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Bob Carver's new speakers - looks good but expensive.

post #1 of 17
3/13/13 at 10:13am
Thread Starter 
Bob Carver's latest speaker design sure looks interesting. He founded and sold Carver Corp. Now I assume he has sold Sunfire. So he has a new company that is producing high end tube amps and this speaker system. I think MSRP is 22k.


http://www.bobcarver.com/als1000.asp

SPECIFICATIONS

Height: 89.5"
Cabinet: 1 piece extruded aluminum cabinet
Extrusion Profile: 4.625" x 6.875"
Weight: 135 lbs each
Color: Satin Black
Foot print: 24" x 24"
Number of front firing 8" ribbons: 13
Number of side firing 4" high excursion drivers: 22
Rated Power: 2,000 watts
SPL: 121 dB
Sensitivity: 96 dB
Bi Amp Capable: Yes
Country of Origin: United States of America
Warranty: 7 Years
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post #2 of 17
3/13/13 at 3:49pm
Personally I wouldn't consider any speaker this cheap. You get what you pay for.

Sent from my diamond encrusted ipad.
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post #3 of 17
3/13/13 at 3:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by uncola View Post

Personally I wouldn't consider any speaker this cheap. You get what you pay for.

Sent from my diamond encrusted ipad.

tongue.gif
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post #4 of 17
3/13/13 at 4:09pm
It looks like a typical line array ... Lots of them out there... They are all huge, but I have never heard that this was the be all end all design for speakers. I would ask Prof. Bill opinion tbh.

With an array that big I am sure they are sensitive though...

Anyway...Bob may be expensive ..but never heard he made a bad product.
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post #5 of 17
3/13/13 at 4:28pm
Uses Dayton Audio planar ribbons http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=275-085 From what i've heard for others its not that great of a tweeter. Huge massive markup. At 26 tweeters a pair you have about $1800 and thats retail prices, he probably got them much cheaper than whats on PEs site.
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post #6 of 17
3/13/13 at 7:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Newbie01 View Post

It looks like a typical line array ... Lots of them out there... They are all huge, but I have never heard that this was the be all end all design for speakers. I would ask Prof. Bill opinion tbh.

With an array that big I am sure they are sensitive though...

Anyway...Bob may be expensive ..but never heard he made a bad product.
I'm sure it's nice enough. I use line arrays in my HT. They cost me about $40 each to build. biggrin.gif
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post #7 of 17
3/13/13 at 7:44pm
I am still very happy with my old Carver al III's. Got them off Craig's list for $600.00 so I could get 36 pairs of them for the cost of his new ones. I'm sure they are fantastic but not 36x better then what I have. (Granted mine were purchased used.)
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post #8 of 17
3/13/13 at 8:06pm
Thread Starter 
If Carver is using a stock Dayton planar tweeter that has a drop-off-the cliff bottom limit of 1.5 kHz, then I do not understand how he gets away with the side firing midrange-woofers. I would have used the big BG ribbons also available from Parts Express. They can be used down to 150 Hz.

I would have to hear them to endorse them. I think a wide dispersion point source is a better way to go, and certainly cheaper.

The Carver website shows no frequency response or crossover point data.

Carver is now making some really cool looking tube power amps.
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post #9 of 17
3/13/13 at 8:28pm
I heard these about a year ago and could not force myself to like them. With much of the midrange being side-firing, the had a very diffuse, "I'm in a cave" sound. I thought the HF performance was very good....just couldn't handle the rest of it.
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post #10 of 17
3/13/13 at 8:30pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by russ_777 View Post

I heard these about a year ago and could not force myself to like them. With much of the midrange being side-firing, the had a very diffuse, "I'm in a cave" sound. I thought the HF performance was very good....just couldn't handle the rest of it.

I am not surprised.
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post #11 of 17
3/14/13 at 6:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by russ_777 View Post

I heard these about a year ago and could not force myself to like them. With much of the midrange being side-firing, the had a very diffuse, "I'm in a cave" sound. I thought the HF performance was very good....just couldn't handle the rest of it.
The midbass baffles are about 7 inches wide, so radiation from the midbasses isn't directional below 2kHz, which corresponds well with the likely 2kHz crossover to the planars. But that radiation pattern makes the distance to the room walls critical in the result. I can see how they could sound very good with the right placement, and very bad with the wrong placement.
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post #12 of 17
3/14/13 at 10:13am
Thread Starter 
"midbasses isn't directional below 2kHz"

In the real world that is just not true. You can hear a big difference if you mount a midrange driver in a different direction than the tweeter. Even with a 150hz crossover you can clearly hear the difference. Carver may have the midranges positioned to the center of the room, trying to create a holographic image. With special circuits and a wire going between the two speakers, that might work. Without any special ambience and image circuitry, I cannot see it working very well.
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post #13 of 17
3/14/13 at 10:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by inky blacks View Post

"midbasses isn't directional below 2kHz"

In the real world that is just not true.
I live in the real world, and I know what's true. Calculating the baffle step frequency, where radiation shifts from full to half space, isn't exactly rocket science. Between the rather high baffle step frequency and the dual midbass lines a polar plot would reveal a fully omnidirectional pattern in the lower portion of the passband, and very close to that at the upper end. But there would also be some interesting lobing in the midrange, where the phase relationships of the dual midbass lines would get very complicated.
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post #14 of 17
3/14/13 at 12:49pm
]Hi All,

Came across this video with BC explaining these new speakers:




Bazzy!
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post #15 of 17
3/14/13 at 4:47pm
Thread Starter 
Interesting.

I am more interested in his new tube amps. Look at this video of his tube amps driving the strangest looking speakers. What are those speakers? They look like plasma drivers on top of a conventional bass reflex box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6QP4fYPI_E
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post #16 of 17
3/14/13 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by inky blacks View Post

Interesting.

I am more interested in his new tube amps. Look at this video of his tube amps driving the strangest looking speakers. What are those speakers? They look like plasma drivers on top of a conventional bass reflex box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6QP4fYPI_E

Hi,

Those speakers are made by MBL - a high end brand from Germany - They have a number of very interesting & unique designs very much out of the ordinary.

Bazzy!
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post #17 of 17
3/14/13 at 7:29pm
I would take a look at Rick at selah a look on the line arrays. He can do DSP witht them too.
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