Solid, never breaks, cheap and good quality

Cable posts are not made of gold. Carver Co. is bankrupt. Thus, you must find your own support source.

I have 2 TFM-15CB ammps. They are connected to 2 Energy C-6 speakers and a Rotel preamp. I find the amps very warm in the high end and nice direct bass delivry. I have never had any problems with the meters or the ligths as mentioned by other reviewers. They are solid as a rock and they just keep churning out music continuously. The price is quoted in Canadian dollars (same value as monopoly)

Can handle, with ease, being used as a musical intrument amplifier as well as a home stereo amplifier and can be used to power a PA for on stage use.

They tend to be a little fragile to bumps and bangs and the front panel meter lights tend to get knocked out easily.

When purshaed from a former roomate while stationed in Germany as a Us servicemember, I was literally doing backflips for the fact that I owned two of them to drive 4 Cerwin Vega AT100''s. These speakers are power hungry and produce seeming pants flapping bass and a wall of sound that will cause hearing damage. The two Tfm15 cb''s that I use to drive them have never had any problem whatsoever in driving them. With their very low THD and extremely ample headroom, Any style of music sounded great. I have driven them almost to the point of distortion and gained confidence in that they just didn''t stop! The front panel meter lights did not burn out and had survived the shipping from Kitzingen, Germany to Riverside California. Although they did get knocked out somehow during a move to Muncie, IN. Still the amps worked flawlessly in their function. I am a musician (bassist) for the band Flysocket and had one time been without an amp for my bass rig. I recruited the help of one of my TFM15 cb''s to do the job. I supplied the signal to it via an ART SGX Nightbass SE preamplifier. I fed and ran the Amplifier in mono mode and connected it to a 4ohm Hartke 410Tp 4X10 bass cabinet. I was so amazed at how the amp not only sounded, but how it contained more than enough headroom to handle a musical instrument amplifier role. It sounded so clear and puncy that I thought about keeping it for that purpose. But due to the construstion and intended role, I did not want to subject it to the rigors of the road. Recently, I had to part with one of my dear Tfm15cb''s and wanted to know how and where would be the best way to find and buy another one to compliment the one that I already have to have my array going again.

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SoundCraftsmen SA100

has been reliable so far

1.looks awful 2.input level pots. they make it sound all tubey - yuck! (bypass them and use a real pre-amp)

This amp is not bad but it definetly CANNOT compete with the best. I have bypassed its preamp section (via jumpers inside the amp) and am using it with Morrison''s pre-amp and my Psb speakers. It is obvious that there is some amount of audiable distortion being created by this amp. But for now i have to keep it until i save up for something bigger, better, faster and stronger!! (like some full-complimentary class A.... yummy mummy!) Either way this little guy is not bad but he wont give you that dead black view through the recording window like the very best solid state stuff out there. But then again, who would expect that at this price.

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bryston 4b-st

has been reliable so far

1.looks awful 2.input level pots. they make it sound all tubey - yuck! (bypass them and use a real pre-amp)

This amp is not bad but it definetly CANNOT compete with the best. I have bypassed its preamp section (via jumpers inside the amp) and am using it with Morrison''s pre-amp and my Psb speakers. It is obvious that there is some amount of audiable distortion being created by this amp. But for now i have to keep it until i save up for something bigger, better, faster and stronger!! (like some full-complimentary class A.... yummy mummy!) Either way this little guy is not bad but he wont give you that dead black view through the recording window like the very best solid state stuff out there. But then again, who would expect that at this price.

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bryston 4b-st

Warm tube-like trebles nicely reproduce female vocals, and stringed instruments. Extremely high S/N ratio affords quiet passages which do not require the listener to strain auditory senses for musical detail. Natural timbre provides for comfortable long listening periods. Excellent stereo amplifier for sub $500 price range.

Developed cold-solder joint after 6-7 years of HEAVY usage. Doesn't image maintain separation of musical instruments like a $2500 Krell integrated piece, nor more pricey tube designs.

I loved this amp from the very first time I heard it in a listening room. I have always used it in conjunction with a Carver CT-6 preamp, except for a short gig it played driving some rear channels in a Dolby Pro Logic config. (It was just too much of a waste to retire it to such a mundane role.)

The closest thing to which I am equipped to accurately compare it is a Nakimichi AV-1s receiver. The Nak was excellent and offered the 6 channel config I needed for a DVD player. However, it lacked the musicality of the TFM-15cb (most notable on recordings of female vocals.) So I still prefer the Carver for straight stereo listening.

No ... it doesn't image like a product design costing $2500-$5000 (an order of magnitude price increase). But for the $350 I paid for it 7 years ago ... it simply could not be beat!

Similarly priced Adcom units may have the low frequency punch associated with their sheer power. In my opinion, however, they lack the subtle finesse of this Carver unit.

Used units in good working order would make excellent candidates for listeners graduating from the mass market to whom stereo listening is paramount.

I'd like to try the aforementioned Carver CT-6/TFM-15cb along with a pair of Sonus Faber Concertos and an old Carver SDA-490t CD player with tubes in the output stage if I can ever locate one at a reasonable price.

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Nakamichi AV-1s Receiver, Carver HR895 Receiver, various Adcom units

Clean abundant power, price/value relationship, appearance

Carver as a company no longer exists

I picked the Carver up used for a song and have been extremely satisfied with it. In my system (Dalquist DQ 20 speakers, Carver CT-3 preamp, Rotel 971 CD) to performs well with plenty of power and a clean sound with just a hint of tube-like sound. Given the number of these units available for resale and the prevailing price, I don't think you can do much better for the dollar. There appear to be some QC issues with later Carver designs, but the 15cb seems pretty well built.

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NAD, Rotel, Sunfire, Adcom

power,power!!!!!!

rear panel cluster for bi-wiring

All of you who own this Amp...,if you own a sub, run the
sub with this Amp BRIDGED!!! then run back and type your
experience! Someone talked of 300Watt bridged? This amp
will churn out 700Watts!!!...This Amp totally destroyed
may beloved CERVIN VEGA! SUB RATED AT 300WATTS max.
Now, if you can run Two of these babes in mono and listen
to your speakers sing! The depth of the soundstage is
EMMENCE...the chilling presence one gets from tubes is there
only this time.. it's presented with concert authority..
Iam running the Amps from a C-J pre- another music oriented
company.One can spent more cash on lofty amps,but the wiser
point lies in the MUSIC.A power amplifier should handle all
possible musical terrains and it takes a headroom like we have in this product!!!

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hafler,yamaha

Good basic strereo amp, neat design.

No gold plated jacks.

Contrary to the folks below, I just bought a Nakamichi AV7 and I think it is more musical and sounds sweeter than my TFM 15 which I have been using for about 8 years. The Carver is still working like a champ and never lacks power. I like it but I like the Nakamichi better. Maybe because it's new. Who knows? My system includes MB Quart Domain 55, KEF Q15, KEF Sub, Parasound/Nakamichi CD player, Kimber Kable, Audio Quest speaker cables and Nordost Black Knight interconnects.

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Adcom, Nakamichi, NAD, Jolida (audition only).

Quality, value, sound reproduction

Lack of spare parts availability

I had this amp first as my main power amp for a set of old Klipsch Heresys running through a Hafler pre amp. Sounded nice and warm. Then I bought some Magneplanar MMG's and this amp was not quite as happy driving those into 4 ohms, even though I had a powered sub woofer. I now have the TFM-35x and you can read my review on that....I love Bob's stuff!!
This amp is in the box, I am going to hook it up to another pair of MMG's for back channels in a few months. This is a nice clean little amp that I bought for 350.00. I like the clarity and clean power for the price. It looks great and runs fairly cool. These are great buys purchased used.

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Carver holosonic pre amp, Carver TFM-35x amp

I got this amp a few years back on the cheap because at the time I could only afford to lay out money on the preamp. At the time it seemed fine, but after auditioning several other (admittedly more expensive) amps, it had to go. For a hundred watt amp, it's extremely weak. Granted my speakers weren't designed to go up to high volumes (Rogers LS3/5A), but the TFM15 would audibly clip at moderate volumes. No such problem with any of the other (also 100 watt) amps I've used. The sound of the amp is on the harsh side in the higher registers and on the muddy/ill-defined side in the bass. Fact of the matter is, it's not a very expensive amp and it sounds the part. Let's just say you can get substantially better sound and you don't have to spend (much) more to get it.

Oh yes, since it seems the norm: Rogers LS3.5As with an AMC Ace-Bass sub, Counterpoint 1000 pre, 100 amp, Kinergetics KCD 20 & CEC 3100 cd, Nakamichi DR-1 tape, Sota STAR w/ Benz Glider, Power Wedge 116, Sennheiser HD-580, Audioquest Ruby, Tara Phase II.