Prisen har visst allerede kommet opp i over $10000 nå, noen atyder at prisen vil komme opp i såpass mye som $20000, kanskje ikke rart med tanke på at lakkeringen alene kostet $5000!
Det har vært mange interessante Q og A sessions hver gang noen av disse handlagde rørampene fra Bob Carver har vært aksjonert bort, og denne auksjonen er heller intet unntak.
Her kan vi lese det som er kommet så langt.
Question & Answer
Q: Hi Bob, I have always been a fan of high powered tube amps.Im in the music business and use Marshall tube heads for guitar , I have always wanted to know why tubes always go bad or become weak after time, in your description of your silver seven you say the tubes should last 50 years, how come the other manufacturers cant make tubes in their amps last like that?Thanks for your time.. May-11-11
A: Hi '5201, Now THAT is a great question! I knew someone would ask that. Here's the deal - most musical instrument amplifiers put their output tubes through a lot more stress than an audio output amplifier. I am not a musician,still I have watched musicians play and they are HARD on amps, often using the amp as an extension of their musical instrument. Not only that but the amps idle at a large percentage of the tubes' rating. For example, I own a Mesa Boogie amp,and the 6L6 output tubes idle away at 24 watts each, representing an excellent compromise between longevity, musicality and distortion. The maximum rating on a 6L6 tube is 30 watts. So we see that the tube is idling at 24/30 = 80% of it's maximum allowable dissipation (heat stress). Now, longevity is proportional to the third power of the dissipation. If we compare that dissipation level to those in my amp, we find that the KT120 is rated for 50 watts dissipation, and I idle them at about 11 watts (thanks to the DC restorer), or only 22% of maximum. Finally, the ratio of 80 divided by 22 raised to third power is 48. That means (theoretically) the tubes in my amp will last 48 times longer than the Mesa Boogie tubes. Strictly speaking, for a variety of technical reasons the difference is not quite that severe, but you get the picture, nes 'pa? Great query! Thanks for asking, Bob Carver
Q: NICE, HOW ABOUT THE TRANSFORMERS? ARE YOU USING PIE-TYPE COIL WINDING? ANY SILVER WIRE IN THEM? THANKS! Ronald May-10-11
A: Hi Ron, Yes, this is a full transformer that I wound and received some wire burns from in the process. It's pie wound with six pie segments, and the secondaries are wound with pure silver wire. The primaries are wound with soft copper, oxygen free, and silver coated. I wanted to wind the primaries with solid silver as well, but found I could not handle the thin silver wire without breaking it, so I used the silver coated copper. That actually worked better anyway, for a variety of technical reasons - but that's for a different time. Thanks for writing, Bob Carver
Q: Is this a one off amp, or are they now being produced? May-10-11
A: Hi '99, Since Bob is my name, and amps are my game, I MUST continue macking these amps sometime, somehow. Problem is that there is only me and Tubular Joe building these one at a time. Therefore, sadly for the moment this must remain a one-of-a-kind amplifier. Still, and just the same, it's too beautiful to not build some more. We just cannot do it even in the near future. But someday! We spent way too much time on this amplifier not to have more of them peek their way into the sunshine and into our audiophile hearts and minds. So someday. Great question - thanks for asking, Bob Carver
Q: Hi Bob, Peter here again. Curious, have you ever auditioned your new amplifiers on your amazing ribbons? considering the inefficiencies, how would they perform?? I may want to consider such an amp, seeing that I never had any luck aquiring the original silver sevens. I should state that I am bi amping. Your saying that this amplifier is more than twice as powerful as the original...WOW!! Big fan of your products and designs. May-10-11
A: Ho 'O, I have indeed played my Amazings on these amps. Many times in the past and with my original Silver Sevens - more recently with these new amps, and I for one must say they sound stunning to me. And just for clarity, these amps ARE twice as powerful. Thanks for being my fan - you are helping make my day - and thanks for joining my auction. Bob Carver
Q: Bob -- Would that I had the gelt to buy these -- how beautiful and technologically interesting they are. Any chance you'll ever be putting out a schematice, if not for these then for a similar amp, so I can learn more about the DC Restorer? I'd like to better understand how this circuit works. Always learning... May-10-11
A: Hi xoons, I have put out a schematic several times, but now I have to update it so it's the latest, greatest. My plan is to put it on the Carver forum in the next week or so, so keep checking. I would do it now but I'm sooooo busy right now I just don't have time to sit down and draw a new one. I will in the next few weeks though. keep me posted. Thanks for writing, Bob Carver
Q: Hi Bob, is this actually you?? If so, would you mind giving me the oppotunity to contact you by email or phone regarding the platinum series IV?? I just sent you an email, but i"m not sure i sent it correctly. We met once at the LV CES show several years ago. I just need some info. Hope you can and are willing to help me thank you Peter....my email is
creativedesigns@bellnet.ca May-10-11
A: Hi 'fast three again, Well, let's see if it is really me - I'll pinch myself hard, and if it hurts it must really be me. Here goes, ouuuuch, that hurt! Yep, it really is me!
bob.sunfire@gmail.com I'll help and we will get your speakers working fine again. Bob Carver
Q: Hi Bob, Are we bidding on a PAIR of amps (Both channels) or is the bid price each? Also, will they work on a 240V/50Hz mains supply? May-10-11
A: Hi 'fast three, Oops, sorry about my poor clarity - we are bidding on a pair of SILVER SEVEN NINE HUNDREDS. A pair is required to make stereo. I just read my auction again and the only place I even remotely make it clear is at the top with the word "each". And even that is not particularly clarifying. Good catch 'fast three. As for 120/240 volt conversion, no sweat. If English idiom sounds goofy (or colloquial English is not your first language), the answer is YES. Bob Carver
Q: Mr Carver, First let me say that your contribution to appreciation of honest sound replication has made my life better!... oh yea! and beer. I own a pair of Seven's, had them about 20yrs now. I have never taken them apart to replace the tubes or for any other reason. having a basic knowledge of tube lifespan I'm aware that the tubes may need to be replaced... there is a slight hum in the system, I was wondering if the problem lies in the tubes, capacitors of possibly something else,is the balancing/biasing a critical part of making the amps honest and could I replace them myself? Even with the hum they sound great I'm a guitar builder and a musician, I've replaced a few tubes in my time and mechanical problems are only a solution away so I my question would be... what whould you reccomend? May-10-11
A: Hi Highnoon, This will be easy to fix - just call me and we can almost certainly fix it over the phone just by talking about it and performing a series of converging experiments that will lead us to a perfect fix. Call me at 425 487 4258 and we will fix it together. It is probably one of the 12BY7's. Does it do it on both channels? Does the hum go away when the volume control is turned down? Does the hum go away if a ground "buster" is used on the AC power-line cord? As an outside chance, though unlikely, it may turn out to be a filter capacitor, weak or stating to dry up. Not to worry, we will get it fixed! Of that there is no doubt. Bob Carver
Q: Hi Bob, Long time no talk. As I own a set of your Cherry 180's can you tell me how Sliver Sevens sound different, from the Cherry 180's. As we talked about at CF10, I changed the KT88's to to the TK120's for 260 wpc Hoping to see you in July I am planing a trip to Vancouver, will see you in Sept at CF11 Brian. Ottawa. Canada. May-10-11
A: Hi Brian, well, the KT120's sound the same as the KT88's provided the bias current is adjusted to be the same. They will sound different if the bias voltage is set the same. Usually if we simply change the tubes without doing anything else, the amp will sound more forward with a tighter focus with the KT120's, and will posses a larger acoustic in a big acoustic space with the KT88's or KT100's. Hope this helps, Brian, oops, I mean Bob Carver
Q: Jumpin' Jehoshaphat, Bob! These babies are a sight to behold!! Looking at the pictures and reading your description, however, cause me to wonder about a couple of minor details. First, you state, "Four output terminals; common ground, one, two, four, eight and sixteen ohms," which seems to me that it is six (6) rather than four output terminals. Am I missing something? Second, these are monoblock amplifiers, yet I see a pair of RCA coaxial connectors on each. Is this supposed to be some kind of variation on a balanced input, using isolated coaxial connectors, or is it something else? Let me also just say that these babies are absolutely bee-you-tee-full! If I had these killers at my place, I wouldn't need any form of external heat source as I'd have these mothers hot and rockin' all the time! Keep these great amps of your a-comin'!!! -joe May-10-11
A: Hi 'amd, If you think they are a sight to behold in the pictures, you should see them in real life - the finish is five miles deep and sparkles like diamonds. As for the output terminals, each one does double duty. The power band is so wide that it almost doesn't matter which tap we use to drive a given speaker because the amp can deliver its rated power, for example, into four or eight ohms on the same output transformer tap. This means that the power into an eight ohm resistor will be the same regardless of whether it's hooked to the four or eight ohm tap. Consequently, the taps are, in order, one to two ohms, two to four ohms, four to eight ohms or sixteen ohms. Now my head is spinning. The RCA input jacks accept either a DC "lab direct" signal or an AC "normal" (capacitor coupled) signal just to be on the safe side when a real-world preamp is used. Good eyes Captain! Bob Carver
Q: Wow!! $5,000 dollars just for the paint on this amplifiers? May-10-11
A: Hi'ses, I know, I know! Here's what happened - I knew I wanted a paint job even better than even the most powerful minor god could apply, so I went over to "Killer Paints", looked around their shop, and saw a beautiful motorcycle. I pointed my trigger finger and said' "I want my color just like that!" It reminded me of my first car. I said "Give me the best paint job you have." I new it would be expensive, but not just HOW expensive, and I did not ask how much it would cost. Was I in for a surprise! It took about five weeks, and from time-to-time I would go to the paint shop and view the progress. I gotta say it was gorgeous! Try 18 layers of hand rubbed cellulose acetate nitrate lacquer, followed by six coats of clear-coat, each hand polished between coats. Each chassis took many days to finalize. I was to the point of being afraid to ask how much, and really was starting to get nervous. I kept my silence and when I picked up the chassisum (plural of chassis?)I was amazed and overjoyed! I knew I was in the presence of greatness! Also sticker shock. In the end, I was happy. The pictures here do not do justice to the real, live paint finish. The real amps looks way more stunning than my pictures do - don't know why exactly - they just do. Bob Carver
Q: Hey Bob... The new amps are stunning, and the point-to-point work is nothing short of stellar. These look to have more tubes in them than the original Silver 7's did. It would appear that these have more in common with the incredibly rare Silver 9's (two or three pairs I believe)... Do you have plans on building more of these amps, as you have done with the "Cherry" series, or will these be a one time deal here on Ebay? I would love to have these, but with a move coming up, the finances are not there at the moment. May-10-11
A: Hi John, What sharp eyes you have! These new amps DO have more tubes than the original 'Sevens. And, and otherwise they are substantially different (from the '9's) - about double the power - plus they have a current feedback loop that the originals did not have, allowing them to "listen" to the room more and generate a bigger acoustic space, my DC restorer which allows the output tubes to run cool, deliver lots of power with lower distortion (not that it needed lower distortion), as well as my latest thinking regarding power amp design. As far as building more, it will be a long, long, time. The paint itself was done by "Killer Paints", a shop specializing in exotic motorcycle and car painting;the paint alone for the four chassis cost $5,000! I went nuts. Not only that, but Tubular Joe labored over these amplifiers like like non other and the effort truly exhausted him. Oh well, the future lies ahead - we'll see. Beyond that, I cannot say, so I'm not saying. Hope this helps, Bob Carver
Q: Bob, You gotta stop listing all these beautiful amps. Everytime you list one it takes me hours to clean up the drool. That is sweet!!!!! May-10-11
A: Hi'6501, No way, Bob's my name, amps are my game. Bob Carver