Non-Bob Carver

Hello out there. OK, I admit that I am not that well versed in Carver history. I can still remember, even at my advanced age, going into the local audio store on Saturdays and slobbering over the Carver gear which I could not afford. Always had to bring a clean shirt with me to change into. Now that I am old and in the way I have picked up some of the Carver gear that I lusted after all of those years ago. C-4000 preamp, M-500, M-500t, SD/A 490t, TX-12, AL-III's, even a Phase Linear parametric EQ. Also picked up a couple of Carver receivers. So what is all this stuff about unAmerican Carver equipment? What is the good Bob stuff and what is the bad non-Bob stuff? A little help here would be appreciated! Thanks!

Well, it's a long story, and you can find it if you look around here. Bob Carver left the company (was evicted by the board) and started Sunfire. Carver went to having products built in China, the brand declined and they went out of business (acutally, the name was bought by Phoenix Gold which marketed stuff under the Carver name after the real demise (under Carver Professional), but that's another story. Bob formed Sunfire and a somewhat similar thing happened there when the company was sold to Elan. I believe Bob is still affiliated with Sunfire, but mostly builds tube amps for sale on eBay these days, and does some collaborative work with James here on the forum.

Anybody want to add and/or correct?

Rest assured; everything you have was made while Bob was at the helm.

Unless the AL-IIIs you have are the "Plus" model.... (no pots on the back)

I'm not so sure about that TX-12

How about the 500t and 490t...mine are made in Japan???

Wayne, some stuff was made in Japan while Bob was in charge.

Actually, some of the stuff made in Japan had the best layouts. The M-500(t) for instance is super easy to work on 'cause it's laid out so well. The Japanese are absolute masters of packaging.

My .02, if one is stuck on buying only American made audio gear, you're missing out on a whole lot of great gear out there.

Actually, some of the stuff made in Japan had the best layouts. The M-500(t) for instance is super easy to work on 'cause it's laid out so well. The Japanese are absolute masters of packaging.

as it turns out, he had a guy that worked for him that would take the designs that bob and his staff would work out, and his guy would hop on a plane to japan to have them made in a batch that he would return with for testing and so forth. at the time, bob said that the japan factory did top notch work. this was the explanation given to me when i asked if there were any tfm35's made in the usa, as all the one's i have are made in japan. so the 35's are his layout put together by someone else. so he said no, all were in japan with the story above.