This is an old ramble from 2014. My thinking has changed over the years and I should probably delete this, but what the heck-
I’m toying with the possibility of having a full Carver system based around the Amazing speakers. I’m also thinking about dumping the Carver speakers and heading off in a different direction.
That might sound a bit strange to most people, but I’m factoring in the cost of what it might take to make the Carver Amazing ‘competitive’, and I’m seeing some interesting ‘finished’ speakers at or around the same price point.
But the possibility of running a full Carver setup is intriguing.
I don’t know if the idea is irrational. I don’t think it is, but it’s hard to explain it in a way that would make sense to a rational person.
I think Bob Carver is seriously underrated in high-end circles.
I think some of his creations ought to be licensed and used in a wide range of products, like THX is, or Dolby or whatever. His sonic holography and phase linear designs etc should be out there and making him a very wealthy guy.
Instead, I think he’s struggling in an industry that doesn’t give him the respect he’s earned. Sure, he’s made some big PR mistakes in the past. The fiasco where he used his transfer function theory to create a solid-state amp that was sonically indistinguishable from a tube amp, was kinda like a circus act, and it didn’t make him many friends.
And the same with the evolution of his ‘Amazing’ speaker system. He had the ear of the people who could’ve helped him launch this speaker successfully to the masses, yet he pissed them off and basically ended up dropping the whole messy affair. (read the Stereophile review of the Carver Amazing Platinum, which was basically being designed and redesigned throughout the reviewing process).
What has me lathered up at the moment is the Sunfire Signature 600 amp. Many consider this, with its load invariant technology, to be one of the best amps for driving low impedance designs and/or planar/’stat designs. Depending on the model, it delivers 600 or 625 watts into 8 ohms and doubles up as the impedance halves. It achieves this performance with some pretty interesting design concepts.
In its day the Sig 600-two sold for around $2995 to $3500. They don’t appear too often on the used market, but when they do it’s interesting to see how quickly they’re snaffled up and the high used prices they fetch.
I saw one appear on eBay 24 hours ago with a $1.00 starting price. Within 24 hrs it was up at $2000 with 8 days to go. I wouldn’t be surprised if that fetches more than it was purchased for when new (the owner bought 2 for his HT system, I doubt he paid anywhere near the full $3500 retail price). Given that the amp was made somewhere around 2005-7, that’s some achievement and reflects the cult status this gear has attained.
Anyway. It’s a thought. Having a tricked-out Carver Amazing driven by a pair of Sunfire Signature 600-two’s, with a tricked-out Sonic Holography CT1 or 4000T preamp…..that could be one sweet-sounding rig.
2014
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