Carver Crimson 275 Review (Tube Amp)

[Xulonn]

Interesting that power rating is stated for short period of time!

Does that mean until you get one to measure it?

 

[DonH56]

I would interpret the power rating as 85 W continuous, 100 W "burst" (short periods of time).

Curious to see if this ever gets measured here (or anywhere).

 

[MoreWatts]

Didn't Carver simply re-brand the ASR tested "275" (now discontinued) into the "Black Magic 25?" Voila! Output now at 25 watts continuous instead of 75? Meanwhile, the discontinued, but not re-packaged, old 275s, get sent out as "loaners" while you await the new 285? That new 285 is gonna sound a lot more powerful, and therefore improved, over that 275 you got to listen to for awhile.

 

[Holmz]

What is there to complain about?
The advertising seems pretty true, as they clearly state ”Black Magic” in the name of it.

 

[dieselmilk]

Didn't Carver simply re-brand the ASR tested "275" (now discontinued) into the "Black Magic 25?" Voila! Output now at 25 watts continuous instead of 75? Meanwhile, the discontinued, but not re-packaged, old 275s, get sent out as "loaners" while you await the new 285? That new 285 is gonna sound a lot more powerful, and therefore improved, over that 275 you got to listen to for awhile.

Thought this exactly. Loaner sounds like garbage so the power increase tricks you into thinking you made a good purchase.

 

[JP]

Didn't Carver simply re-brand the ASR tested "275" (now discontinued) into the "Black Magic 25?" Voila! Output now at 25 watts continuous instead of 75? Meanwhile, the discontinued, but not re-packaged, old 275s, get sent out as "loaners" while you await the new 285? That new 285 is gonna sound a lot more powerful, and therefore improved, over that 275 you got to listen to for awhile.

Looks like he's doubling down: https://www.bobcarvercorp.com/product-page/bob-carver-black-magic-275-stereo-compact-tube-amp. Same OPTs even.


Specifications:

Rated Power
75 watts per channel @ 1KHz into eight ohm resistive load with no more than 1% total harmonic distortion. Distortion decreases at lower levels and when driving dynamic loudspeaker loads.

Frequency Response:
20Hz to 20kHz +0 -.8dB @ 1w into 8 ohms.

Distortion:
Less than 1.0% THD. 1kHz @75w

Line Inputs:
Gold-plated RCAs

Speaker Outputs:
Gold-plated 5-way binding posts

Input Impedance:
100 Kohms (RCA)

Gain:
29 dB (8 ohms)

Tube Complement:
One 12AX7, two 12AT7’s, four KT120’s (optional: KT88 or 6550)

Hum and Noise:
Better than 100 dB below 75 Watts, A-weighted.

Bias:
Rear panel potentiometer adjust, front panel meter

Output Transformers:
Interleaved windings, super wide-band, low leakage inductance, proprietary Bob Carver design EM0946 produced by Edcor.

Color:
Satin black, gold, chrome

Dimensions/Weight:
14" x 7" x 9.5" (W x H x D) / 19 lbs

Country of Origin:
United States of America

Chassis and Tube Warranty:
5 years

 

[SIY]

Edcor? Huh. They’re known for lowest cost.

 

[JP]

Ya, and still the ones with the 15W rating.

 

[atmasphere]

Edcor? Huh. They’re known for lowest cost.

Edcor makes some pretty nice parts but they have two lines. The ones I've seen in the photos look like the budget line. I've used a 10-Watt transformer they make in a little 5W/channel amp I made and the specs were pretty good- I had full power to 100KHz. But that was from their higher end line.

 

[Cbdb2]

Distortion decreases at lower levels and when driving dynamic loudspeaker loads.

How does a real speaker that might dip to 3ohms have less distortion than an 8 ohm resistor?

 

[mhardy6647]

I've used a 10-Watt transformer they make in a little 5W/channel amp I made

apostasy!

(just kidding, @atmasphere -- even the cheap Edcor iron seems like a pretty good value to me for hobbyist use... you know, for those of us who are into transformers)

 

[JP]

How does a real speaker that might dip to 3ohms have less distortion than an 8 ohm resistor?

Didn’t make sense to me either.

 

[mhardy6647]

Didn’t make sense to me either.

We really need to get Dr. Carver workin' on fossil fuel replacements for energy production. Heck, he could render point-of-use nuclear fusion practical in our lifetime! Just need to use a DC restorer circuit, I'm guessing...

 

[Rottmannash]

We really need to get Dr. Carver workin' on fossil fuel replacements for energy production. Heck, he could render point-of-use nuclear fusion practical in our lifetime! Just need to use a DC restorer circuit, I'm guessing...

and get him working on cold fusion while he's at it.

 

[mhardy6647]

and get him working on cold fusion while he's at it.

Yep.
If anyone could do it...