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Carver Crimson 275 Review (Tube Amp)

Rate this amplifier

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 379 95.0%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 5 1.3%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 6 1.5%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 9 2.3%

  • Total voters
    399

paulbottlehead

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Any way to calculate the output power knowing the input voltage and amp specs?

Is it “gain”? irrespective of the voltage in the amp multiplies it by this constant multiplier?
Generally, you work the other way. An output power rating is measured for a piece of gear, gain is known, and from that you would derive input sensitivity for full power.
 

respice finem

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No, and certification is an expensive process perfomed by third parties. That aside, no company selling products like this should be without it. One lawsuit, and they're done.
A lawsuit won't bring anybody's life back. Next time this is the first thing for me to check before buying anything with a mains plug...
 

Zackthedog

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You have not had a transformer or other line component fail and short to the chassis. And/or have not stuck your fingers in the wrong place in just the right way to get electrocuted. Or you are a ghost. :)

Some of my scariest moments in my tech days were when a transformer primary shorted to the case, raising it to line voltage. Seen it several times, but fortunately just a shock and recovery, no injuries except a burn or two. I did lose some 'scope probes.
I've had that happen, on a big Acro TO-330.
 

Martin

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Martin,

I don't understand your reasoning...
Painting with a broad brush.

What’s not to understand? I’ve been looking at higher powered tube monoblocks for years. The Bob Carver name meant something at one time. I love the looks of this Model 275 and the Model 350 monoblocks. Turns out the 275 is absolute junk. What are the odds that the monoblocks from the same family are OK? Slim to none in my estimation. That’s a $9,500 gamble I’m unwilling to take.

Martin
 
Last edited:

paulbottlehead

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I wonder how long C32 lasts at 450VDC rating seeing 685VDC continuously.
It should be at about 1/2 B+.

When I get the amp back from Amir, I am interested in measuring start-up voltage on C36 and C37, as well as C21, C20, and C19. C19 in particular is shown as a 250V part that I suspect sees 700+V at startup until the driver tubes start to conduct.
 

TriodeLuvr

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What’s not to understand? I’ve been looking at higher powered tube monoblocks for years. The Bob Carver name meant something at one time. I love the looks of this Model 275 and the Model 350 monoblocks. Turns out the 275 is absolute junk. What are the odds that the monoblocks from the same family are OK? Slim to none in my estimation. That’s a $9,500 gamble I’m unwilling to take.

Martin
Bob Carver was never a tube guru, and he hasn't been accused of SS innovation in any form for at least the last three decades. The shortcomings of this product are truly appalling, but not entirely unexpected.

Jack
 

traderitch

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What’s not to understand? I’ve been looking at higher powered tube monoblocks for years. The Bob Carver name meant something at one time. I love the looks of this Model 275 and the Model 350 monoblocks. Turns out the 275 is absolute junk. What are the odds that the monoblocks from the same family are OK? Slim to none in my estimation.

Martin
Martin,

I own the 350's and they perform very well.
Their power and the sound produced is fantastic. Is it 350wpc - I don't know.

Here is something to think about:
I drive a Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic.
Land Rover rates it at 518 hp. I am very happy with its performance yet never have put it on a Dyno.
If it were to measure at 400 hp - it wouldn't change my ownership status.

The same can be said about the amps in question.
You may want to ask the dealers how many have been returned because they buyer didn't like the sound (subjective) or felt that
they were not powerful enough for their systems.
 

L0rdGwyn

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It should be at about 1/2 B+.

When I get the amp back from Amir, I am interested in measuring start-up voltage on C36 and C37, as well as C21, C20, and C19. C19 in particular is shown as a 250V part that I suspect sees 700+V at startup until the driver tubes start to conduct.

Yes, I see C32 it is only seeing 1/2 B+1. But the other caps will see the full 700V+ at startup like you say, ouch. Would benefit from a delayed application of B+ to allow the heaters to warm. Throw a soft start in too while you're at it!
 

paulbottlehead

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Here is something to think about:
I drive a Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic.
Land Rover rates it at 518 hp. I am very happy with its performance yet never have put it on a Dyno.
If it were to measure at 400 hp - it wouldn't change my ownership status.
What if you put it on the dyno and it made 3.5HP? Based on Amir's measurements, this particular amp makes 150x less power than it's supposed to at 15kHz, so that would be a proper adjustment of your analogy.
 

traderitch

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What if you put it on the dyno and it made 3.5HP? Based on Amir's measurements, this particular amp makes 150x less power than it's supposed to at 15kHz, so that would be a proper adjustment of your analogy.

If it snapped my head back and pressed my body against the seat... 3.5 hp is fine with me
 

TriodeLuvr

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A lawsuit won't bring anybody's life back. Next time this is the first thing for me to check before buying anything with a mains plug...
A great deal of high quality, niche-market equipment has been manufactured over the years that did not have certification, but which was perfectly safe. Then there are certified products that sometimes fail to protect due to manufacturing errors. The only real guarantee of safety is to inspect the individual piece internally or use an ohmmeter to be sure the chassis is connected to the third wire ground.
 

Matias

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What a a piece of JUNK! I mean this might take the position of the worse piece of junk Amir has ever had on the test bench, factoring in the price.
To me the worst ever was that home made DAC full of bad solder and wires hanging, it was beyond words. A shame (or luck?) that I forgot its name to link it here....

Edit: found it! Beware clicking the link below... You have been warned.

 

jhaider

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I drive a Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic.
Land Rover rates it at 518 hp. I am very happy with its performance yet never have put it on a Dyno.
If it were to measure at 400 hp - it wouldn't change my ownership status.

That kind of deception, however, likely keep many, many attorneys gainfully billing to an MDL (multi district litigation).

With fourth tier audio garbage, the specs are not regulated, the sales numbers likely don’t likely justify a class action, and the companies are too poor to make it worth anything to the attorneys, let alone the prospective plaintiffs. Also the prospective plaintiffs are generally not that smart, so they justify nonsense instead of getting angry.
 

Martin

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Martin,

I own the 350's and they perform very well.
Their power and the sound produced is fantastic. Is it 350wpc - I don't know.

Here is something to think about:
I drive a Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic.
Land Rover rates it at 518 hp. I am very happy with its performance yet never have put it on a Dyno.
If it were to measure at 400 hp - it wouldn't change my ownership status.

The same can be said about the amps in question.
You may want to ask the dealers how many have been returned because they buyer didn't like the sound (subjective) or felt that
they were not powerful enough for their systems.

Automobile manufacturers fix their cars when they don't meet published specs:
Will the Bob Carver Corporation fix their under-performing amplifiers?

Martin
 

Spkrdctr

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