Power,Power,Power............

This baby does get warm when idle so don't forget to turn it off.

This amp rocks the house with room to spare.
Its well constructed and looks nice.

Similar Products Used:

Carver M1.0T

I have the TFM-35 as opposed to TFM-35x. This amplifier combines the three things most important to me: power, low distortion, and low noise. As with any good power amplifier it is perfectly transparent and adds nothing of its own to the signal. That said, I do believe there may be a concern with Carver's build quality. My amplifier started making crackling sounds and audibly distorting the signal in the right channel. I disassembled the amplifier and found several cold solder joints. After resoldering, everything is fine now. The other problem I have is that the amplifier has a measured 3db channel imbalance. Fortunately, the TFM-35 has channel level controls and I was able to trim out the imbalance using a multimeter. As far as amplification value I would give it 5 stars; however, reliability/build problems drop overall score to 3 stars.

I've been using the TFM-35X for a couple years now. It has been the "centerpiece" of my system as I upgrade all the components surrounding it.
This amp faithfully reproduces whatever I feed it. Its power has never been lacking. And I really like the stylin' analog meters. ;-)

I've read that the TFM-35X has a "warm" sound, similar to tube amps. I haven't compared it to any tube amps, so I don't know if this is true, but I do know that this amp's sound is one of reserved power. It begs you to turn up the volume.

Joseph

I PURCHASED THIS BABY FOR A MERE $500.00 AND AM VERY HAPPY WITH IT. THIS AMP IS VERY POWERFUL. MORE THAN MOST WILL EVER NEED. I TEND TO LISTEN TO MY MUSIC AT VERY HIGH VOLUME LEVELS AND THE AMP JUST KEEPS ON GOING. I HAD TO TASTE HOW FAR IT WOULD GO SO I INTENTIONALLY DROVE IT TO CLIPPING. I CAN SAY THAT IF YOU DRIVE THIS AMP THAT HARD WITH REASONABLY EFFICIENT SPEAKERS YOU WILL BE UNCOMFORTABLE---BEYOND PAIN AND ENTERING INTO MISERY. THE SPL WILL BE ABOVE NORMAL TOLERANCE TO SAY THE LEAST. MY 91 DB EFFICIENT SPEAKERS WILL PEG MY FRIEND'S 120 DB SPL METER WITHOUT STRAIN DRIVEN BY THIS AMP. MY ONLY GRIPE IS THAT WHEN THE AMP DOES CLIP IT DOES IT HARD. ALL IS FINE AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE WALL IS HIT AND THE WALL IS VERY HARD. A SOFT CLIP LIKE THE NAD'S WOULD BE NICE. ASIDE FROM SHEER OUTPUT, THE SOUND QUALITY IS VERY GOOD AT ALL LEVELS. BUILD QUALITY IS ALSO VERY GOOD. I DO HOWEVER FEAR THE DAY THAT THE METER LIGHTS BURN OUT. I HAVE BEEN IN SEVERAL STORES WHERE THE AMP HAD A BULB BURNT OUT. I HAVE ALSO SEEN ONE WITH METERS THAT STOPPED WORKING. WHO KNOWS, THOSE UNITS WERE PROBABLY DELIVERED BY (WONT NAME ANY NAMES---WORLD FAMOUS SHIPPER'S) DELICATE TOUCH VIA DROP SHIPPING-OOPS!!. MINE SEEMS TO BE RELIABLE AND HASNT HAD ANY PROBLEMS THOUGH. ALL IN ALL A VERY JUICY, SLEEK AND TRUSTWORTHY COMPONENT.

Have had a TFM-35x for about four years now, and am using it to drive a pair of new Bose 901's with a Carver pre-amp. The amp makes significant power with a lot of headroom and reserve. I use it as my front main amp for Dolby Pro Logic and it works well. One idiosyncrasy exists however, when I first turn the amp on, the meters go through a brief bouncing stage starting at first with big excursions and then settling down after about 15 or 20 bumps. A very slightly audible pocking sound can be detected through the speakers when this occurs, which goes away within 15 seconds or so. I always this a bit odd for a solid state amp, but there have been no other anomolies. Over all, great watts with clear sound for the price.

I got into buying audio gear when I was 18 years old. I'm now 47 and after owning amplifiers from Dennon to McIntosh,I can honestly say the Carver TFM-35X is the best amp I ever owned in it's price range.It's not a Aragon,Proceed or Krell,but I would put it up agaist any amp made in the $1000.00 price range.I put a Musical Fidelity X10-D between my preamp amd the TFM-35x and I swear it almost sounds like a tube amp. To Mr.Lightner who gave this amp such a bad review,must have had his speaker wires hooked up to a wood post.If you can find one of these amps buy it,you should be able to get one for about $500.00 now they are discontinued from the Carver line.I give this amp 4 stars for sound quality and will add another for the value.

Sound, Relialibility, Quality and Power.

None

I've owned my Carver TFM35X for over 5 years. It drives my Kappa 9's with no problem. And that is saying something. Before I bought the Carver I bought an Adcom GFA 5500 and it would simply not drive my speakers anywhere near loud without blowing fuses. Plus, the Adcom ran extremly hot. The Carver shows no sign of heat, even at loud levels. The sound is warm. Sort of tubey. This is a great amp and I would recommend it to anyone. For under $1000.00 this amp is well worth a listen. The only amp in it's range for quality and sound,would be the Acurus A250. But I'm ready to move on up and I have a Aragon 8008BB in sight. I'll probaly sell this Carver on E-Bay. I hate to see it go.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Kappa 9. Acurus R11, Yamaha CD, Audio Alchemy Digital Decoder.

Simply the best amp you can buy for under $1000

Bottom end is not as efficient as higher end components, but has great mid's and highs

Once I hooked this 250 Watt per cannel amp up to some real speakers (an old pair of Mcintosh XR7's), I simply could not believe what I was hearing! Unbeleivable clarity and detail in the mid and high end. The low's are very good but not great. I found myself listening to old, familiar music saying, "Wow, I never heard that before!" A lot of that came from using the Mac speakers which are simply awesome (each speaker has 2-12's, an 8" low mid, 2-31/2" upper mid's, and 4 angle 1" dome tweeters). I was using a Carver preamp but have upgraded to a B&K AVP4000 Processor. I recently just purchased a 3 channel B & K Ref4430 200 W/Ch amp and the Carver is very comparible (even more powerful but lacking in the detailed crisp low's).
You simply can not get a better amplifier for under $1000. I am looking to shed the Carver equipment but only to get a Mcintosh MC300 power amp (money is not an issue any more.
It will be very difficult to part with the Carver, I have owned since new (94 or 95) and have had absolutely no problems. When I moved, I broke the light bulb filaments but was able to find replacements and fixed it (as well as purchasing several extra just in case).
If interested in the Carver equipment, please email me.

Small size & weight, does not overeheat, can drive 4 ohm speakers well, more than enough power

Overall sound. Bass boomy and not tight. Midrange & Highs not very well-defined.

I have the Carver TFM-35 (not 35x). I use it solely as a back-up amp for my Parasound HCA-2205. It does not perform well enough to be used with my front main speakers in stereo. It can perform well as a surround speaker amplifier. When compared with my Parasound amp(with same Preamp, cables, interconnects, and PSB Stratus Gold i mains) I realized the following. I saw much less overall soundstage, bass boomy, midrange & highs were not as clear, and I did not get pulled into the music like I have before. I did not have that realism that I have come to expect.

But, of course I have been spoiled with the Pasrasound Amp so far, and it is not fair to compare these two together, given difference in quality and price. Overall, the sound is adequate, for the price of this amp, the amp runs cool, does not require much space, and does not clip or overheat.

Bottom line: For the 350.00-400.00 dollars you will spend for this, I give it rating of 3 stars overall. It would be well worth it to spend some what more to get a much superior product, and it is out there to be found. If you are considering this amp, be sure to do an A/B test, and listen to many others - as of course sound is so subjective, and can never be considered objective no matter what anyone tells you.

Power. Soft sound

Awesome power and looks good to. Softens many bright speakers similar to tube amps! Am currently looking for two more for home theater!

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Crown