The apex of Carver's amplifier line was the Lightstar, which is now a collectors' item. The TFM amplifiers were designed specifically to drive the demanding load of the Amazing ribbon loudspeakers.
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This also started Carver's departure from the M-series amplifier to the more robust and current-pushing TFM series amplifiers. In light of this criticism, Carver went on to design the Silver Seven, the most expensive and esoteric conventional amplifier up to that time and duplicated its sound in his M 4.0t and later models which sold for some 1/40th the price (around $600–$1500). He marketed “t” versions of his amplifiers incorporating the sound of the Mark Levinson and Conrad Johnson designs which caused him some criticism.
The Stereophile employees failed to tell the difference in their own listening room. Carver successfully copied the sound of the target amplifier and won the challenge. This amplifier was marketed as the M1.0t for about $400.00. His modified amplifier sound was so similar, Stereophile Magazine editors could not tell the difference between his amplifier and one costing more than $6,000. Bob Carver used "distortion pots" to introduce amplifier characteristics, fine-tuned to null-out any sound differences. If sound was heard, the audio amps had different properties). If the amplifiers were 100% identical, no sound would be heard. Nevertheless, Carver, used null difference testing, (null difference testing consists of driving two different amplifiers with identical signal sources and exact levels, but out of phase by exactly 180 degrees. In both cases, the challenging amplifier could only be treated as a “ black box” and could not even have its lid removed. The Conrad Johnson amplifiers were one of the most highly regarded amplifiers of the day, costing in excess of $6,000 a pair. In 1985, Stereophile magazine challenged Bob to copy a Conrad-Johnson Premier Four (the make and model was not named then, but revealed later) amplifier at their offices in New Mexico within 48 hours.
Two magazines accepted the challenge.įirst, The Audio Critic chose a Mark Levinson ML-2 which Bob acoustically copied (transfer function duplication) and sold as his M1.5t amplifier (the “t” stood for transfer function modified). Ĭarver caused a stir in the industry in the mid-1980s when he challenged two high-end audio magazines to give him any audio amplifier at any price, and he’d duplicate its sound in one of his lower cost (and usually much more powerful) designs. However, in December 2013, Bob Carver and Jade Design parted ways. He went on to found the Carver Corporation in 1979, Sunfire in 1994, and the Bob Carver LLC in 2011 which was sold to Jade Design in June, 2013. He is known for designing the Phase Linear 700, at 350 W per channel the most powerful consumer audio amplifier available in 1972. He applied his talent to produce numerous innovative high fidelity designs since the 1970s. (Bob) Carver is an American designer of audio equipment based in the Pacific Northwest.Įducated as a physicist and engineer, he found an interest in audio equipment at a young age. JSTOR ( November 2020) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification.