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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

Matt_Holland

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Ironically -- though they're not necessarily the best test data extant, the most-quoted "test" to date is probably still the Carver amplifier challenge.


PS I've got to give Stereophile credit for Footnote 2 in the above reference, referring to Carver's many, whimsically-monikered "innovations" of that bygone era:



OVtfM_XGjzeceqOpkVSAL9sH1j4EJwBGXULNO1oCk8Q.jpg

SPL-1.jpg



It's got a horn-loaded Hemi. I mean, does it get any more American? ;)
Ref the Carver amp challenge I read about that yesterday. Absolutely amazing! Added to the ABX amp tests published in Stereo Review it amazes me that people still spend more than a couple of grand max on an amp in the name of sound quality.

Ref the Hemi-horn (sounds sexual) that is indeed about as Mercan as it gets! “F&@k yeah!!!”
 

fpitas

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fpitas

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Amazing! This is a world I didn’t know existed.

U
S
A
It's not so different in design than the garden variety LS motors from Chevy. Just...big.
 

anmpr1

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First time I heard Maggies, it was a co-worker with a Micro Seiki TT, Audio Research SP5 (improved SP4) and a Moscode 300 power amp. Thought it was weird the preamp had no tone controls. AR made a solid state power amp. One of only two power amps to have passed the Swedish series amplifier test. I've owned a Counterpoint hybrid amp.

Thanks for the historical rundown. Story I heard about ARC and tone controls is that Harry Pearson thought preamps sounded better without 'em, and he did have a lot of consumer influence in the 'high end' market. So manufacturers went along. Features were always considered 'unmusical' in tweako electronics. I'm just guessing, but I think the 'bare bones' designs indicated that the designer was somehow more 'serious' for it. Also, it distinguished American high-end offerings from Japanese gear, which always came with more features than you'd ever want to use. Not to mention it was cheaper for these small outfits to manufacture minimalist.

Going against the grain, Jim Bongiorno always said you needed balance and tone controls, and a lot of switching. And Carver always had a handful of add-ons in his product line.

Compare the Levinson JC-2 with the Yamaha C-1. The Yamaha cost almost twice that of the JC-2. At least at the beginning of its run. Funny thing about Mark-- his first preamp was feature packed, as was his later Cello gear--both designed under the influence of Richard Burwen. So it wasn't an ideological thing against tone controls, etc. Just marketing.

My next guess is that NYAL sold more Moscode ITs (a little line level phono stage add on which was supposed to give Japanese receivers that missing hybrid tube magic) than all their big iron put together. At least most people could afford one of those.

yamaha_c_1_2018-1.jpg

mark_levinson_jc-2_stereo_preamplifier.jpg
 

fpitas

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I'm definitely a fan of tone and balance controls. These days it can be done without resorting to potentiometers, which can be troublesome.
 

Blumlein 88

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Pretty sure the one here has a two-prong plug. I'll look anon.
I mean, I could pack it up and ship it west - - mine's 'as found' though so probably not quite up to snuff even by early/mid-70s standards. ;) It does work, though* and sounded perfectly OK when last assessed. :p
I don't know if it blocks DC at the inputs or not. I do have the original manuals for those two hombres, as it happens :) -- the Crown manuals of that era are quite entertaining to read (BTW). :D

__________________
* I don't think it is possible to kill Crown products of that era. Maybe a silver stake through the P/S would do it -- or something involving a crucifix. :cool::eek::oops:;):facepalm:
Bit of a mix up. My last post was about the new Carver offering.
 

egellings

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Yeah, you didn't exactly have a broad array of choices in output devices back then. You made do with what you could get. And some older amps didn't have the blocking inductor and Zobel network at the speaker output that everybody tosses in now by habit, so the output transistors would sometimes violently oscillate and destroy themselves mysteriously. Fun times.
Lower voltage output transistors were plentiful, but in that voltage range, those CRT-type TV transistors were all that was readily available.
 

fpitas

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Lower voltage output transistors were plentiful, but in that voltage range, those CRT-type TV transistors were all that was readily available.
All the power transistors were just awful by modern standards.
 

Blumlein 88

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its power plant contained a newly designed Firepower Hemi V8 engine with a displacement of 331 cubic inches (5.42 L) and producing 180 horsepower (130 kW).[1]

It's still surprising how little horsepower old V8s had.
Even worse the old quoted power figures were sort of rigged. They changed how that was done in the USA in 1972. Basically just take those numbers and multiply by .8 for what the newer number would be. Even that is not rear wheel horsepower which will be even less. Prior to 1972 they gamed the numbers in other ways too like having a vacuum applied to the exhaust, running with all belts and other accessories driven externally and not by the motor.
 

mhardy6647

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Bit of a mix up. My last post was about the new Carver offering.
Sorry! Perhaps I even quoted the wrong post. Either way, I was still pretty hypocaffeinated when I blathered on in this thread earlier today. :confused:
So, I'll blame it on that, and, again, apologize for being unintentionally off topic (as opposed to being intentionally off topic, which is more my usual M.O. :cool:

Meh. A modern motorized horn uses one of these:


USA! USA! USA!

/Actually a very nice motor

A "crate motor" :)

PS A modern motorized early warning system would use a waveguide. :cool:
 

fpitas

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PS A modern motorized early warning system would use a waveguide. :cool:
With that much horsepower to waste, why not? Although the intermod will be worse ;)
 
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