Plenty of power, runs quiet, beautifully crafted, made in Japan.

None so far

I bought this amp to power up a single SVS 20-39cs subwoofer, and it plays phenomenally. Rated at 350 x 2 (4 ohms), this thing really pushes the sub to the limits and comes back asking for more. Current setup: Denon AVR-1804 Denon DVD-1600 Carver M-1.0t Sony PS2 AR S-50 Towers AR AR4C Center AR surrounds SVS 20-39cs Playing through Monster Cables

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Denon POA-2400

Astounding bass Incredible clarity More headroom than you'll need

None identifiable in my case.

I desperately needed sufficient amplification to drive a pair of new Polk Audio RTi150s as they were too much for my 130w Yamaha receiver to drive at loud volumes for any length of time. The Carver M1.0-T was just the ticket. Anyone reporting that these amps lack bass have never driven quality speakers with them. The bass on my Polks is absolutely astounding-VASTLY superior to the two Definitive Technology speakers they replaced that had 12" 100w subs in each tower. And it's not just the bass, this amp delivers perfect sound throughout the spectrum. I have driven these amps HARD for long periods of time to find them only moderately warm to the touch. These amps are nothing short of incredible. If you have one that's not delivering you bass, IT IS YOUR SPEAKERS OR THE MATERIAL YOU ARE LISTENING TO THAT HAS NO BASS, and it is not any fault with the amp.

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Nakamichi Pioneer Sansui Macintosh Yamaha Adcom krell

Powerful Musical Accurate

No power switch and,of course, the dreaded "moan"

I was looking for a review of the carver m1.5t amplifier and just cannot find one. I have owned this amp since new in 1985. I had it paired with a c-1 preamp, dbx 3bxlll, Nakamichi rx-505 cassette deck, Technics slp-770 cd player, and listened to thru a pair of Bose 901 limited edition oak speakers. All components were mated with Monster cable. The 1.5t delivers a staggering amount of power but I have never driven it to the point of shut-down. The 6db of headroom is especially appreciated when playing todays hip-hop music. I'll listen to just about anything. The highs are crystal clear and the bass is very powerful. I do get an annoying "moaning" sound thru the speakers when I power down. Is this normal? I had it serviced by Carver once in 1987 because the "headroom exhausted" LED's were lighting even at low volume levels. They replaced some components (I can't remember off the top of my head what the components were. The amp has run like a champ ever since,although it still "moans" when I shut her down. Eighteen years and four kids later I have found myself downsizing my system out of practicality -- and the need for some "geenback" if you know what I mean. The Nakamichi is on it's way out the door, rarely used and in truly mint condition. So sad, too bad. Never needed a deck anyway. The 901's are gone forever. I got almost 65% of what I paid on e-bay. Don't laugh, but due to space limitations in my home I replaced the 901's with a Cambridgesoundworks New Ensemble II satellite system. This speaker system is only rated to 150 watts rms, but the salesmen at the Cambridge store assured me that this system could easily handle the huge amounts of clean power that my m1.5t can deliver. They were right. I get deep bass from the dual voice coil sub and the satellites also perform very well. All with headroom to spare. Recently I have debated selling my amp for extra money and purchasing a used NAD 2200 power amp. Ebay has 2200's selling for half of what I can get for tha 1.5t. With my six ohm speakers, the dynamic headroom would be almost identical between the two. Would you give up the Carver for the NAD? This decision is giving me a migraine.

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none

Lots of power Lasted 13 years being driven hard Good first amp Good resale value Hard to over drive

Lacks bass response Harsh sounding Thumped when turned off.

First i thought that this was a great amp. Lots of power and I never heard it clip. I used it for dances when I was younger and it overheated only once, running two sets of speakers in parallel (4 Ohm load). Then I bought some ADS L1290 in 2002 and some of the music that I listen to seemed to be harsh. So harsh that I would not listen to it. I figured that it was the recording. Then the amp died and a friend allowed me to use his Parasound. There was a difference. The bass was louder and the music was not as harsh. The lower rating reviews of this amp are correct as far as the bass but for a starter amp it was fine. The Parasound at louder volume seemed to distort more, but then again the Carver had more power. Well I did not replace the Carver with another one. I bought a Sumo. The Carver has a great resale value on E-Bay,and good name recognition but sound wise others do sound better for the same price or cheaper. My wife even noticed a difference. I Never turned the Carver off on acount that it thumped so it was on 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

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Parasound Sansui Sumo.

Sound/price ratio. Reliability.

Occasional mild thumps during power cycling.

I bought this used in 1990 when it was less than a year old (previous owner decided he needed more continuous power even though dynamic power was identical..). I've had it ever since. The bass has been awesome, and the sound warm, delicate, and mellow like the tube amps its transfer function was designed to emulate but with house-shaking power. For the money paid, it can't be beat! The CT-6 and Polk RT-11s it was connected to are long gone, but the amp now provides the additional two channels to a 7.1 system along remarkabley similar heritage.

Bob's magical power supply that lets a tiny power transformer deliver awesome peak power.

Bob's magical power supply that draws huge fuse-destroying line currents when asked to deliver continuous bass.

From the start this amp was a little temperamental; sometimes it wouldn't switch on or off. But, it drove my homemade NHT1259 subs to wall-shuddering levels. However, when I took it out to raves, some weaknesses became apparent. Running subs at full volume, it repeatedly blew it's power fuse, forcing me to turn the volume down (or run out of fuses). When I used it to run the mid/high boxes, it got toasty warm, so I'd duct tape a fan with a cardboard shroud to help it out. It finally died (refused to power up) one dark night in the woods on generator power. I later used an NAD 2200 for the mid/highs (which ran much cooler than the Carver), but lately it's been all Peavey. I'll get it fixed eventually (anyone have a spare service manual or schematic?), and use it as a backup amp at parties or for subs at home

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NAD 2200, AB, Peavey, AudioPro

Power, sound quality, clean and understated looks.

Cheap but functional binding posts.

I bought this amp along with a CT-24 pre amp from a friend and co-worker of mine for $100.00. I popped the cover on mine and the tranformer is dated 1986. My original intent was to use this amp to power a couple of passive subs in my home theater , but after hooking it up and listening to some music I ended up putting it in my spare bedroom /computer room. I love the sound from this combo. I'm running it with a pair of Sound Dynamics RTS-3 speakers. Bob Carver sure knows how to make a nice sounding and very powerful amp. I could sell this on ebay and triple my money but no way am I gonna do that. I love this amp. The pre amp is not quite up to the quality of the amplifier but does the job.

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onkyo 656 and 676 recevers.

POWER, Clarity, runs cool unles pushed very hard.

only too bad they don't make them any more.

I love this amp. I't kicks the butt off my GFA555 on so many levels.Whoever says this unit has no bass, should sell their Radio Shack speakers. Tons of power, deep..deep soundstage...very transparent. What a bargain!

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Adcom GFA555

OOPs it cut off the system listing: 2 Carver M1.0t Main amps - 1000 watts @ channel Carver C-1 Preamp w/Sonic Holography Carver DTL-100 CD Player w/ Digital Time Lens Yamaha DSP-E492 3 channel amp/surround processor - 60 watts each to center & rear channels Yamaha DDP-2 Dolby Digital AC3 decoder ADC Equalizer w/pink noise generator Pioneer DV-414 DVD Player Klipsch Cornwall main speakers w/horn loaded tweeters and midrange and 15" woofers Klipsch KSF-C5 center channel 2-Klipsch KSW-200 12" 200 watt powered subwoofers Cerwin Vega D-8 rear speakers

Can you say 120+ db in a 12'' x 21'' room? Nuff sais

Power down pop. But who really cares.

I just completed reading all of the reviews of the Carver 1.0. Very interesting reading. First I want to address the issue of no bass. All of the people that said there was no bass definition failed to list what speakers they were using. This is a main key. As with anything in this world certain things work best with other certain things. This amp needs a good speaker capable of reproducing solid bass. PERIOD. As for it being thin and lifeless playing classical music, again this amp was not designed to play that type of music. This is a hard rock that needs hard rock speakers. I bought this amp the day it came out and it hasn''t flinched one iota. I play everything from from Pink Floyd to Godsmack and Slipknot. Awesome heartstopping sound at ridiculous volumes every time. Alot of the sonic problems can attributed to poor and downright lousey mixing/mastering of a particular album. It all depends on what you like to listen to and how you like to listen to it. If you this amp make damn sure you have the speakers to back it up. If you like classical then you may be better off with a nice tube amp and some maggies and a good sub. I love this amp and have just purchased a second one to further compliment my home theater system. So please, do your home work and understand the sonics before passing judgement on something you don''t understand.

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This is my system: 2 Carver M1.0t Main amps - 1000 watts @ channel Carver C-1 Preamp w/Sonic Holography Carver DTL-100 CD Player w/ Digital Time Lens Yamaha DSP-E492 3 channel amp/surround proce