Carver Crimson 275 Review (Tube Amp)

[EchoChamber]

What baffles me is that to make this amp safe and hum free doesn’t take much effort. They are taking a lazy design approach. Not counting total disrespect to their customers by disregarding their safety.

 

[Billy Budapest]

So, we have the esteemed Ralph Karsten @atmasphere joining in. Excellent. Why doesn’t Bob Carver come on by? It would be great to interact with him.

 

[audioholic63]

What baffles me is that to make this amp safe and hum free doesn’t take much effort. They are taking a lazy design approach. Not counting total disrespect to their customers by disregarding their safety.

I have direct experience with exactly two Carver designed amplifiers. One was a Carver stereo receiver that my father bought circa 1996 (maybe earlier?), the other my (now dead) Sunfire Cinema Grand, bought in 1997. Both had ground loop hum that I could never eliminate. My only functional solution for the Sunfire were increasingly less sensitive speakers. My ET LFT8b were pretty much dead silent but are 83db. A set of B&W Matrix 803 at 91db (I think) were horrible. I came to the conclusion that ground loop hum was a Carver design spec.

 

[Doodski]

I have direct experience with exactly two Carver designed amplifiers. On was a Carver stereo receiver that my father bought circa 1996, the other my (now dead) Sunfire Cinema Grand, bought in 1997. Both had ground loop hum that I could never eliminate. My only functional solution for the Sunfire were increasingly less sensitive speakers. My ET LFT8b were pretty much dead silent but are 83db. A set of B&W Matrix 803 at 91db (I think) were horrible. I came to the conclusion that ground loop hum was a Carver design spec.

I retailed Carver for some years in the 80's and sold a ton of gear. No ground issues at all just happy camper customers. It must have started ~in the 90's?

 

[john2017]

Carver 180 Monobloc:

This amp was built by the folks at Emotiva...

 

[Blumlein 88]

Carver 180 Monobloc:

It is double insulated. That is the what the double square next to 120 vac is to indicate. Now if we could just see inside of it.

 

[Sal1950]

It is double insulated. That is the what the double square next to 120 vac is to indicate. Now if we could just see inside of it.

Thanks D, I never knew that.
I can see that the AC connector has no ground terminal on it.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Thanks D, I never knew that.
I can see that the AC connector has no ground terminal on it.

If you look on your Marantz pre/pro it is the same way. No 3rd pin and double insulated.

Who knows this may be the re-work Carver does for this amp. Mail each owner a sticker with the double square to affix near the power plug.

I might be wrong, but it is my understanding you qualify for double insulated even if some uninsulated parts are within. Those parts however must be made so that if one end comes loose it cannot breach the distance to the casework or any other powered part. In other words air is your 2nd insulator. With the power transformer and output transformers mounted like on this amp I don't see how you can claim that. Those can short internally leading to voltage on the outer case.

 

[Sal1950]

If you look on your Marantz pre/pro it is the same way. No 3rd pin and double insulated.

Ah, had to get out a mirror to test you.
I knew there was no ground for the AC but you were right, the little double square thingy is there too.

 

[tomelex]

So, we have the esteemed Ralph Karsten @atmasphere joining in. Excellent. Why doesn’t Bob Carver come on by? It would be great to interact with him.

I have been wondering about that too, he must have got wind of this by now.

As I have read this entire thread to this point, Carver was on about people not using ground connections properly to measure his amps in one of the posts about his amps in general, not this particular amp. Now, I am just conveying what he said.

I do agree that we have an ungrounded chassis and that is a safety concern and electronics 101.

There are two things I am thinking here, one is Bob Carver is bound by some sort of prior agreement that he cannot "disrespect" a product with his name on it, and two it may follow that he does not have design control of this amp production or oversight authority.

Bob Carver is someone I watched through the years come up with all kinds of "out of box" thinking, in FM receivers, magnetics, and even a few years ago this bias circuit that he claims tremendously increases power tube life. He is an innovator and I am going to have to assume that he does not have control over basically anything in this amp and has a gag order so I suppose he will not show up here to "inform" us what is going on. And if I am right this is a shame, just a damn shame.

Maybe, like my cousin is now, once a multi-millionaire and now in retirement has to work to make ends meet, I don't know, who knows, so his name is rubbished in the workmanship and execution of this particular unit design.

 

[Jpahere]

The same is true with SVS and many other audio manufacturers.
Crutchfield has a generous return policy.

One of the Carver dealers that posted in this thread offered to do the same
for units he had sold.

For purposes of discussion:

I am not sure if Emotiva‘s policy prohibits a buyer from opening the case of the product. It’s quite possible that may void their policy. Paul didn’t state whether
his communications with the dealer included his intent.

Be patient

Which dealer are you referring to? I bought mine from music direct ( over 3 months ago). I plan to return it. I have a feeling if I try to return to Carver they will balk.

 

[Bob Carver]

It has come to my attention that my amplifier design has come under sharp criticism on this forum. I am compelled to say that the 275 is safe as it is wired and assembled, and performs as it was designed. If a customer were to choose to utilize the earth ground pin of the IEC plug (to be connected to the chassis), this can be done at no cost. This design was well considered, and follows a long history of excellent products.

The 275 is a powerful, easy to listen to amplifier. I am happy with its design. In fact, this is one of the best designs I have produced. If for any reason a customer is disappointed in the performance or sound quality of this amplifier, they may return it for a full refund. The general reception of the 275 to date has been that of a high quality design, one that does not disappoint in any respect. The performance as it was measured by Amir does not do justice to the sound engineering of the 275.

I am not going to explain or attempt to refute the reasoning behind each criticism that has been made, the product speaks for itself and stands on its history of satisfaction. This amplifier was not designed to measure the best, it was designed to sound the best, and it does so at an affordable price in relation to products it might be fairly compared to. It is unfortunate for this type of bad press to make such an impression on people not directly familiar with the amplifier.

In conclusion, such criticism would be much harder to support in the presence of a 275 playing music. It would be all but impossible to argue that it’s deficient in any way when you experience the actual musical performance. I stand by that. The sound character of this amplifier is exactly what I wanted it to be. For any person with a 275 wanting to change the grounding or get a refund, email [email protected].

Over and out,
Bob Carver

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

It has come to my attention that my amplifier design has come under sharp criticism on this forum. I am compelled to say that the 275 is safe as it is wired and assembled, and performs as it was designed. If a customer were to choose to utilize the earth ground pin of the IEC plug (to be connected to the chassis), this can be done at no cost. This design was well considered, and follows a long history of excellent products.

The 275 is a powerful, easy to listen to amplifier. I am happy with its design. In fact, this is one of the best designs I have produced. If for any reason a customer is disappointed in the performance or sound quality of this amplifier, they may return it for a full refund. The general reception of the 275 to date has been that of a high quality design, one that does not disappoint in any respect. The performance as it was measured by Amir does not do justice to the sound engineering of the 275.

I am not going to explain or attempt to refute the reasoning behind each criticism that has been made, the product speaks for itself and stands on its history of satisfaction. This amplifier was not designed to measure the best, it was designed to sound the best, and it does so at an affordable price in relation to products it might be fairly compared to. It is unfortunate for this type of bad press to make such an impression on people not directly familiar with the amplifier.

In conclusion, such criticism would be much harder to support in the presence of a 275 playing music. It would be all but impossible to argue that it’s deficient in any way when you experience the actual musical performance. I stand by that. The sound character of this amplifier is exactly what I wanted it to be. For any person with a 275 wanting to change the grounding or get a refund, email [email protected].

Over and out,
Bob Carver

Bot.

 

[Blumlein 88]

It has come to my attention that my amplifier design has come under sharp criticism on this forum. I am compelled to say that the 275 is safe as it is wired and assembled, and performs as it was designed. If a customer were to choose to utilize the earth ground pin of the IEC plug (to be connected to the chassis), this can be done at no cost. This design was well considered, and follows a long history of excellent products.

The 275 is a powerful, easy to listen to amplifier. I am happy with its design. In fact, this is one of the best designs I have produced. If for any reason a customer is disappointed in the performance or sound quality of this amplifier, they may return it for a full refund. The general reception of the 275 to date has been that of a high quality design, one that does not disappoint in any respect. The performance as it was measured by Amir does not do justice to the sound engineering of the 275.

I am not going to explain or attempt to refute the reasoning behind each criticism that has been made, the product speaks for itself and stands on its history of satisfaction. This amplifier was not designed to measure the best, it was designed to sound the best, and it does so at an affordable price in relation to products it might be fairly compared to. It is unfortunate for this type of bad press to make such an impression on people not directly familiar with the amplifier.

In conclusion, such criticism would be much harder to support in the presence of a 275 playing music. It would be all but impossible to argue that it’s deficient in any way when you experience the actual musical performance. I stand by that. The sound character of this amplifier is exactly what I wanted it to be. For any person with a 275 wanting to change the grounding or get a refund, email [email protected].

Over and out,
Bob Carver

Why do you lie about the power of the amp? Did you have to use 15 watt transformers to get the sound you wanted? IF so you still can't claim it is a 75 watt per channel amp as it is not.

 

[Doodski]

It has come to my attention that my amplifier design has come under sharp criticism on this forum. I am compelled to say that the 275 is safe as it is wired and assembled, and performs as it was designed. If a customer were to choose to utilize the earth ground pin of the IEC plug (to be connected to the chassis), this can be done at no cost. This design was well considered, and follows a long history of excellent products.

The 275 is a powerful, easy to listen to amplifier. I am happy with its design. In fact, this is one of the best designs I have produced. If for any reason a customer is disappointed in the performance or sound quality of this amplifier, they may return it for a full refund. The general reception of the 275 to date has been that of a high quality design, one that does not disappoint in any respect. The performance as it was measured by Amir does not do justice to the sound engineering of the 275.

I am not going to explain or attempt to refute the reasoning behind each criticism that has been made, the product speaks for itself and stands on its history of satisfaction. This amplifier was not designed to measure the best, it was designed to sound the best, and it does so at an affordable price in relation to products it might be fairly compared to. It is unfortunate for this type of bad press to make such an impression on people not directly familiar with the amplifier.

In conclusion, such criticism would be much harder to support in the presence of a 275 playing music. It would be all but impossible to argue that it’s deficient in any way when you experience the actual musical performance. I stand by that. The sound character of this amplifier is exactly what I wanted it to be. For any person with a 275 wanting to change the grounding or get a refund, email [email protected].

Over and out,
Bob Carver

If you really are Bob carver I gave you a like for having the character to come here to ASR. We have been anticipating your presence.

 

[paulbottlehead]

Bot.

I would tend to agree, having Bob Carver show up to defend fusing mains neutral among other things is a bit suspect.

 

[BurntFinger]

Over and Out?

Not Bob....

 

[Doodski]

Over and Out?

Not Bob....

Lol.. and now Bob Carver is going to get lotsa emails.... rflmao

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Over and Out?

Not Bob....

if (Bob){
provide technical details
}
else {
!Bob
}

 

[john2017]

I would tend to agree, having Bob Carver show up to defend fusing mains neutral among other things is a bit suspect.

It's him... He has a distinct way he communicates, and this is spot on. From the horse's mouth, as it were, He has reached out and agreed to personally take care of the issues with grounding, even offering full refunds. Those that feel the need to do so, email him directly and let him do what you want him to do. Let's give the man a chance and stop dragging his name through the mud.