Carver TFM6b

[budgetaudio76]

Bottom of the line though it is, I got it for peanuts
Have not really used it though. Anyone with thoughts and or impressions from listening to this series of amplifier?

Stable down to 2 ohms and good for 165 watt peaks or so.

currently it is connected to a HK pm655 as a pre and a parasound st 220 tuner and optimus pro lx5 bookshelf speaks.

[Mr Peabody]

Looks like your electronics are pretty good, now it's time to upgrade the speakers.

The Carver is decent sounding. The only issue I have with Carver is reliability. People love them and they have a big following so you didn't get hurt if you got a good buy.

[Dual-500]

Looks like your electronics are pretty good, now it's time to upgrade the speakers.

The Carver is decent sounding. The only issue I have with Carver is reliability. People love them and they have a big following so you didn't get hurt if you got a good buy.

Carver and reliability. I can't say they are particularly reliable or unreliable as a whole.

What I can say, from experience is the TFM-6 amps are good ones. They sound great, are stable with low Z loads and very reliable.

That being said, the AV-405 on the other hand, in my opinion is a piece of junk prone to overheating when moderately driven and will NOT handle low Z loads at all. My first Carver HT 5 ch amp. Unloaded it in good operating condition.

My point is that Carver built some good amps and also slapped their name on some junk.

The TFM-45 is another turd, a friend bought one off eBay, so of course it didn't work. He brought it over and we put in on the bench - DOA. I pulled the top cover, looked at it for about 2 minutes, closed it up and filled out the death certificate. The TFM-45 is another POS with the Carver name on it. Circuit cards are warped and not held in sufficiently. Output devices mounted directly to the thin sheet metal bottom of case. Pissant power supply - Junk.

I have a TFM-35x and it's a great amp and very robust. Well laid out components, heat sinks running down both sides of chassis, etc. Amp runs hard, runs cool and sounds great.

While the AV-405 is a POS, the AV-505 & AV-705 (have both) are also Carver success stories. Great amps, bullet proof, handle low Z loads and sound as good as any in their class.

Cheers!

[Mr Peabody]

Thanks for adding your input. During the late 80's and early 90's I worked for an audio/video firm who picked up Carver and the line was short lived there and garnered the name "boomerang". It's good to know that at least some models weren't that bad. A couple places around here gave Sunfire a try but it didn't remain long for much of the same reason. Sound quality Carver was pretty good for the most part but I would never own a piece due to my exposure to it. On the other hand a working unit for the right price may persuade me otherwise.

[Dual-500]

Thanks for adding your input. During the late 80's and early 90's I worked for an audio/video firm who picked up Carver and the line was short lived there and garnered the name "boomerang". It's good to know that at least some models weren't that bad. A couple places around here gave Sunfire a try but it didn't remain long for much of the same reason. Sound quality Carver was pretty good for the most part but I would never own a piece due to my exposure to it. On the other hand a working unit for the right price may persuade me otherwise.

The models I have experience with in Carver line has been a mixed bag. They earned the bad repution the naysayers preach.

Carver has put their name on some junk - and that's a real shame.

Bob Carver has a history of business issues. I would venture that's the root of it. He got caught up in design and the business steering entity went after bottom line profits using the name.

They ran it into the ground.

The TFM-6 is a great amp and they sell pretty cheap on eBay. You can find one for $75-100 and if it's in decent shape, is well worth that price.

[Mr Peabody]

I hope the best for the 6b, it looks likebudgetaudio76 has a decent system started.

[budgetaudio76]

Oh god! I have a bunch of decent systems, Almost overrun in my apartment.

But back to the amp on thread. Its in pretty good condition and i would like to integrate it into my main systems. I think i might just do that and use smaller advents or a pair of Bozak 301f or is it 302f speakers. Or maybe a pair of RS7 Infinitys.

I must say though i miss the Bass out of my RSa.

So much to choose from and so little time.

i think it was priced at 10 or 20 dollars. Same place i got my Sansui 7500a. Nice deal.

Oh by the way my AV 405 which has been at my grandpas outdoor storage, no heat and no insulation, Doesnt bode well to have it fixed considering what i just read.
Thanks for the heads up on it.

[Dual-500]

Oh god! I have a bunch of decent systems, Almost overrun in my apartment.

But back to the amp on thread. Its in pretty good condition and i would like to integrate it into my main systems. I think i might just do that and use smaller advents or a pair of Bozak 301f or is it 302f speakers. Or maybe a pair of RS7 Infinitys.

I must say though i miss the Bass out of my RSa.

So much to choose from and so little time.

i think it was priced at 10 or 20 dollars. Same place i got my Sansui 7500a. Nice deal.

Oh by the way my AV 405 which has been at my grandpas outdoor storage, no heat and no insulation, Doesnt bode well to have it fixed considering what i just read.
Thanks for the heads up on it.

I wasn't impressed with the AV-405 I had. I ran it on my computer system and driving it loud it would overheat. Probably wouldn't spend much on repairing one.

The TFM-6 now is another amp all together.

[budgetaudio76]

HHHMMM, not sure now what i will do with teh amp. Its not like im hurting for Ht recievers or for any musical gear.

[Mr Peabody]

Well, I'll give you your $20.00 back on the 6b if you wish. Even I'd buy it for that. Get an amp with current behind those Infinity and you should hear some good sound. I really liked the older RS series. That Sansui 7500 is excellent. I had the 9500 for a while. I meant to keep it but sold it to a friend.

[Dual-500]

The Sansui's are sweet.

[budgetaudio76]

Peabody, currently the infinitys are disconnected. In there place stands a Koss CM 1020.
It has a lot of detail, but it lacks the bass the cerwins had as well as the infinitys. Maybe because they are more effiecient in the midrange than the RSa that they seem to have less bass.
The CM 1020 has a bigger cabinet than the RSa.

[budgetaudio76]

I finally jumped for it. I moved the TFM 6c and associated equipment into my bed room. And currently playing some jazz and it sounds wonderfull. Opens up the speakers even at low volume.
Im using a HK PM 655 as a preamp and connected to the amp section on the HK are a pair of Pioneer CS 51. They are in the middle of each stack of Infinity RSa(2 pairs) which are in turn connected to the Carver. I must say they sound sweet.
The Pioneers are there to add instant Midrange duties when needed. As the RSa dont have dedicated midranges.



A little photo for an idea of how it looks.

[Mr Peabody]

Are you feeding the preamp output back into the HK?

You should get a better frequency response with just one set of speakers. One pair is probably louder than the other any way. Two sets of speakers will cause overlap and cancellation at various frequencies. Both sets also have a different response and sound.

[budgetaudio76]

No im not feeding the preamp out put back into the HK. It has a internal switch that can connect or disconnect the pre and amp .

The RSa are connected to teh a and b connections of the carver and i can turn the other off when needed.

I kinda like the RSa stacked like that.

When they were in the living room a
they had some very good bass, which extended dow to 30 hurtz and a bit lower. Probably not to the 13 db point but satisfactory.

May be at some point i will move the koss CM 1020 back into the bed room and move the infinitys back into the living room. But for now that is where they will stay.

Its been a long while since ive posted here, and i see that i missed alot.

[JoeE SP9]

ba76, a couple of suggestions. Get or build some speaker stands. Those speakers are not floor standers. Stands will make a big difference. The stacked Infinities will sound better with the top one inverted and nothing between them. If your budget is tight get two cinder blocks and wrap black trash bags around them. You will hear an immediate improvement in sound with them on stands.

[budgetaudio76]

joeE sp9, they are on stands. But i would love to have Cinder blocks instead. More solid.

The Pioneer in the middle of each stack is there to add Extra midrange detail if i should desire it.

They are stacked tweeert to tweeter with the Pioneer in the middle of course.

[Dual-500]

Have you tried it with the Pioneers on top?

[budgetaudio76]

steve w, no i havent tried it in that configuration. I figure i can get a more balanced sound with them in the middle. I mean better integration. Works fine the way it is setup.

[Dual-500]

I"m sure it does. Glad you like the baby Carver. They are great sounding little amps. Plenty of clean headroom too.

[budgetaudio76]

I think i may try the amp with other speakers. I have a bunch to choose from. Some of them have sat unused for a while now. I think ill try it again with the Rat sak pro lx5lls again. this time connected to a mid/bass modules. No not the bose. They are made by sherwood.

[budgetaudio76]

man forgotten about this thread.

I have since found some cinder(cindy) blocks. And ive planned on putting some under both stacks. The right stack leans a bit too much backwards. Kinda worries me. Hoping that adding the blocks will straighten out the issue.