Carver m500t Reviews and opinions?

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#1
My father who some people on here may know, is a huge phase linear guy. Since the production of the phase linear line. Now he is asking me about replacing the 40+ year old amps with something beefier. He is interested to know about the Carver m500t. I told him I didn't know much, and via the phone, that what I THOUGHT I did, may not be accurate. Any help or advice you folks can give me on this amplifier is greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

-Below is a brief convo of my father to me. Back and forth.

for those in the loop with phase linear people, i would like to know their
opinion of a carver m500t. thanks.


Dad. I have heard OF it. Seen a few kicked around on ebay. I don't think they are
"power houses" by any means. Don't have the notoriety of the sunfire name brand. I
believe it was carvers company before he started sunfire. And after sunfire, he
joined the engineering dept for Emotiva.
Other than that, reviews are plentiful online I'm sure about the amp. I could
always ask about it on the Phoenix Forum?


250 watts per channel is a powerhouse. nice looking amp with nice BIG VU
METERS. therefore i would like to know from phase linear people in the know, as
to what they think of this amp. thinking of purchasing two of them.


No. 350 watts per channel is a powerhouse. And it's called the phase linear
700B. You get your big VU meters and it fits in your existing cases. There. Try
to out logic THAT one Dad? Lets see what the guys on Phoenix say.......
 

Elite-ist

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#2
I can't offer an opinion on the Carver amplifier your dad is interested in. But for me, when it comes to power amplifiers, some heft in the respect of weight gives a jaded nod to the big PL 700 B. In this case, being heavy is a virtue. And when a White Oak modified PL 700 B is in your system, you might be convinced that newer doesn't mean better.

If there were more specs on the Carver it would be easier to decide, as I am just doing what your dad is doing - looking for positive feedback from other people's experience with the Carver M-500t.




Nando.
 
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For the record, the amplifiers he's replacing are the phase linear 400's. The carvers ARE beefier, but so are the PL700B's. I don't know why he wont use those? I think he thinks they are overkill? And old and prone to failure. He doesn't want to spend white oak $$ for mods. And 700B's even in their old age unchanged, still fetch about a dollar a watt. I think he's opting for a cheaper route that still satisfies some of the PL cosmetics, but more power, and carver stamped. He was first looking at the current crop of Rotel amps, now these. I don't know much about them. And I guess he isn't coming up with much. Just curious what you guru's thought of carvers amps.
 

orange

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#4
I think he thinks they are overkill?
For the neighbors and your hearing at an advanced age...it's possible :scratch:
 
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Gepetto

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#5
For the record, the amplifiers he's replacing are the phase linear 400's. The carvers ARE beefier, but so are the PL700B's. I don't know why he wont use those? I think he thinks they are overkill? And old and prone to failure. He doesn't want to spend white oak $$ for mods. And 700B's even in their old age unchanged, still fetch about a dollar a watt. I think he's opting for a cheaper route that still satisfies some of the PL cosmetics, but more power, and carver stamped. He was first looking at the current crop of Rotel amps, now these. I don't know much about them. And I guess he isn't coming up with much. Just curious what you guru's thought of carvers amps.
I have never been inclined to own any Carver gear Dave...pic below.

Carver 500T.jpg
 

laatsch55

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The power supplies are proneb to failure. There's a triac in there that loves to fail. Oh, and they don't sound near as good. I have a Carver PT2400 that puts out 838.38 wattys per into 8 ohms and is bridgeable. Bought it for 650.00 worse 650.00 I ever spent.
 
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The power supplies are proneb to failure. There's a triac in there that loves to fail. Oh, and they don't sound near as good. I have a Carver PT2400 that puts out 838.38 wattys per into 8 ohms and is bridgeable. Bought it for 650.00 worse 650.00 I ever spent.
I told him of your opinions guys and suggested the 700B again. He STILL would not budge? How can this BE from a man who's owned PL amps his whole life? He said again....."naww too much power". WHAT? :confused1: There is no such thing! And they have gain pots? Nope! That logic didn't work still. Then i said i have this one being used as a paper weight. He could try it out. And then I got "i need one for the highs. Wouldn't match". I think i'm being HAD here? :confused2: Someone PLEASE give me a valid argument here? Because this reasoning is coming from a man who has a the only rock driveway, in a neighborhood with asphalt and concrete ones, has refused to get a garage door opener ever sine I have lived on this earth, and will never ever own a cell phone. Yet this jurrasic man thinks NEW amps are better than old? I just can't wrap the grey cells in my head around it? Go with the 700B and call it a day!! My brain hurts............ :confused4:
 

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Pioneer Spec 2. Unsurpassed build quality, worm proof, even in the middle of a catastropic failure it will only take down it's self. More protection schemes than you can count.
 

Gepetto

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I told him of your opinions guys and suggested the 700B again. He STILL would not budge? How can this BE from a man who's owned PL amps his whole life? He said again....."naww too much power". WHAT? :confused1: There is no such thing! And they have gain pots? Nope! That logic didn't work still. Then i said i have this one being used as a paper weight. He could try it out. And then I got "i need one for the highs. Wouldn't match". I think i'm being HAD here? :confused2: Someone PLEASE give me a valid argument here? Because this reasoning is coming from a man who has a the only rock driveway, in a neighborhood with asphalt and concrete ones, has refused to get a garage door opener ever sine I have lived on this earth, and will never ever own a cell phone. Yet this jurrasic man thinks NEW amps are better than old? I just can't wrap the grey cells in my head around it? Go with the 700B and call it a day!! My brain hurts............ :confused4:
Hi Dave
Somewhere up close to my rule number 1 is that I never purchase a power amp that I cannot see the large heat sinks on the external surface of it. All that class A or AB heat generated during operation has to go somewhere else than cooking the amp itself. There is a reason that I attached that photo to my earlier post.
 

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A tiny note to PLP

Light blue and lime green don't work very well in the Cool Ice version on a white frame, although they show well on the darker background in Preview.

Darker colors with work great for those of us who are having to magnify the Pixel Chicks.
 

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#14
I think if your dad is set in his ways to get the Carver he might not be looking for validation from this group. I've had enough experience with both of Doug's Phase Linear amplifiers to appreciate old vs. new. I am sort of interested in how the Carver would work out.

Nando.
 
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Apologies Joe. I didn't inspect that board close enough. You'd figure if carver made the PL's with the heat sinks the way he did; why go backwards on the carver amps and not engineer large enough sinks to handle the heat dissipation? Trying to please the female crowd with the whole "smaller amp" design approach? (Big obvious amps and speakers are usually a no no for women in the audio world in case any men here have forgotten that).

I asked why he's even considering it after forty years, and he said; "just looking around. That's all". Hmmmm.... I have a freebie 700B he can try on his low end for nothing, and he wont do it. Ohhhhh but he considers plunking down $300 plus a piece for two of the carvers. (Yeah i checked ebay). Perhaps Joe you could send him the cooked board as proof? Lol! That'd steer him clear? :tongue10:
 
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#19
Been there , done that. Want my PT2400 for a month audition??
Lee, I am unfamiliar with the carver line. Is that amp similar to the m500t? If no VU meters, doubt he'll go for the trial run. I think he's looking for something comparable to the PL 400's he replacing partly on an aesthetically similar basis. He found the sunfire line to be brash and harsh sounding. Said they made his ears ring. I doubt he'd find Carvers earlier ventures to be any better.
 

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#20
The PT 2400 is 838.38 watts into 8 ohms per side.1500 per side into 4 ohms, .. When in bridged mode it will do 2400 into 8 and 3000 into 4.
 
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