pclark@SRC.Honeywell.COM (Peter Clark) (01/07/91)
Does anyone have any experience with the 'Amazing' speakers from carver? They were reviewed in the Feb 1990 Stereophile, evidently as prototypes, even though the speakers were being sold. (Shades of microsoft! Let your customers do the beta testing... :-( ) Anyway, I'm interested in hearing opinions about them w.r.t. Magnepans in the same price range (~2K) Thanks, Pete Clark Honeywell SRC Minneapolis, MN
tristram%conan.asd.sgi.com@SGI.COM (01/08/91)
I've got two friends who have these, and have done extensive listening. They are colorless and accurate, with a high soundstage. Because they are line sources, stereo imaging remains good in a large listening area. They are beautiful furniture. One user has a 1Kw Carver power amp on each channel, and they still lack balls. Deep bass is weak, but even overall strength is not there at higher SPL's. I think there are more satisfying cone drivers at that price. Tristram -- David Tristram 1661, tristram@sgi.com So close, it feels like mine.
parker@uunet.UU.NET (01/16/91)
In article <8731@uwm.edu> pclark@SRC.Honeywell.COM (Peter Clark) writes: >Does anyone have any experience with the 'Amazing' speakers from carver? > >Anyway, I'm interested in hearing opinions about them w.r.t. Magnepans in the >same price range (~2K) I listened to a number of speakers in the under-$2000 price range. The Carvers were underwhelming due to their tremendous inefficiency; driven by a 200 Watt per channel Carver amp at full output, they weren't even loud. The Magneplanar Magnepan MG-2.5/R (now replaced by the 2.6) were the most "Amazing", open sounding speakers I have ever heard WHEN THEY WERE DEMO'ED IN A PERFECT, LARGE, OPEN, NEARLY EMPTY LISTENING ROOM. Set off a good 6 to 8 feet away from the wall in a roughly 20 x 24 foot room, the speakers absolutely disappeared; the sound was just THERE. I was so overwhelmed by their transparency that I bought them. Confined to a "real" living room only 3-4 feet away from the wall, they don't sound as good. Also on the majority of source material they sound bass-shy although on some material they sound fine. Remember, being dipolar speakers they need to be a good distance away from the back and side walls. At the time, a knowledgable friend had convinced me that no matter what speakers I bought, I would always need a subwoofer. Unfortunately a quality powered subwoofer like a Velodyne costs as much as the Maggies, and I haven't bought one yet. I highly recommend listening to the Dahlquist DQ-20's. They don't have quite the open sound of the Magneplanars, but they are less room-sensitive and OH! the bass they make from their 8 inch woofers is also Amazing. Gary Parker -- +-------------------------------+--------------------------------------------+ | Gary Parker | parker@ab.com | +-------------------------------+--------------------------------------------+