djxtasy

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $510.00 from ebay

Summary:
Let me start by saying that I am so lucky to have this amp in my possession. I bought this amp in ebay in MINT condition, with all original accessories. I've been hearing all the raving reviews about this amp from this site and others, and believe you me THEY ARE ALL TRUE! I have already passed the "break in" period for this amp, and the sound is truly AMAZING!!! What's most impressive is that the unit runs cool (even at extended hours). This is due to the deep heat sinks. Rated at a conservative 125 watts per channel x 5, and 200 watts per channel x 2, this is a powerful unit. Get one if you can, that's all I have to say.

Strengths:
Sound Quality, Sound Quality, Sound Quality!!! Build Deep Heat Sink Power Steering at 200 watts per channel x 2. Delayed Start Up, thus preventing the "well known" Thump sound. Maximum Overload Indicators THX Certification

Weaknesses:
Out Of Business Binding Post

Similar Products Used:
Parasound HCA 1205A

Price Paid:  $480.00 from EBay

Summary:
I used this amp for my rear (Infinity RS-3b), Side (Infinity RS-1a) and Center (Infinity-Delta Center) speakers. It was a real workhorse and I had no complaints .........precise highs, good fill mids and good bass. I recently upgraded to the Parasound HCA-2205a and have noticed a marked improvement. Remember all these Infinity speakers ask for quite a load at 4 ohms and drop below 2 on ocasion. My highs are now poignant without being sharp (the Carver in retrospect was a bit tinny) and the bass response is way better. Beter extension and overall girth. The upgrade was well worth it but for the money paid I do not believe you can do better than the Carver for home theatre setup. System for reference (2) Threshold S-550e Amps Parasound HCA 2205a Bryston 10B Crossover Threshold T-2 PreAmp (for Analog) Lexicon DC-2 (for Digital) Wadia 830 CD Pioneer 47a DVD Tanberg 3001a FM Tuner Infinity RS-1b Towers, RS-3b Towers, RS-1a, Delta Center Speakers

Strengths:
Price, construction and power handling. Separate limiters for each channel.

Weaknesses:
Slightly harsh at upper end (just slightly), out of business. Somewhat flimsy binding posts. Not up to quality of the rest of the unit. Remember I'm being extremely critical.

Similar Products Used:
Krell, Parasound, Yamaha

Price Paid:  $525.00 from ebay

Summary:
I bought this used off of ebay in near mint condition and believe I got a steal. Into 4 ohms, it puts out 200x5 with THX certification. What else could you want? I'm currently only using 3 of the 5 channels. I'm pushing a pair of Klipsch RF-3's and a 16-46cs SVS passive subwoofer. The addition of the amp brought improved, cleaner bass all around. The extra power also helped speed up the break in period for the speakers. Monster cable interlink 100's connect all speakers to my reciever and work wonderfully. This unit is very sleek with clean lines. It doesn't beg for attention. One of the biggest pluses w/this unit is that it runs very, very cool thanks to wonderful ventilation. Rarely does it warm up. My onkyo reciever heats up alot more than this. If you can find one, grab it. I would buy carver again even though it would be used.

Strengths:
Sound quality, power, looks

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
never had an amp before

Price Paid:  $550.00 from E-bay

Summary:
It's a typical Carver amp, only with 5 channels instead of 2!

The very fast attack rate on the output stage produces an intricate, sexy detailed sound on instruments with complex waveforms. The heavy-duty power supply and monstrous power capacitors drive the heaviest bass you can throw at it. The amp is neither overly bright nor muddy - like my TFM-45, it's COMPLETELY neutral - it neither adds nor takes away, it merely amplifies.

With the gain adjusters turned all the way up (the setting required by the THX standard), and a noise floor (muted preamp output) signal input, this amp produces absolutely no hum. As for hiss, you - quite literally - have to press your ear against the speaker grille directly over the tweeter to hear a very, very faint hiss.

Finally, for those of you used to the mid-fi world, don't let the "125w/channel" power rating confuse you - mid-fi receivers claiming "125w/channel" tend to be wimpy and anemic, but an audiophile amp like this one that's rated at 125w/channel will make your ears bleed. This is what I expected from my experience with the Carver TFM-45 - the TFM-45 had power meters, and I discovered that even when the cannon in the 1812 overture sounded off loud enough to make the CD player skip, I was still peaking at WELL under 50 watts per channel. The AV-705 is clearly made of the same stuff - optesting with everything from classical to reggae has made it very clear that even in a large living room (mine is 600 square feet), your ears are going to beg for mercy LONG before the amp does.

If you're in the market for a 5-channel amp, BUY. THIS. AMP. You won't regret it.

Strengths:
Typically Carver neutrality, detail, and amazing power reserves. VERY nicely engineered auto-mute circuitry on power up and power down keeps capacitor discharge from causing "speaker thump".

Weaknesses:
I miss the lighted meters from my TFM-45. =)

Similar Products Used:
Carver TFM-45, TFM-35, Carver integrated amplifier

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Used over the net

Summary:
It's an amp. It's supposed to take the output of the preamp and amplify it. It does. It doesn't weight the sound in any displeasing way. It takes what it's given and adds oodles of juice. This thing drives my B&W 604's with aplomb. We're talking about speakers with a 1" tweeter, 6.5" mid, and 2 7" woofers. They sounded good before at 70watts each with the receiver's built in amp. When I hooked up the Carver the bass absolutely thumped. It was as if I'd just added a sub, which I had by providing the juice to fully utilize the lowend capacity of my speakers. Music sounds fuller but bass isn't overwhelming. Where it really excels is in my HT applications. Where as before I was power limited on the really big bass effects (I don't have a sub and that info goes to my mains) now I've decided I don't even need one. In my last apartment I actually had to stop using the Carver and go back to the receiver's built in due to complaints from the neighbors. It's as good as anything out there as far as I'm concerned and if you can find one used (which you occasionally can in the 400-600 range) get it. It's a keeper.

Strengths:
Seems to be able to drive anything clean and smooth

Weaknesses:
Since it's no longer made not everyone can have one!

Similar Products Used:
Rotel, Parasound, NAD etc...