How Bob Carver is Destroying Vacuum Tube Audio

Posted by Triode_Kingdom (A) on December 23, 2021 at 05:30:31

I was a huge fan of Bob Carver in the '70s and '80s. His solid state audio inventions and innovations were truly ahead of their time. In fact, if not for the singular purity and simplicity of vacuum tubes, I would probably own a few racks of Carver gear. Fast forward to the next millenium, and Bob isn't doing so well. He's moved into the vacuum tube genre, and he apparently considers it ripe for the picking. I still remember being surprised when I saw a brand new Carver tube amp for sale on eBay a few years ago. It was a direct sale by Bob, and I was somewhat taken aback by his foray into this realm of audio. I've never considered Bob Carver to be a vacuum tube aficionado, yet the amplifier for sale was being marketed as an upscale product solely on that basis. The most notable characteristic was its Chinese meter, a symbol perhaps of what I believe to be Bob Carver's misdirected and under-qualified talents in this area.

More recently, I stumbled across the Carver Crimson 275, and a quick search revealed it to be worse than I ever would have imagined. Just take a look at the inspection and measurements linked below. I can only hope this doesn't become the status quo, because it surely represents a new low in integrity, not to mention audio performance.

So how is Bob Carver destroying vacuum tube audio? One amplifier at a time.

Carver Crimson 275 Inspection and Review (Open in New Window)

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Topic - How Bob Carver is Destroying Vacuum Tube Audio - Triode_Kingdom 05:30:31 12/23/21 (27)

RE: How Bob Carver is Destroying Vacuum Tube Audio - lowrider75 03:54:06 07/06/22 (0)

Crimson 275? Crimson 215 rather. - sbrook 13:21:24 01/16/22 (1)

RE: Crimson 275? Crimson 215 rather. - Steve O 22:03:55 01/17/22 (0)

So 15W output tranny in a 75W output amp... - Rocket_Powered 13:51:31 01/04/22 (0)

RE: How Bob Carver is Destroying Vacuum Tube Audio - mulveling 10:31:29 12/29/21 (0)

Update - Steve O 19:46:14 12/27/21 (1)

RE: "caught repackaging a completely stock OPPO disc player by putting it in a custom box" - Ivan303 10:46:30 12/28/21 (0)

This all seems disingenuous - Joe Backer 17:48:17 12/26/21 (3)

RE: This all seems disingenuous - Tre' 06:53:53 12/27/21 (2)

RE: This all seems disingenuous - sbrook 07:17:02 12/27/21 (1)

RE: This all seems disingenuous - Tre' 08:05:13 12/27/21 (0)

RE: How Bob Carver is Destroying Vacuum Tube Audio - Johno 17:03:46 12/25/21 (1)

RE: How Bob Carver is Destroying Vacuum Tube Audio - sony6060 04:03:37 12/26/21 (0)

Cool. - PakProtector 09:21:49 12/25/21 (0)

Sometimes heavy is a mark of quality... - sbrook 05:34:44 12/24/21 (1)

Cary indeed descended into mass market swill before he sold the company... - Cleantimestream 09:57:44 01/17/22 (0)

RE: How Bob Carver is Destroying Vacuum Tube Audio - hahax@verizon.net 20:38:22 12/23/21 (0)

Yeah, but it does have a meter - airtime 13:04:25 12/23/21 (0)

Yikes! nt - Ralph 12:36:53 12/23/21 (0)

He is also known for his Silver Seven monoblocks - Jack G 09:48:17 12/23/21 (3)

and the Flame Linear - Story 10:47:39 12/23/21 (1)

Beg to Differ - Ratty Mouse 07:19:36 01/27/22 (0)

RE: He is also known for his Silver Seven monoblocks - Blackdog 10:43:03 12/23/21 (0)

When did Bob Carver go to work for Edcor? - Ivan303 06:47:12 12/23/21 (1)

EDCOR makes the OPT for the company - mhardy6647 15:08:05 01/06/22 (0)

Well that's depressing. nt - Tre' 06:06:39 12/23/21 (1)

Agreed - 1973shovel 06:04:00 12/24/21 (0)

How Bob Carver is Destroying Vacuum Tube Audio

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