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Carver Raven 350 Review (Tube Amp)

Rate this amplifier:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 269 82.8%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 29 8.9%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 17 5.2%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 10 3.1%

  • Total voters
    325

mhardy6647

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It could be years of being exposed to the sound of my drum kits or dialing in the scope on my Weatherby 300 Mag…but these sound wonderful to me...
That's the kind of customer testimonial Jim and Bob are looking for, I'm sure.
Note this is not a personal attack. Hearing loss is nothing to attack; it's an unfortunate byproduct of modern life for many folks, this poster included.

I, for one, like my 99 cent resistors.
A testable hypothesis. :cool:

On topic (sort of) and FWIW: I think that the Bob Carver Corporation, or whatever the current morph of this company is being called, is selling pretty much the same basket of dreams as Nelson Pass's companies. Carver's doing it, I'd opine, in a bit more ham-fisted, 1950s-American-style way than Nelson.
Carver: "You want tubes? We'll give you so many tubes you'll swoon!"
"As many tubes as an OTL amp! But wait, there's more! We give you the OPT's, too!"

Carver%20Silver%207.jpg
 

Loomynarty

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The high frequency accentuation is perfect for the demographic that buys these amps. It probably sounds closer to neutral due to their hearing loss.
 

egellings

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EL34 and 6550 have the same pinout, but a 6550 may run away in an EL34 socket since the G1 bias voltage is lower in magnitude for the EL34 and may not hold the bigger tube off from drawing too much plate current and running away in a fixed bias arrangement. With cathode biasing, YMMV.
 

GXAlan

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EL34 and 6550 have the same pinout, but a 6550 may run away in an EL34 socket since the G1 bias voltage is lower in magnitude for the EL34 and may not hold the bigger tube off from drawing too much plate current and running away in a fixed bias arrangement. With cathode biasing, YMMV.
Great point. I am running a SFS-80 which is not a fixed bias design. The SFS-80 is built for the higher current tubes so going with an EL34 works.
In contrast the SFS-40 is built for EL34 and can be a bad idea with the 6550’s.
 

dougi

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That's the kind of customer testimonial Jim and Bob are looking for, I'm sure.
Note this is not a personal attack. Hearing loss is nothing to attack; it's an unfortunate byproduct of modern life for many folks, this poster included.


A testable hypothesis. :cool:

On topic (sort of) and FWIW: I think that the Bob Carver Corporation, or whatever the current morph of this company is being called, is selling pretty much the same basket of dreams as Nelson Pass's companies. Carver's doing it, I'd opine, in a bit more ham-fisted, 1950s-American-style way than Nelson.
Carver: "You want tubes? We'll give you so many tubes you'll swoon!"
"As many tubes as an OTL amp! But wait, there's more! We give you the OPT's, too!"

Carver%20Silver%207.jpg
Woah, you might have to take out a loan when it comes time to replace those output tubes, 40 x KT120, but it has a "lifetime tube warranty", hopefully yours rather than Bobs.
 

DonR

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Woah, you might have to take out a loan when it comes time to replace those output tubes, 40 x KT120, but it has a "lifetime tube warranty", hopefully yours rather than Bobs.
Perfect for tube rolling! Just listen for the subtle differences that only the most discerning golden ear can pick up.
 

dougi

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Perfect for tube rolling! Just listen for the subtle differences that only the most discerning golden ear can pick up.
I can't find the power consumption listed on the website anywhere. It must be horrific, especially the current required for 110V countries. It does have that auto power saving at idle at least though.
 

DonR

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I can't find the power consumption listed on the website anywhere. It must be horrific, especially the current required for 110V countries. It does have that auto power saving at idle at least though.
Probably makes a reasonable substitute for a baseboard heater.
 

Ken Tajalli

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The high frequency accentuation is perfect for the demographic that buys these amps. It probably sounds closer to neutral due to their hearing loss.
You mean a frequency response of 20-20kHz within +/- 0.3dB!
This demographic must be blessed with super hearing. :cool:
 

DonH56

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Perfect for tube rolling! Just listen for the subtle differences that only the most discerning golden ear can pick up.
Be sure to change just one tube at a time, or at most a matched pair, to hear any subtle changes that arise. :rolleyes:
 

welsh

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Well I'm a guitarist, and always on the lookout for the best 'dirty' tube sound. ;)
I tend to prefer a valve amp with a great ‘clean’ sound and lots of headroom (most big Fenders fit the bill) and get the dirt from pedals. All the legendary drive pedals are solid-state.
 

welsh

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IP law actually would be engaged there - Carver wouldn't be able to use the name of the reference amp in the model number, and would have to be very careful about the way he used the name in advertising materials, or he could run afoul of trademark laws. Easier to just be cagey.
I seem to remember that Stereophile didn’t identify the ‘perfectionist’ reference amp used in the Carver Challenge. Presumably so as not to annoy a valued advertiser…
 

welsh

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It's a tube amp. It's supposed to sound different. It's supposed to look different. Take away either, and there's no point to it.

Back in the day, tube amplifiers tried to minimise noise and distortions, and a few managed to achieve audible transparency, albeit at some high cost, especially in the quality of the output transformers. SS amps made all of that detailed circuit design unnecessary, so the only way tube amps would still sell is to sound audibly different, i.e. higher distortion, higher output impedance (which changed the frequency response of the loudspeakers ) and steam-punk looks which appeals to those so inclined.

There's zero reason to buy a new tube amp just for HiFi.

S.
It’s worth remembering that at the peak of valve amplifier technology, no ‘hi fi’ designer would contemplate using single-ended triode designs. They were fit only for jukeboxes and cheap radiograms. Now SET amps are the holy grail for rich old people who can’t hear above 10KHZ.
 

welsh

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Not necessarily. I mean among tubes of the same type. One 12AX7 sounds the same as another in the frequency response domain.

EL84s definitely sound different than 6V6s to me, for example. But it is difficult to create a valid double blind listening test or null test, because required differences in the output circuits can sound different. And if the circuits are not optimized for each tube, one tube will have its gain structure and/or output impedance compromised at the very least.

If I still had all the stuff to do it, I would quickly build a simple class A, single-ended amplifier with both octal and noval power tube sockets and attempt a null test. Imagine what a successful null test would do to the tube sniffing musicians out there?

(I still love my tube amps, but I have also embraced digital modeling and solid state power amps.)
I have lots of valve guitar amps (I prefer 6V6 and 6L6 designs) but recently a solid-state Boss Nextone Special is getting played most. It surprised me.
 

Blumlein 88

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I seem to remember that Stereophile didn’t identify the ‘perfectionist’ reference amp used in the Carver Challenge. Presumably so as not to annoy a valued advertiser…
At some point they did. Conrad-Johnson Premier either 4 or 5. I also think at the time they only took ads from audio dealers not from manufacturers.
 

welsh

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At some point they did. Conrad-Johnson Premier either 4 or 5. I also think at the time they only took ads from audio dealers not from manufacturers.
They certainly didn’t identify the ‘perfectionalist’ amplifier at the the time of the ‘challenge’. I’m sure you’re right about the advertising, although it’s weird to imagine an issue of Stereophile without wall-to-wall manufacturer ads! Notably, the team distanced themselves from the Carver Challenge, with JA claiming (as I remember) that LONG TIME listening revealed the essential differences. As in, more money inevitably buys you superior sound.
 
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