Custom amp created by Bob Carver (AND I SHIT ON IT)

another pic

The top will be off when using the amp. I'll see the tubes enough I think. I'm more about hearing the music than seeing tubes glowing anyway. I usually shut the lights off on all my gear while I'm listening. Bob put blue LEDs in the face of this amp and he put an on/off switch for me. I hate staring at lights while I'm enjoying my music.

Anyone else?

DO keep the top off when playing the amp! You will soon find out that big tubes create a tremendous amount of heat....I like my system best in the winter- FREE heat!

yep as long as you don't have any little fingers around the house!

I was playing around with some 6080 tubes last year and boy did they heat up with 3 amps for each filament!!! Was testing 1 channel with 4 x 6080's and they gave off more heat than the fireplace!

My custom built Bob Carver masterpiece arrived yesterday. I was pretty excited as I uncrated the amp.



The deeper I got, the more excited I got!


I popped the top off it to see mt piece of Bob Carver custom created ART and I was a little dismayed.


The closer I looked, the worse it got.




I hate to disparage the legend but damn... this is horrible.


I emailed him asking what the h*ll happened to my amp? Maybe he farmed the build out to neighborhood kids?


My "friend" emailed back and told me never to contact him again.

Seriously? I've never heard of Bob saying something like that to anyone, not even Stereophile Magazine~

FYI: I'm not surprised....Bob is all about how it SOUNDS.

BTW.......how DOES it sound??

Yes. He emailed me that. Quote... "I cannot believe you! Don't ever contact me again."

Seriously? You'd be happy with a custom created amp that took over a year to finish and ended up looking like this?! After seeing Bobs tube amps on ebay and his website, I was expecting this thing to be a piece of art. I was hoping to pop the cover off and WOW anyone who laid eyes on it. Instead, I'm so embarrassed that I'll probably always keep the cover on it.

I hooked it up temporarily directly to a CD player. I used the volume control knob on the amp to control the volume. There's a major HUM in one channel. It may be my wires or my CD player so I'm not getting too nervous about the hum until I can hook this thing up properly.

Honestly, I'm so disappointed with the quality of the amps cosmetics, I will probably put it back in the crate and store it in the closet.

If you read the details on the ebay amps, Tubular Joe was the builder....Bob was in charge of DESIGN.

Having sat at a bench with Bob & seen him solder.........

Sorry you're disappointed

Hey dOn, I'll answer your question that was asked elsewhere.


Me:
"I daresay that if you'd contracted to have a Carver amp built.......the appearance would have had a lot more consideration given to it."



You:
"I'm curious what you think I contracted with Bob Carver to build and what took him over a year to produce? "



IMO, you asked Bob to rework/resurrect another maker's prominently badged amp chassis....... with his technology .

In effect, this created a "Frankenamp", with Bob's work being swallowed and obscured by the massive, garish, Stealth case.

It is my feeling that if you had simply wanted a straightforward Carver amplifier to be built for you....... the pride would have come through in the fit and finish of the amp, just like it does on all of the other Carver amps that are currently being built and sold to many, many satisfied people. A silk purse made from a sow's ear is usually not a wise venture.

Rather harsh there GDB, but for once I can go along with what you are saying. I can attest to just how much of a challemge it is to build an amp that works right, much less looks good. What you have here is an amp chassis fitted inside a very different chassis, as GDB said, a "frankenamp".

The paint on the transformer covers looks like shit, we can all agree, so just put the lid on it and be happy. You indicated elsewhere that the amp sounds great(and will get MUCH better as the tubes break in. If seeing the guts is that important to you, send it to me and I will make the inside look better than a naked babe laying over the hood of a Ferrari, but that work won't come cheap.

My advice... give Bob a week or better yet, two. Call him up and APPOLOGIZE for the mis-percieved tone of the email and tell him THANK YOU SIR for how awesome the amp sounds. Then take the covers out and strip them and visit a body shop and have them painted right. Send one back up to Bob for resigning and all your problems will be solved.

Bob is a great guy, and even the very best are entitled to have a bad day.

d0n,

By your previous comments I take it you paid good money for this job. If so, there's no excuse for the crappy cosmetics. If you got a large discount, that might be a different story.

IMO, you asked Bob to rework/resurrect another maker's prominently badged amp chassis....... with his technology .

In effect, this created a "Frankenamp", with Bob's work being swallowed and obscured by the massive, garish, Stealth case.

Further proof that there's something seriously wrong with your brain. If he felt that way, he should have never agreed to take on the job.

I paid Bob $2795 + the $370 in shipping from Wa. to NY. It is the largest investment I have ever made in the effort to enjoy my audio hobby.

More concerning than the weird paint job is the fact that the lifetime warranty is void now since I can "never contact him again".

Since I can never contact him again, I assume I have somehow "voided" my lifetime warranty.

Here's the email I sent word for word...

Bob, I received the amp yesterday.

I'm fairly disappointed in the finish on the 3 transformers. It looks someone painted them with a brush. They're not even all the same color or finish.

I was hoping for an amplifier that would "wow" people when I popped the top off. When I pop the top off this thing, people are just going to be befuddled (as I was) with the sloppy paint work.

I was really expecting more after paying almost double the original price we agreed on and after seeing your beautiful tube amps on ebay. I'm really curious just what the hell happened with this thing Bob? Did you farm the build out to some neighborhood kids or something? I know you didn't do this. I'm kind of surprised that you even signed it given it's surprising lack of quality control.

I haven't even hooked it up yet. Hopefully, it will have an angelic sound that will overcome it's sloppiness.

...perpetually expecting too much,

-Don

IMHO---
As for price you paid....For $2795 you could have probably only gotten the new 20 Watt amp customized into your chassis. I agree it looks pretty sloppy- but you were more than likely paying for the electronics only. How many watts is the amp? If it is a black beauty based amp- you got a deal on the electronics. Check the internet for pricing on Carver's new amps....they are double what you paid with the exception of the 20 Watt baby black beauty. If it were me----I would make nice with Bob and get the chassis painted by someone who is a professional painter and have him re-sign the cover for you....

Good Luck in whatever you decide to do. Trashing Bob will not further your cause.

Cheers!~

Maybe I missed it,,but what are the specs(power) ? How does it sound?

That paint job is pretty bad, maybe Bob thought the top cover would be left on? It seems if one wanted to "show off" a beautiful Bob Carver tube amp one should just buy one and put it on display. The price may be the largest investment you've made in audio but in the big picture you got a screaming deal, even if you end up paying to have the covers repainted. With two pairs of KT-120 output tubes you have a 100-120 watt stereo tube amplifier. Carver's new 20 watt amps are selling for $2200, 180 watt Black Beauties are retailing for $7500. If you're really that upset you could always put the amp up for sale on eBay as is and get your money back, possibly make a few bucks or you can suck it up, realize the fantastic deal you got and have the covers repainted.

It's 100 watts per at 8 ohms...pretty good deal to me....

It's 100 watts per at 8 ohms...pretty good deal to me....

yeah--I'm old,,but is it an amp within another amp chassis?