Post
by elgrau » Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:39 pm
1 Just purchased my second Carver this one a TFM-45 said to be in mint condition, seller gave it a 9/10 because of age not cosmetics , was $515.00 a good price said to be fully functional ?
I'd have to say for that amount I'd want a recently re-furbed TFM-45.
2 I read somewhere that all TFM45's have some problem that requires a critical dampening adjustment be made if they have never been serviced is this true ?
Yes, pretty much true IF the SN is such that it does not have the "drift fix" in place. The "break point" for these SN's is listed somewhere here in a thread (as well as the complete instructions for doing the damping adjustment and all the other service adjustments). Do a creative search to find these posts (use key words like "TFM-45", "damping", "drift", "number", etc.).
ADD: Found the SB # TFM-45-4 ("To eliminate damping pot drift"). It says this SB applies to TFM-45's with SN's below 02760 and TFM-42's below 01200. It does not mention M4.0's which I believe also share this same circuit.
3 I have also read that the TFM 45 has the best sound stage of all the TFM series , is that just a matter of opinion or is there factual documentation to support this claim.
All such claims re ANY amp are a matter of someone's opinion. But yes, some do say that the TFM-45/42 has the most "tube like" sound built into its transfer function and some also say that the Bob Father himself has stated this (even tho he of course loves ALL his amps...lol).
4 Are all TFM 45's made overseas ?
Mine says "Made in Lynnwood, WA, USA" on its back panel (as does my TFM-42).
Last edited by
elgrau on Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
FR: 400 disk changer with PS Audio Digital Link III DAC; Technics SL-1100A TT. QED Quenx1 IC's from DAC & TT to Adcom GTP-602 preamp/Tuner. AudioQuest King Cobra IC's from preamp to M1.0t mk-II opt2. QED Silver Spirals 4M wires to EPI 1000’s.
LR: AudioEngine wireless link from family room preamp to Barcus-Berry 2002R Sonic Maximizer to GlowPower Zyxt IC's to Sunfire 300x2 to Nordost 6M bi-source wires to AOS 28" MDF spherical speakers using six 6.5" woofers and eight 1" dome tweeters symm. arranged around the surface.
SS system: CX-995V DVD to AV-634x 3-4 channel amp (center/rears) & M1.0t mk-II opt2(fronts).
Garage: 300 disk changer to Entech 202.5 DAC to MXR150 Receiver (pre) to TFM-42 to EPI 400 speakers.