[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

Please pardon my confusion but didn't he start this company up a couple of years ago making tube amplifiers?  Is this a totally new company?

Thanks for the clarification.  I don't live in the USA and that is why I don't know all the details.

Cheers Rod

[SteveFord]

It kind of looks like he dropped the LLC portion of the business, lost a business partner from the LLC business, lost the partnership with Emotiva and then went back to where he started from.
I have no idea why the Emotiva deal fell apart - was it his doing, their doing or a little of both?

[Russell Dawkins]

Then he's ripping people off as there's no way he can honor that commitment in 50 years.

His commitment is for 20 years. Even then, I expect someone else would have to fix it!

[Ericus Rex]

His commitment is for 20 years. Even then, I expect someone else would have to fix it!

You're right, of course, Russell.  But 20 years, in this case, is only slightly better than 50.

[Jazzman53]

I found this article below which, if I understand it, basically claims that the Bobfather's design allows the tubes to run cooler; thus extending their life.  I'm pretty much a dummy with electronics and it's all Greek to me but maybe you tube guys can make some sense out of his claims.  All I can tell you is that I heard them and was quite impressed with the sound.
 
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0512/bob_carver_cherry_180_tube_monoblock_amplifier.htm
 

[bladesmith]

From my experience with Russian tubes, they are very tough. 

But, maybe the warranty is just an act of desperation. 

[Freo-1]

I found this article below which, if I understand it, basically claims that the Bobfather's design allows the tubes to run cooler; thus extending their life.  I'm pretty much a dummy with electronics and it's all Greek to me but maybe you tube guys can make some sense out of his claims.  All I can tell you is that I heard them and was quite impressed with the sound.
 
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0512/bob_carver_cherry_180_tube_monoblock_amplifier.htm

Thanks for the link.  Interesting read. 


What Bob is doing is running the tubes at a fraction of their rated output, and the amp will respond as more power is required.  I also agree with Bob about pentode vs ultralinear. 

[sebrof]

Thanks for the link.  Interesting read. 


What Bob is doing is running the tubes at a fraction of their rated output, and the amp will respond as more power is required.  I also agree with Bob about pentode vs ultralinear.

Isn't that what he did with the Tracking Downconverter technology in his Sunfire amps (and perhaps others?)?

[ASMAN]

I don't get all the dumping on Bob Carver.
In my estimation he is a true audio genius. I have used his products for years without a hint of problems, no breakdowns or hiccups at all.
The music was there every time I turned it on! Reasonable prices to boot.
Marlin

[SteveFord]

I still use one of his preamps every day with no problems.
I think people just find the long tube warranty funny as how many of us are going to still own the same piece of equipment in 20 years and how many of us will still be around in 50? 
That would make me 104 and if a tube goes south when I'm 103 I probably won't care all that much.
I got hot nurses to chase, who cares about some stupid amplifier which I misplaced 8 years ago?

[dangerbird]

I don't get all the dumping on Bob Carver.
In my estimation he is a true audio genius. I have used his products for years without a hint of problems, no breakdowns or hiccups at all.
The music was there every time I turned it on! Reasonable prices to boot.
Marlin

Well said sir!!

[ASMAN]

I would go on by asking what is wrong with starting new companies?
Phase Linear, Carver, Sunfire, and now Carver again. All great companies that built good equipment.

The late great Henry Kloss did it with Kloss Industries, AR, KLH, Advent, Cambridge Soundworks, and finally Tivoli Audio, all great companies which laid the foundation for the hobby we all enjoy.

Gentlemen please.

[Russell Dawkins]

One of only three times I have been fooled into thinking I was hearing real sounds from a stereo was in 1992.
It was Ben Webster playing sax in the next room at a stereo shop, except it was a pair of Carver Amazing speakers driven by a set of Carver Silver Seven amplifiers.
Here's a great interview with Bob by John Atkinson in 1990 when Bob was 46 years old:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/bob-carver-carving-name-himself

[dolsey01]

From the pricing page on the site:  "Payment in full is required at the time of order. When I finish building your unit, I will show up on your doorstep myself, if you wish and if that's OK with you, install it, and perform any adjustments that are needed to make it sound just right. This applies to speakers and amplifiers alike.

I would love to take you to dinner, talk about all things audio, and after that, listen far into the night with all sorts of music and speech. If you change your mind for any reason, you get your money back, no questions asked at all. Take all the time you want (within reason).

And we will both have great memories, no matter what."

So Bob deliverers and sets up your new amp, hangs out and takes you out to dinner?

[LVMan777]

THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ISSUE #256 October 2015 (page78)

"(Bob Carver)... an original thinker who reconsiders the philosophical underpinnings of every type of component he produces. The ALS is no exception. It represents the outcome of detailed investigation and deep thought about how a stereo can produce the maximum spatial effect in an actual listening room.

To say that the results are remarkable and remarkably convincing would be to understate the case.

 Moreover, this extraordinary speaker, the Amazing Line Source (ALS), is available at a price so low as to seem almost incredible.

 People are paying more than the cost of the ALS for little two-ways that offer nothing much except off-the-shelf drivers in supposedly exotic cabinets. One wonders a lot about people buying such things when for less money they could buy the ALS, with its ability to present the size and scope of music effortlessly and with ultra-low distortion. Even threeway floorstanders, however loudly they may play, are not really comparable in perceived “scope” (for lack of a better word ) in being able to sound as large music does sound... " REG (Emphasis Added)($14,950 including Sub Rosa Subwoofer)