Carver Raven 350 Amps


Has anyone heard these amps?
They supposedly can produce 350 watts per channel which in my opinion is remarkable for a tube amp. I have the Atma-Sphere M-60’s 3.3 and I love their tube sound.

But I am curious, Bob has made some very interesting products through the years.

ozzy
128x128ozzy
Funny you should ask as I have owned both Atma M-60 amp (with Vcaps and Caddock resistors) and currently own the Carver Cherry 180 mono blocks (Vcap output coupling caps and Gold Point stepped attenuator instead of the stock volume pot).  It is the precursor to 200 watt precursor to the Crimson and uses KT88 tubes.  The Carver tube amp is a remarkable tube amp.  It drove all of my speakers without ever clipping including the relatively inefficient Raidho D2.1 and D1.  Compared to the Atma M-60, the Carver is much more dynamic, has more precise imaging and deeper soundstage, although slightly less wide soundstage than the M-60, which has more diffuse imaging and soundstage.  As far as bass dynamics and extension, the Carver is hands down better and can drive almost any speaker out there. The M-60 requires careful speaker matching because of its OTL design and can sound very loose in the bass if you don't mate it with the right speaker. I would say the M-60 has a smoother, albeit more bland midrange.  The M-60 has hands down the most extended crystalline smooth high frequencies I have ever heard from any amp, solid or tube. My experience is based on stock tubes for both amps.

One thing I didn't like about the M-60 was its reliability.  Within 6 months of ownership (bought brand new), 3 output tubes failed with a dramatic POP sound from the speakers every time a tube blew itself.  I didn't like power transformer hum and tube hiss either.  The Carvers are essentially dead silent unless you have your ear a foot away from the power transformer in a ultra quiet room. Then you will hear a very low level hum. It's as quiet if not quieter than the solid state amps I own.  I never heard any tube hiss from the Carvers.
dracule1,

Well thank you for that comparison. It is very appreciated.
The newer version of the M-60's (the Mk3.3) is supposed to have taken care of most of the previous problems and the sound quality is said to have been greatly improved. Although, I can't tell since this the only unit(s) I have owned.  

I have only had one output tube fail in more than a year of operation. Dam Russians...
I'm also crossing over at 80hz and using some very (DIY) high efficiency flat line 8 ohm speakers. The M-60 meter barely moves.

But, I would like to try in the future some Martin Logan or Magnapan speakers and I know that I will need different amps to use with them.
So the Carver is on my short list.

ozzy

Ozzy, just realize that all manufacturers claim every new version is significantly better than the older version ;)

You shouldn't have any output tube failure in the first year of operation. I have owned the Carver amp for 8 years now with zero output tube failure.

I think crossing over the speaker at 80 Hz and letting the M-60 handle everything above is a very wise decision.  I have a 2 way speaker that is relatively efficient (89-90 dB) with lowest impedance 5.8 Ohm at crossover, mostly >8 ohm.  I was told by Atmasphere this shouldn't be a problem, but the bass was just too loose for my taste.

The Carvers should have no problem with Maggies.
dracule1,

I have heard from others that the Carver Raven 350 has a severe drop off in the higher frequencies. I am concerned about that. Can you comment more about that?

Thanks, ozzy