Carver Crimson 275 Review (Tube Amp)

[LowBlow]

Mine are 68 pounds...

I was quoting spec from MusicDirect website.
Hmm…more evidence for “de-contented” production?
What year were yours manufactured?

 

[john2017]

No... Mine are a custom build that used granite and several other cosmetic improvements. Bob, at the time, was so impressed by their looks that he allowed me to put his name on them. Before there was another Carver company, Raven 350, there was the Granite 305... inspired by these.

 

[Canuck57]

I got so sunburnt on the beach the other day- my face is peeling! "wear a hat" she said. Did I listen? Nope.

No sympathy here, was -22C with windchill -27C a few days ago, and a huge dumping of snow today! :-(

 

[restorer-john]

No sympathy here, was -22C with windchill -27C a few days ago, and a huge dumping of snow today! :-(

Wow, truly polar opposite weather.

 

[tomchr]

The 1A fuse is referred to as a "cathode fuse" in the manual, but is labeled "B+ fuse" on the chassis. Clearly it is the latter based on the schematic (included in the manual), it immediately follows the reservoir cap at 685VDC.

700 V on a fuse holder that can be accessed by the user. Better be a high-voltage fuse holder then.

Tom

 

[Doodski]

I got so sunburnt on the beach the other day- my face is peeling! "wear a hat" she said. Did I listen? Nope.

Australia scares the heck outta me. All those poisonous things, sharks and crocs. I wouldn't step near the water...lol

 

[tomchr]

Australia scares the heck outta me. All those poisonous things, sharks and crocs. I wouldn't step near the water...lol

Yeah. At least the stuff that lives in snow doesn't jump up and bite you. Not usually anyway.

Tom

 

[Blumlein 88]

700 V on a fuse holder that can be accessed by the user. Better be a high-voltage fuse holder then.

Tom

As long as the fuse holder wears rubber gloves he should be fine holding the fuse.

 

[tomchr]

Ha-ha. Funny. Yeah. Linesman's gloves maybe.

These are fuse holders.

Tom

 

[Xulonn]

Yeah, but you gotta get those cables off the floor with little suspension-thingies, so as “to effectively address radio-frequency (RF) noise coupled from the floor into audio and AC cables”

Or you could just put everything on the floor (and of course, use the finest mpingo-wood double-decker cable risers)...

 

[HiFidFan]

But is this amp "musical"?

 

[Blumlein 88]

Or you could just put everything on the floor (and of course, use the finest mpingo-wood double-decker cable risers)...

View attachment 179864​

No damping on the exposed crossover coil or capacitors. And extra tubes lying underneath the wood riser will ring like a bell when sound waves hit them.

 

[Gringoaudio1]

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[restorer-john]

Australia scares the heck outta me. All those poisonous things, sharks and crocs. I wouldn't step near the water...lol

Honestly, it's just an image Australians seem to enjoy perpetuating. You guys have cougars and bears and some really fast things with big teeth.

I'm not really scared of any of our creatures except the Irukandji jellyfish. And they are coming slowly down the coast. We lose a few tourists every now and then up north to those tiny little buggers. You can't see them in the water, they are too small and clear.

The sting has been described as "100 times as potent as that of a cobra and 1,000 times stronger than a tarantula's"

 

[Doodski]

Honestly, it's just an image Australians seem to enjoy perpetuating. You guys have cougars and bears and some really fast things with big teeth.

I'm not really scared of any of our creatures except the Irukandji jellyfish. And they are coming slowly down the coast. We lose a few tourists every now and then up north to those tiny little buggers. You can't see them in the water, they are too small and clear.

View attachment 179873

Are those the ones where if a person is stung they need what amounts to a usually deadly dose of heroin (or whatever it is) as some sort of serious pain relief or they will have heart failure? I saw a documentary on TV about this. A guy and his gal where swimming and she suddenly started screaming and being totally in serious trouble and in pain. He said he knew what it was and they got her to a clinic where they immediately administered the pain relief. According to the docs she had minutes to live...

 

[abdo123]

It is entirely possible that Carver (the man) designed the circuit the 275 is based on but then had nothing to do with the decision to use 15 watt transformers and with the failure to meet Type I wiring requirements.

Honestly with almost 3000$ a piece i expect him to check each unit individually.

 

[traderitch]

Yeah I guess he did even though it is more or less the same thing I said I was just more curt. I know you don't like me using the word con. It isn't directed at you personally, but come on. Being blunt, whether it was Bob or Frank or Bob and Frank you've been had. I hate seeing such products which is maybe why I'm a little snippy about it. Especially as Bob Carver hasn't done this in the past. Doesn't mean you were foolish or stupid only that you were taken advantage of.

To fix this you need bigger OPTs, and a bigger PT. They have to be chosen to work at the correct impedances for the rest of the design. Then you need to adjust values in the rest of the circuit even keeping the same circuit. Maybe you were hoping a couple relatively simple changes could make it okay. Unfortunately not the case here. As someone else here earlier commented on it, you're better off ditching it and getting a different amp than fixing this one.

Obviously you don't know what you don't know. Which is another reason it really rubs me the wrong way that Bob Carver or someone on his behalf is trading his reputation for such a poor product. So don't take it personally from me, I'm not trying to make you look bad. I do think you've been more than generous giving the benefit of the doubt when plenty of info shows the truth now. '

My apologies if my comments seemed directed at you in a manner derogatory toward you. That wasn't my intent, and maybe I've stepped over the line in that respect.

I appreciate the thoughtful reply.

There are other replies directed at me that lack context.
I understand that this topic has an inordinate amount of responses and that replies can easily be missed.

I have mentioned this in several threads - I own the CF275 not the production unit.
While the results of the tests are revealing and disappointing, I didn’t have to leverage my children’s 529 plans and reach for the CF275, my cost was negligible.
It’s used in a small office system.

I also own the Crimson 350 mono blocks, which are part of my main audio system. There are six full vintage systems in my house (along with ten additional Sonos zones) I am fortunate to be able to swap SS amps in and out of different listening locations.

I am going to bookmark this response for easy reference, invariably someone else will miss the basis for my position.

 

[tomtoo]

Honestly, it's just an image Australians seem to enjoy perpetuating. You guys have cougars and bears and some really fast things with big teeth.

I'm not really scared of any of our creatures except the Irukandji jellyfish. And they are coming slowly down the coast. We lose a few tourists every now and then up north to those tiny little buggers. You can't see them in the water, they are too small and clear.

The sting has been described as "100 times as potent as that of a cobra and 1,000 times stronger than a tarantula's"

View attachment 179873

Wow! What a bad little sucker.

I love germany. I think the most poisenes creature we have are honeybees.

 

[restorer-john]

I also own the Crimson 350 mono blocks, which are part of my main audio system.

Might not be a bad idea to pop the base plate and have a look at the IEC jack. If this image is anything to go by, we may have another unearthed product. Do you really want to risk your or your wife/children's safety by not checking?

Image source :

Crimson 350 Mono Block. Naked Picture. – Carver Stereo Forum

Zoomed. Nothing attached to the earth pin...

Mmmm. And the 4R and 8R 'tapping' terminals on the back panel are connected internally together. Notice the shorting link. The deception gets worse the more you pay it seems.

 

[john2017]

The grounding pin you are highlighting is not required to be used. My home was built in 1963, and is a two wire system with no “earth” wire to any outlet in my home. I am sure this would be the case with many homes in the US built before the codes changed and will vary from state to state.