[mjg]

Is any one using carver equipment to drive songtowers? I am using a Carver c-16 pre with a TFM-24 amp and just received my Songtowers. I am not as blown away by the sound as I thought I would be, and I am wondering if the Carver/Salk match is just not a good one. I also own a Adcom GFA 6000 that I will try out but usually the adcom is brighter than the Carver stuff. Any input and or recomendations would be appreciated.

Thanks, Maurice

[martyo]

Hi. I have the HT3's. Before my current gear I had a C-16 pre and a TFM-75 driving the Carver Platinums. So I was a "Carver Head". All of Jim's speakers are very revealing.(a very good thing) While the Carvers were not bad sounding, they were limited in the amount of information that ended up getting to the speakers from the source. I had many years of enjoyment from my Carver gear, but after moving on the one word I used to describe their sound was opaque. I actually changed my electronics before getting the Salks and it made a huge difference even with the Platinums, which had their own "opaque" issues. 

[mjg]

martyo,

What did you switch to?

[Bill Baker]

 I have not heard Carver with Salk but have had my time with Carver gear throughout the past. In my opinion, the Carver gear is not capable of bringing out the full potential your new speakers have to offer. I found it to be a bit soft at the frequency extremes.

 I would guess the Adcom 6000 would even be better(I had one of these many years ago).

[martyo]

I've got AVA. It all started with a 10 year old used preamp on ebay.

You can click the systems button under my avatar to see the gear.

[mjg]

Is no one else using Carver equipment? I just want to know if these 2 are a bad match. I know the subject has been covered over and over, but I have 30 days to decide on these speakers. I have a gut feeling that it is more the electronics that is the problem. This would mean I have to move my current stuff, and try to find appropriate replacements. As the speakers are a new purchase funds are a little tight. Any info or insight would be great.

Thanks, Maurice

[avahifi]

I certainly don't think that your Carver electronics is a bad match with the great Salk speakers.  I certainly don't think it is the best possible match either.

However the Carver electronics will certainly tell you that you made the right choice in speakers.  As you can afford it down the road, even better electronics will reward you with better Salk sound yet.

If you "buy down" on the speakers because you are worried that the Carver electronics won't get the best out of the Salk speakers, then down the road you would have to start all over again to make real improvements.

One great piece of the chain at the time, sir, as you can afford it.

Best regards,

Frank Van Alstine

[mjg]

Frank, Thanks for the imput, greatly appreciated.
Maurice

[Yeggo]

I have a Carver TFM 45. It has more juice per side than a ConEdison Generator. I also have AVA Insight Amp and Pre-Amp. And I"ve got SongTower's with the Ribbon Tweeters. I wouldn't presume to doubt Mr. Salk, but I found the Song Towers to sound MUCH better after a break-in period. May be audio imagination on my part. I prefer the AVA rig to the Carver, but I may swap the Insight Amp with the Carver to power some hungry old Boston Acoustic speakers and move the AVA to the SongTower's. Now, how useful is this to you, I'm not sure, but AVA and Salk are real legitimate heavy hitters in the world of affordable fidelity.
Maybe, try your Carver amp with a good pre-amp. Anyhow, good luck.

[Yeggo]

The TFM 45 sounded wonderful when teamed with a Hafller/AVA Transcendence Pre-Amp. When the AVA got so old that Mr.Van Alstine was unable to keep it going, I switched to a NAD. The Carver didn't sound as well with this pairing. Maybe pairing your Carver with a Van Alstine pre-amp  could be a way to go.

[mathgeek97]

Maybe pairing your Carver with a Van Alstine pre-amp  could be a way to go.

There's a very nice looking Ultra AVA Pre on Audiogon right now...

[Nuance]

Here is a tasty replacement for that carver amp:

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1273798230&/Van-Alstine-Omegastar-240EX-Am