great power characteristics

none that i can see, maybe the binding posts.

This is actually a review for the 400t, i picked up a couple from ebay last year and have been really suprised at the performance. have them hooked up as monoblocks and they really can punch out the juice. now after saying that, no there is no real sound degredation, sure they arent mark levinsons but they have a real character to them. they produce a nice clear sound that would please anyone who likes a good deal of power at a good price. as they get older sure they will produce a slight hum, but as im told that is a relatively simple fix. overall a nice addition to a good system that can handle some serious power.

Great Sound, Small Size, Low Heat, Low Weight

Cheezy Audio Connectors

Hi All, Well I was pleasantly surprised to find recent reviews of a little gem produced ~20 years ago. At the risk of being branded “clueless” ;) here is my opinion. I currently own 3 of these “little” amps, a M-400, M-400A & a M-400t. I am an audio and hardware EE and a former audio salesman. Don’t let the naysayers dissuade you from giving one of the amps an audition. Do they use the same quality of components as say a Mark Levinson, of course not. From a quality of component selection standpoint the most “cheesy” aspect is the really cheap spring loaded speaker connectors. Don’t try to get say 12 gauge speaker wire into these connectors. The cheap RCA connectors are a close second on my nit list. But on a practical level, these amps sound just great. One of mine has a very low level buzz that I suspect is being caused by an electrolytic capacitor in the power supply that is dried up, which I intend to replace. The units that I have seen have all been very reliable. I will be using my 3 amps for my new home theater. Until the day comes when I feel like blowing a lot of money on something contemporary, the M-400’s will serve me very well. I may pick up one more from e-bay for a center channel amp. Finally, as it has been pointed out previously, if you get a hold of one of these amps and you are unhappy with it, you will have no trouble getting rid of it on e-bay. Bob Carver and his designs have always been controversial, but IMO that is just because his designs tweak the noses of the audiophile elitists. As a hardware EE, I greatly admire him. Regards, Scott

Similar Products Used:

You name it, former audio salesman

semms to be undestructible

turns off at very loud sound levels

Carver m-400 is strong and reliable since i did buy it in 1982.

Similar Products Used:

dynaco stereo 120

best for mids and highs space saver good cleen power

likes to clip when used with lows

for its size it is awsome. but I highly recomend not to use for bass it just clips to easy. this amp has been used hevily for over 10 years and still sounds like the day it was bought. for pro audio CARVER IS THE BEST in my rack i had 2 carver PM1.5's 1 carver m400 cube 2 TFM 45's 2 18" fane subs 2 15" fane subs 2 1" fane full range horns 2 of JBLs best from 1979

Similar Products Used:

none in this catogorty

There are none

See review

Here is the truth from somebody who knows what he is talking about. I have been involved in home audio for over 35 years and have seen and heard it all. The Carver M400 was Bob's first power amp for the new Carver Corp in 1980 and the first magnetic field power supply amp to see the light of day. It originally sold for $400 and was rated at 201 wpc so they could claim it was less than a dollar a watt. It was a poorly executed and cheaply made unit which just barely made it's specs and was prone to break down without much provocation. It also sounded like crap and would not drive any difficult speaker load. It was the laughing stock of the high end community and got scathingly bad reviews. Even Stereo Review & Audio gave it a luke warm review and they never met a product they didn't love. Anybody who gives this piece of junk over 2 stars can only be referred to charitably as "clueless". Not all Carver amps are this bad. Many of their TFM amps sound pretty good but they are not worth the kind of money they are fetching om the used market. If you are considering buying the M400 do yourself a favor and DON'T DO IT. There are many really nice amps in the same price range which are newer, sound much better, and are more reliable. Look at NAD, Rotel, Parasound, Hafler to name a few.

Similar Products Used:

Too many to mention. I have owned well over 100 amps

Diminuitive size, plenty of punch with reasonably efficient speakers, good clean sound, uncommon design.

None that I'm aware of, unless it's an early model that hasn't been modded-- if it's running still, it probably has been.

Mine is the "not-a" model. I got this little gem in 1980 when I worked at the store I bought it from. It was so new even then that I couldn't get one on concession, so I bought it for cost +10%. I was told, when I worked in the trade, that Bob Carver was The Man behind the original Phase Linear amps who had left them and went on to work on his own. Out off all the really good gear we had at the store (SAE, Yamaha, Denon, etc.), I chose this little guy. I nearly got one of those holographic preamps too, but better judgement prevailed (like, I had no money). Here's the gear: Carver M400 (not the "a" model) Yamaha C6 preamp Yamaha CT610 II tuner (omigod-- ANALOG!) Dual 1264 with Pickering XSV3000 cart. dbx118 range expander dbx type II tape noise reduction system Teac 2300SX open-reel ADS L810 series II (metal grilles) I still have the core system in use to this day (preamp, amp, speakers, tuner). The little amp coupled with the 810's plays loud as I can stand it, and clean, and probably more importantly, on a large variety of music. There are probably certain pieces of audio gear that sound better with classical music, some with jazz, some with rock, but this was the best all-rounder I could put together on a budget. Back in the mid-80's, the amp quit and went back to Carver for repair. Cost was something like $200 or so. I believe they put in basically a new chassis (there was a whole writeup on this procedure in one of the tweak magazines, Stereophile perhaps?-- I don't remember). Whatever the mod was, it took out the impedance switch and replaced several other internal components, including output devices, if I'm not mistaken. This improved the sound a bit, and I have had the thing in more-or-less constant use since then. I've never got it hot (even with ZZ Top cranked when I run the vacuum!) or blown anything since the first repair. I'm sure I could have spent a lot more money and gotten less in return. I was impressed with the engineering behind both this and the holographic preamp-- something told me this would be a good piece to own and use, and in that long time, I've found out I was correct. Sure, a lot of "philes" don't like this beastie, but I'm not in it for the golden ear end of things. My hearing perhaps has degenerated over time, but my ENJOYMENT of MUSIC hasn't. That's where the rubber meets the road for me. The only time this little amp has lessened my musical enjoyment was while it was in the shop in Woodinville, WA. If you can find one of these (mine has a nice really low serial number-- sorry, it's not for sale) for cheap-- grab it. Never got to use this with the Magneplanar MG-1's I owned-- the buyer wanted 'em right then-- but think the M400 would have been a good match to those demanding speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Mitsubishi, Crown, SAE, Soundcraftsmen, Holman, Dynaco.

The led power meters look neat when you turn it up and get them to dance.

BROKE, AS MANY OF THESE AMPS DID! Very hard to fix, as it uses a switching power supply. Carver DOES NOT offer service for these amps, and the company referred to for service wanted more than the amp is worth to fix it. DO NOT buy one if you want an amp that's dependable. In fact, think before buying any Carver product, they don't seem to like their own products, hence the lack of support.

Half-decent amp if you can get it cheap. I bought it when these were fairly new, in 1983-4.

Similar Products Used:

None, all my other power amps work, and some are more than 20 years old. The newest, and Adcom GFA 555, is now 11 years old.

Small package and inovative design make it easy to locate in a variety of locations. Good mid range and no detectable amp noise. Has better sound and definition than most Japanese amps, Dennon, Sony, Yamaha, JVC, amps I compared it with. I beleive this amp may benifit from a high end re-wire and some component replacements.

Boomy bass and slightly distorted high end. Not as dynamic as the less rated Carver power amp TFM 15 ?? Speaker Posts very cheap, will be replaced and RCA input very cheap, will be replaced.

Decent amplifier. Not audio-phile qaulity, campared to Mark Levison, Threshold, etc. but also not priced as such. System(s) tested in: Dennon CD Micro-Seiki Turntable with Shure V15-III cartridge on Grace 707 arm, also Ortofon cartridge on Luster 801 arm Carver 4000 Pre-Amp ML-1 PreAmp Klipsch Cornwall 1's as bass with Acustat II's as the mid / high range with custom balanced cross overs designed for this system. Also a pair of Acustat I's with an RH-Labs sub.

Similar Products Used:

The Carver TFM 15 is much cleaner and balanced frequency range. Less distortion and dynamic range. TFM 15 has better definition.

Reserve power, 100% reliability, digital ready.

Only 2-speaker connection. Unparallel ground. Can not run this amp through a speaker selector with an amp with common speaker grounding.

Absolutely Awesome! Bought the unit in 1983. Never had to service it except to change voltage to 110 in 1984. Never blew a fuse but have damaged several 12" woofers and 2 15" woofers due to over-excursion. Burned down a few tweeters because I refuse to let the voice coils cool down. Too many beers & loud parties. The speaker protection works great if you follow the Carver owner's manual. I didn't. Never heard distortion from the amp. Can't hear the amp through the speakers like tube amp fans claim with SS. I run a pair of Klipsch kg 4.2's and they can sound strained at very high levels, but no distortion, just speaker strain toward 400 watt peaks! I've run other amps with my Klipsch's and no other amp has sounded as clear and powerful as the M-400.

Similar Products Used:

none

effortless clean power

speaker hookups

i actually have 2 of these amps - one m400t and one m400. i am running two different systems....my main home theatre and one bedroom system. simply put - wow! the most clean power for the buck. i have used different amplifiers over the years and these amps are definitely are the top performers!!! very detailed mids and highs and slamming bass!

Similar Products Used:

samson...different receivers...mackie...crown...adcom