The best damn amp I have every had in my live

none

These people know the best, and the TFM-25 is the best buy I have made in a long time. The one thing that we all must remeber is the Bob Craver was the guts of that company, and we will miss you BOB.

Bulletproof construction, timeless design, monster power reserves

heavy

I have had the TFM-25 for about 5 years now, and it is still the one thing in my system that I would not replace. It has enormous power reserves, and I have never run out of steam no matter what program material was playing or how loud. I do not believe that an amp (or preamp, for that matter) should add anything to the sound of the program material, and this amp does not. Some folks have claimed that certian amps add "warmth" or something to the material, and I would claim that this is a failing of the machine, not a strength. That's why I love these older Carver stuff, they don't ruin the source signal.

I am not so impressed with some of the new Carver stuff, I think it is not of the same quality of this older stuff. If you can pick one up, do yourself a favor and get it. It will not disappoint.

Greatpower soundstage

for me none

I picked this up on ebay to drive power hungry Vandersteen 2CE speakers.The speakers sounded good,not great, with the 45wpc Mac,40wpc NAD,Adcom545 100wpc.Iwondered what I was missing with the wonderfully reviewed Vandys.The first time I played the TFM-25 through my Mac C27 into the Vandys I learned what people wrote about when they mention sound stage, air,deep bass,crystal highs.Man, what I had been missing in recorded audio all my life!In short music I had been listening to for over 30years(I actually saw the Stones at the Manning Bowl,Lynn Mass in 64 maybe 65 a high school field believe it or not was brand new again. Sadly the system really brings out the flaws in poorly recorde albums or cds,but thats a small price to pay for what this amp brings out in the best.In short for $300 you can't go wrong.Thanks to everyone who writes in their reviews

Similar Products Used:

NAD,Adcom,McIntoshMA5100

Very clean and even sound amplification - completely linearprocessing with no distortion.

Brings out weaknesses in sub-par recordings.

Purchased two units, one at the time, for far less than they are really worth. At the time people on eBay had no idea what they were selling.

I have both amps connected as monoblocs to Vienna Acoustics Mahlers , via Audioquest Slate cables.
CD Transport is Sony SCD 777.
Power is regulated by Panamax.

Sound reproduction is fantastic on most CDs providing they are properly recorded. Poorly recorded CD sound terrible.

Amps hold very well on very high notes (Magic Flute falsetto arias) without distortion at all. It seems there is no curve at all and their response is linear all the way through. Bass rendition is fast and accurate without distortion (as in the way it should be).

I plan to borrow some high zoot amps (Levinsons, Krells) from the store and make a comparaison test.

Amazing piece of equipment still maintained very professionally by Carver in Lynwood. Nice to know that there's continuity and Bob is once again taking care of things.

Similar Products Used:

Mostly Sony high-end ES type receivers, Marantz monoblocs

quiet, powerful.

not much really. cheesy binding posts

it was the last unit he had, was being phased out for the TFM-35x or something like that...$500.00 brand new, serious bargin. Used it to power several speakers from home brews, to JM Labs, to Magnepans. Never so muched as blinked on any of them. good detail and imaging.

If there was anything bad to say about it was the cheesy binding posts that wouldn't accept bananna jacks. And maybe perhaps it lacked a little in dynamics. Other than that, a fine amp.

Similar Products Used:

dynaco, Crest Professional (the old good Crest stuff), BGW, Sumo, GAS, home brew

extremely powerfull. will not clip. clean sound

meter bulbs always burn out

well after hunting for months at all the local audio dealers. i deccided to take a different approach PAWN shops.ahhhhhhh!!!! thats where i found my first true setup!the power blew away anything i was recently looking at out the window.

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sony.kenwood.pioneer elite.harmon kardon.integrea.adcom.nad

I have owned this amp for 6-7 years now and have done casual listening as well as well as DJ some big parties with it. It sounds great and has more then enough power for my needs. (never had a problem with it.)

For the money that i spend to buy that unit, it was cheap for the excellent quality that i got in return. My amp is match with the Paradigm Studio and let me tell you it's a perfect match. My studio need a great deal of power, because they delever so much bass and my TFM-25 got what it takes. I saw and heard some of the new product coming from CARVER and they don't come close with the old ones. Since Bob Carver have left the compagny, the quality is not the same and even the casing of the amp is cheaper. If you can get your hands on a good used unit at good price, buy it.
Or if you want the same quality, you can spend 2000.00$ on the new unit form Bob Carver "Sunfire"

This model is really great, it was made in 1990 but it doesn't matter. My speaker are B&W dm602, and CD yamaha cdx 1060 connect directly to amp. I had the model TFM 42, and sincerely I prefer TFM 25(more sweet, detail without harsh, control bass, enough power). Recently I was comparing with amplifiers like Nad and Rotel, and let me tell you that Mr. Bob Carver made a great work with this amp. If you have it, think twice before change it.

Similar Products Used:

tfm 42, nad 2400, nad 2100, nad 914, rotel 991, rotel 981

Excellent appearance; love the 'mad scientist' needle level meters. The dimmer switch is something you may actually use if you're incorporating this unit into a home theater.

None

I bought this amplifier in 1991 after my Onkyo M-501 was stolen. I also have a Denon POA-2800 in my home theater. The Carver delivers much better quality sound through my Cambridge SoundWorks Ensemble (1990) speakers regardless of program source. The bass is far warmer from the Carver. I have never been able to drive the amplifier into clipping; before I got close my UPstairs neighbor complained about it being too loud. Regardless of sound volume level, the unit never fails to deliver nice, rich, musical sound.

Similar Products Used:

Denon POA-2800
Onkyo M-501
Hafler ???