacturing engineering at competitive prices and production in compressed time frames. The cost and time required were not in the ballpark. The cost were exceeded by 300% and the time required was exceeded by 600% further exhausting our resources. Two months after our start-up, Audio science review came out with a devastating review of the Crimson 275. Photographic evidence of the 275 using clearly labeled 15 watt output transformers in the 75 watt amp, gave ASR a 'kick me' sign the size of a billboard on the companies back, it's very sad. Also ASR showed a picture of the unused earth ground pin and told readers that the 275 could result in a 700 volt shock to the user, although 2 prong power cords are common in audio, using a 3 conductor cord and leaving the earth pin unused was another 'kick me' sign on the companies back. Bob requested that we offer refunds for the 275 and offer to rework the grounding and polarity issue at no charge with free return shipping. Instead of BC Audio having revenue from the Crimson 275 as a start-up company to survive on, while the new world class products were coming, we started out giving refunds and free rework, being accountable for a company before our time, that made serious mistakes and errors in judgment, imho.. BC Audio paid dearly in terms of standing behind the old company and the damage to the brand resulting from ASRs review. Without revenue, we carried on for 2 years. Today, BC Audio is closing. Sales are very slow. Customers still read ASR and contact me weekly with concern that their Carver Crimson 275 will kill them. We still get pictures of the 15 watt transformers in the 75 watt amp and called a fraud, scam, liar and other unpleasant terms. Rating the 275 @ 75w, 20Hz to 20K further depleted credibility in the brand. I can't change the past or go back and slap the people who made those choices.. They will have to live with it. I made course corrections but the heavy damage was done. We built one batch of 285s that are truly world class and excellent, but failed to launch as a company, manly do to baggage from the past attempts at building these products before my time, imho.. BC Audio LLC was founded in Feb 2022 by Jim Clark. Everything we produced met specs and was perfectly safe from Feb 2022 forward. Products produced by prior companies attempts at producing Bob Carver products, like those reviewed in ASR are not the responsibility of BC Audio. BC Audio produced world class products that we stand behind and take great pride in." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 That’s awful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khornukopia Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 On 5/10/2024 at 3:33 AM, jjptkd said: Bob Carver is a true legend- sad to see it all come to an end. Here's a link to the Carversite thread where Jim Clark explains the situation: https://thecarversite.com/topic/26870-bob-carver-llc-bc-audio-llc-what-is-the-difference-what-happened-why-closing/ "What happened? ... Two months after our start-up, Audio science review came out with a devastating review of the Crimson 275. Photographic evidence of the 275 using clearly labeled 15 watt output transformers in the 75 watt amp, gave ASR a 'kick me' sign the size of a billboard on the companies back, it's very sad. Also ASR showed a picture of the unused earth ground pin and told readers that the 275 could result in a 700 volt shock to the user, although 2 prong power cords are common in audio, using a 3 conductor cord and leaving the earth pin unused was another 'kick me' sign on the companies back. Bob requested that we offer refunds for the 275 and offer to rework the grounding and polarity issue at no charge with free return shipping. Instead of BC Audio having revenue from the Crimson 275 as a start-up company to survive on, while the new world class products were coming, we started out giving refunds and free rework, being accountable for a company before our time, that made serious mistakes and errors in judgment, imho.. BC Audio paid dearly in terms of standing behind the old company and the damage to the brand resulting from ASRs review. Without revenue, we carried on for 2 years... Shame that management and quality control was not paying attention to easy to observe "defects" with the main product they were building and selling at that time. Can't blame an audio equipment reviewer for seeing it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82 Cornwalls Posted May 11 Author Share Posted May 11 11 minutes ago, Khornukopia said: Shame that management and quality control was not paying attention to easy to observe "defects" with the main product they were building and selling at that time. Can't blame an audio equipment reviewer for seeing it. AFAIK it all started when someone sent a unit to a tube amplifier builder in the NW for repair and then after accusations the one he had was some kind of kit built at a BC thingy the tube amp builder bought a new one with his own money and had it shipped to Amir for corroboration. There was already another tube amp guy that had commented on the same thing before (can't remember details and don't want to research), so 3 accounts proved it was indeed a design or production failure. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 1 hour ago, 82 Cornwalls said: 3 accounts proved it was indeed a design or production failure. The 275 amps are / were working exactly as designed by Bob Carver, the biggest mistake was the advertised output power being rated at 20hz to 20khz when the amp should have been rated at 1khz, which is very typical for tube amps. The 275 is actually a very nice sounding, seemingly powerful amplifier that, in Carver fashion, weighs almost nothing and puts out hardly any heat. Tubes are estimated to last 40+ years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82 Cornwalls Posted May 12 Author Share Posted May 12 Sorry I didn't drink the kool-aid, aka the JC spin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebse2a3 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 35 minutes ago, jjptkd said: The 275 amps are / were working exactly as designed by Bob Carver, the biggest mistake was the advertised output power being rated at 20hz to 20khz when the amp should have been rated at 1khz, which is very typical for tube amps. I would have to disagree that output power rating at 1kHz is typical for tube amplifiers. I’m curious what tube amplifiers have you seen rated at 1kHz ..? That would be a ridiculous way of rating any high fidelity amplifier Tube or SS and any quality product will have a bandwidth specification. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 You will get a bandwidth specification, but I’ve seen plenty of amps and receivers use “x amount of watts at 1 kHz” when rating power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebse2a3 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 52 minutes ago, Deang said: You will get a bandwidth specification, but I’ve seen plenty of amps and receivers use “x amount of watts at 1 kHz” when rating power. Hey Dean can you point to any examples please I’m really curious to see which manufactures are playing those games with consumers. I remember cheap auto amplifiers back in the 70s, 80s pulling that crap but power at one frequency rating is a cheap gimmick at best meant for misleading the consumer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted Sunday at 08:47 AM Share Posted Sunday at 08:47 AM 8 hours ago, 82 Cornwalls said: Sorry I didn't drink the kool-aid, aka the JC spin. Nothing to do with JC if you followed the ASR thread Bob Carver logged in and said it himself in fact he's very proud of that little amp being able to pull 75 watts out of 15 watt transformers if you hate BC that's fine don't think this thread was meant to dump on the guy have some class. It is what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82 Cornwalls Posted Sunday at 12:19 PM Author Share Posted Sunday at 12:19 PM I don't want to rehash the whole train wreck, this says enough "Today, BC Audio is closing. Sales are very slow." To respond to the latest post, those involved can say what they want AFTER the facts came out, all the specs were there for everyone too see and had not been changed or corrected. JC was the first to respond and it was not pretty. A lot of his spin posts have, thankfully, disappeared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted Sunday at 02:34 PM Share Posted Sunday at 02:34 PM @mikebse2a3 https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-do-these-two-charts-come-from-amps-with-essentially-the-same-thd-n-measurement-1khz-5w-4-ohm.45551/ I went straight to the 7.2 receivers at Best Buy, since those products used to be the worst offenders. They don’t even list the test frequencies anymore, just give you a total power number. I looked through some of the Chinese built tube amps on Amazon. Same - all you get is a total power spec. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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