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Carver Raven 350 Review (Tube Amp)

Rate this amplifier:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 277 82.4%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 30 8.9%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 17 5.1%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 12 3.6%

  • Total voters
    336
My take on hifi is that I listen to what is enjoyable, rather than what conforms to a somewhat philosophically problematic notion of accuracy or verisimilitude.
Of course sometimes accurate is enjoyable.

This approach has led me to a high quality Allnic tube amp for jazz and acoustic music, a powerful solid state amp for rock and classical, a parallel vintage system for that vintage sound and various Fosi Class D amps for fun. I would very much like to add a Purifi Eigentakt amp also.

My point, other than that I like playing with gear, is that nothing in hifi is right or wrong so long as it gives the end user pleasure and leads to an emotional response to the music.
That's a bit of a fuzzy statement.
I do understand you enjoy playing with gear, and can obviously afford it, that's fine for you.
I would like to make a couple alternate comments on your full post.
The first is, if you started with that SS amp and some reasonably accurate speakers, you could have all the rest with the introduction of some EQ or Pro sound accessories and not had to spend thousands and thousands of extra money to get there.
The second, is it wrong? Maybe not for you but what about others. Is it just fine for the High End media to tell readers about all the magic, veils removed, walking on audiophile water they'll get from a $500,000 turntable, amp, or handful of voodoo cables? Hell this stuffs not even Hi-Fi, it's just a pile of add-on distortion.
I find this a form of emotional blackmail or extortion to lie to unknowing customers in this way.
It's right up there with the TV preacher telling folks if they send in a $1,000 donation they'll go to heaven or some other such BS :mad:
 
My point, other than that I like playing with gear, is that nothing in hifi is right or wrong so long as it gives the end user pleasure and leads to an emotional response to the music.
An audiophile may enjoy or prefer anything in audio that they like. The problem starts when they claim high accuracy or quality for those things.
It's a listener's time, money and music. There is no requirement for high accuracy. Turn the bass up, use a SET amp or other euphonic coloration component if you wish.
 
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It's a listener's time, money and music. There is no requirement for high accuracy. Turn the bass up, use a SET amp or other euphonic coloration component if you wish.
As long as they clearly understand up front that what they're listening to now is NOT what the artists or production team desired them to hear.
 
As long as they clearly understand up front that what they're listening to now is NOT what the artists or production team desired them to hear.
I'm pretty sure that folks our age know that BUT I worry about younger folks not knowing that.
 
I'm pretty sure that folks our age know that BUT I worry about younger folks not knowing that.
Yep, you hear it most every day as the youngsters drive down the street with their systems cranked to 100+,
every speaker cone and body panel on the car buzzin and rattlin, and thinking it "sounds good to me"! LOL
 
You should like whatever you like, and good for you, but these tube amplifiers are not high fidelity. Not by today's standards, at any rate.
These carver tube amps are not high fidelity !

modern tube amps has become an non high fidelity genre in itself it’s all effect boxes.

no real innovation some are really fancy and expensive ( you can’t accuse the carver of being fancy ).

when tubes where all that was and some decades designers who knew their shi* tried to get actual performance out of them .

now it’s cargo cult only ?
 
These carver tube amps are not high fidelity !

modern tube amps has become an non high fidelity genre in itself it’s all effect boxes.

I am not sure ^that^ is 100% true.

no real innovation some are really fancy and expensive ( you can’t accuse the carver of being fancy ).

when tubes where all that was and some decades designers who knew their shi* tried to get actual performance out of them .

now it’s cargo cult only ?

Certainly a lot of cult going on, especially at the top end.
But there is some really nice tube based gear available.
 
A high fidelity tube amp is going to sound like solid state, and who would buy that !
Keith
 
A high fidelity tube amp is going to sound like solid state, and who would buy that !
Keith
Given the 'tube magic' is all in the mind anyway, if you're a tube aficionado you might as well get a decent one (Radford manage a good spec and are still made today) and have the best of all worlds.
 
A high fidelity tube amp is going to sound like solid state, and who would buy that !
Keith
Possibly somebody like me, who might buy one just for the looks. In my study, have a pair of GEC 912+ driving my JR149s, and a pair of Quad IIs bridged into a subwoofer.

They replace a Technics amp that was perfectly competent, just a black box that didn't glow in the dark.

S.
 
You would buy an amplifier just for its looks!
Best,
Keith
 
Yep, you hear it most every day as the youngsters drive down the street with their systems cranked to 100+,
every speaker cone and body panel on the car buzzin and rattlin, and thinking it "sounds good to me"! LOL
Back in the late 90's when my son got his license he had to have a bass heavy system in his car. I allowed it, but there was no way he was going to drive around town in a rattle box, so we filled every space with acoustic insulation as well expanding foam in the small crevices. Not a rattle to be heard and a very deep powerful bass.
 
Talking about "modern" stuff,that's how a Audio Research LS28 looks like at -3dB and at -15dB input gain (the later is closer to normal recording levels we have in music as an average,with ever lower - and higher peaks- for the nice ones) .

1708816567370.png

-3dB

1708816591107.png

-15dB

I would be surprised if someone could discern it from a SS with music content.
 
You would buy an amplifier just for its looks!
Best,
Keith
Yes, provided its performance was adequate for the task. In my study, I'm sitting less than 1m from the 'speakers, so the amps are putting out a few mW (Just measured about 500mV output into an impedance of >8 ohms, so a power of around 30mW! ) so distortion even with the fairly poor output transformers on the 912s is not an issue. Bass below 85Hz is handled by the Quad IIs which have rather better LF performance.

I built the 912s and restored the Quad IIs only because of their looks, (and I was bored over the winter).

S.
 
A pair of carefully renovated Quad II would be cool , they are historical , they had for the time good performance and where reliable and serviceable. therefore they sold a lot of them , they where at broadcasters around the world and telecom companies.

if I had space I would like a vintage/historical system just for the kicks :)
This hobby can also include collecting stuff . I would like a system for every decade .
but space and money prohibit this for me .
 
The low damping factor of tube amps without feedback - think SET amps - contribute to frequency response issues with speakers with wild swings in their impedance plots. Contrast this against Macintosh or Quicksilver unity coupled output stages that have damping factors as high as 20. The cathode winding provides feedback as well as global feedback giving us a Pentode output stage with low output impedance. Use it with speakers that work well with the power available and you will have a tube based system without coloration.

Please note that this commentary is not meant to tout any tube based solution "superiority" over solid state. Economically speaking, you will always pay more for a good measuring and performing tube amp. A good output transformer is more expensive than many solid state amps. It is more about a "choice". You can choose to use a good measuring tube amp, but it will cost you some cash.
 
You would buy an amplifier just for its looks!
Best,
Keith
I don't think that is even close to the point they were making.

Your question/statement was, if they both sounded the same, who would buy the tube amp.

If two things perform the same then the decision comes down to smaller criteria like looks, where it is made, warranty, price, brand loyalty, etc. Each person decides for themselves which ones of those are important to them.

Can you say that you didn't consider looks with anything you've purchased for in your home? All your furniture is simply the most durable with the highest load rating and no regards for looks?
 
The low damping factor of tube amps without feedback - think SET amps - contribute to frequency response issues with speakers with wild swings in their impedance plots.
Which is something many SET owners take into consideration. Some DIY designers even have options for impedance flattening. http://zaphaudio.com/SR71.html
Some people enjoy matching speakers carefully to their amps as much as some people enjoy reading about and buying new equipment with 'improvements' that aren't audible. Both groups see those things as a hobby.
 
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