I have been involved with audio/video since 1965, with Bob Carver. Bob built an amplifier for me with parts i chose and purchased. The amp weighed about 130 pounds, was on three chassis (stereo channels and separate power supply). This very large tube amp, built in late 1966, was far more powerful than the most powerful consumer amps available (McIntosh 275 and dual Marantz Model 9s). Bob and I took it to the McIntosh Clinic when it came to the Seattle area, at Seattle Stereo. The amp blew all the others away. This inspired Bob to build a solid state version, came up with the name Phase Linear in 1967. Bob began building his first solid state Phase Linear 700 amps in 1969, in a house located on 3rd avenue in the north Shoreline area. He soon moved to a larger house on 25th Avenue in the nearby Richmond Beach area, where he continued building Phase Linear 700 amps. In January, 1970, Bob brought a complete amp to the McIntosh Clinic, where it tested at a bit over 350 watts RMS/channel, with very low distortion across the audio frequency band. The story about the "coffee can" amp is not at all true. Bob showed me the amp shortly afterward, along with the report. Bob has humorously went along with this myth, even on Utube, as it makes a good story, but all anyone has to do is read the McIntosh report to verify that they tested a production Phase Linear 700. Anyway, there is no way a 700 watt RMS amp would fit in any coffee can. Get real. Not long afterward, Bob sent a sample to Hirsch-Houck Laboratories to be tested. Audio Magazine published Julian Hirsch's report, where he found that the near universal assumption that 175 watts was "more than enough power for any home" to accurately reproduce any music on any system was not true. He found that his test of Horowitz on the piano required around 500 watts RMS for low distortion, realistic reproduction. After that report, demand for Phase Linear 700 watts suddenly increased until more Phase Linear amps were sold than McIntosh and Marantz combined. Phase Linear was sold to Pioneer in the early 1980s, but, without Bob as designer, the company foundered. At present, I am helping Bob with his new Amazing Line Source speakers, which are just getting into production.
