seti Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 I am a big fan of tubes and Heritage but I am looking for a solid state amp to power my sub that I could also use on my Belles if the need arises. I remember hearing Carver TFM series amps on b&w speakers and really enjoying the sound but how are these on the high efficiency klipsch speakers? Has anyone tried this combo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 there are better matches .. the TFM amps prolly are the best ... but still, there are much better choices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Carver and Heritage? Don't get me started! Carver and subs? Oh, well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Sunfire and Heritage works well.. Hehehehehe Not quite the same though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 So thumbs down on the carvers any suggestions appreciated. I prefer used and appreciate good bang for the buck. I am looking for a SS amp with at least 200 wpc. The sub is passive isobaric and I was using a triad amp/xover but it has gone abit wonky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Whew, I thought you were going to cut up a turkey on some Cornwalls. That is one handsome sub, seti! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 You might also want to shy away from Rotel amps. I had an RB1080 but the sound didn't start to come together till after the first 3/4 watt or so. Since I wanted something that sounded good at lower volume levels, the Rotel just couldn't do that. So I sold the Rotel and bought a Mac MC252. As you can see below I also have Carver in the house but on some very inefficiant vintage Technics (87db) speakers as mains and some Klipsch RB-61's that are wired into the bedroom next door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 The demands on an amp for sub duty and for 2Ch duty (with high efficiency speakers that do not present a low impedance) can be quite different. That said, I spent a weekend with several amps. The Carver tfm and the Adcom 5x5 series, both sounded fine with K-Horns. There was very little idling noise (using a passive "pre-amp"). Both can be brought at very reasonable prices. Keep in mind that not all Carver amps are the same. My comments are for the TFM series at about 100 watt. Some have tried the M1.0 & 1.5 series. These are more money (and older). As I recall, they were praised (with qualifications), but I have not personally heard them. Given the efficiency of the Belles, and if you get a chance, I would be interested in your opinion of some high bias class a/b amps such as a Parasound HCA series. These have very low TIM and may give a very accurate sound. Good Luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 One of my first experiences with Klipsch and Carver was way back in '80 when a rich friend of the family auditioned my dad's Cornwalls and later bought four Klipschorns for himself driven with two new Carver M-500t 250 watt amps...in a word, WOW! His music room was the size of a small ballroom with a restored 1927 Marr & Colton theatre pipe organ installed at one end, and the four walnut Klipschorns at each end of that vast space. He'd record his organ being performed live thru his Carver C-4000 pre and a Nakamichi 680ZX cassette deck (can't recall the mic pre and mics used...maybe by Neumann?), and then play the recording session back thru another 680ZX deck and his M-500t power amps driving the stereo pair of Klipschorns in the very same room. Aside from now hearing the organ coming from all four corners as opposed from the front organ chambers, the recordings sounded virtually as live as the organ itself at near realistic levels...very impressive indeed, and sold me on the mating of Klipsch and Carver together! I've tried my Cornwalls thru my Carver M-400t and later a TFM-35x (controlled by both a C-1 and later a C-4000 pre with Sonic Hologram always bypassed), and was also pleased with the results (although nothing like the experience I had many years earlier with our friend's system above). Even in my tiny room the sonics were compelling and dynamic, but I later bought a used McIntosh MC7200 power amp and the soundscape totally opened up to a realistic high I hadn't heard before with the Carvers. Granted, had I never heard the Mac I could've easily lived with the Carvers with the Cornwalls. But the upgrade to the more expensive MC7200 led to a whole new level of musical excitement I hadn't achieved before...I wonder how our friend's four Khorns would've sounded with a pair of McIntosh amplifiers (guess I'll never know since he passed away years ago). FIY...years ago I drove two 8" Rockford Fosgate subwoofer drivers in a single DIY sealed 3 cubic foot enclosure powered by two Carver M-400t amps each bridged to 500 watts mono and a pro dbx active crossover with excellent results. Later also drove a 15" Dayton Audio sub driver in the same enclosure powered by one M-400t and an AudioControl Richter Scale Series III bass EQ/active crossover with much more punch and authority...Carvers make great subwoofer amps IMHO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.