Post
by Toy Maker » Tue Sep 08, 2009 1:39 am
Meant to post this the other night, but forgot....
The details I have are as follows.
Bob designed, built and started to tune the original Lightstar amp. About 1/2 way through the amp tuning, he took one of his well known sabbaticals (which it seems he still does after completing a big project like the recent I-Mag amp for Sunfire... he took 2 weeks off after finishing that one too) from which he returned to Carver Corp, and a board-room full of the Board of Directors, and Lawyers. This is where they bough him out of his own company. Bob was going after the high end market i.e.: Lightstar solid state line, and the Silver series tube equipment. The BoDs thought they knew best, and were planning a all out assault on the Corporate chain stores using the Carver name as the clout to push cheaper made units from China world wide.
As usual Bob knew better, and walked away knowing what was going to happen to his company. It's not all that bad though, the BoDs had to, #1 buy him out of the company, and secondly, he wound up selling them all of is stock shares as well... Bob made out like a bandit on that deal !!!
After Bob was ousted from Carver Corp, Vic Richards took over the Lightstar line. If I'm not mistaken, Vic is the one the completed the Lightstar Reference voicing.
Jim Croft came in after the LS-1 was produced, to re-design the LS-2, and LS Pre.
It's a real shame the BoDs were so greedy, and wanted Carver to become the next Sony. It would have been very interesting to have seen what else would have come out from Carver Corp. next. I'd assume more Lightstar units, and a larger line of tube equipment.
But then again, both Carver and Sunfire were getting sucking into the HT craze at the exact same time... Tubes, and Lightstar may have both fallen off if Bob had stayed in power as well. Who knows..
