Just to let everyone know that responded to or will be responding to my previous review of the Phase 400 I have changed my email address than the one posted with the original review. Note my new address is: gosound@bellsouth.net

Thanks for all your interest over the past year.
Kurt Saldutti

Impressive build quality even by today's standards; wonderful clarity and lifelike sound reproduction; more than adequate power, Phase Linear reputation.

VU meter lamps too weak, but big deal! No other weaknesses.

All the reviews here influenced my decision to buy the Phase Linear 400. I bought a Technics surround sound receiver some months ago but when I bought the Phase 400 (with Phase Linear 3300 pre-amp) the difference in the quality in sound was amazing. Bob Carver knew how to design a very high performance amplifier--and he still does with the Sunfire amplifer. But the Sunfire amp is $3000!

For those wanting audiophile quality sound on a budget, say $250 to $300, the Phase Linear 400 is the best buy in audio today. It was designed and built to last decades, and it has. It was designed and built using the finest components, which is why it sounds so good today. Even recording studio engineers still use this amp today, a quarter century after it was built!

You can ignore the alarms about amps blowing up etc. This could only have happened by doing something foolish. There are so many fuses and protection circuits built in, I don't know how you could damage this thing.

Do not think today's mid-fi receivers can ever compete with an excellent amp like the 400--they can't. Would you rather drive a 1975 Rolls Royce or a 2001 Honda? Same thing here. Look for a 400 that has not been abused, and is functioning properly, and you will have a very satisfying amplifer that will probably last you the rest of you life. I sure am happy with mine!

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None. This is my first trip into audiophile heaven.

Very powerful, nice transparency, very accurate, "natural" sound to my ears. Though others have mentioned the small power supply caps, in actual use the bass is plenty strong to my ears and sounded very accurate! This amp just gets louder and louder when you turn it up. The sound does not harden as with many amps. If your ears can take it, the 400 will deliver!

This has absolutely no bearing or the sound or the aesthetics, but the dimly lit, slow-moving VU meters are not a very good indication of the actual power being delivered. They look nice though! In my opinion, the Phase Linear 400 doesn't have the highest build quality, but again, this does not affect the sound. The lack of a turn-on switch is somewhat of a weakness as well, but a good ISOBAR switched outlet will take care of that. DO NOT use the Phase 4000 preamp to turn one of these on! It will eventually blow the 4000's turn-on relay and they are hard to find!

If you are in the market for a used and "classic" amplifier that looks cool and sounds good, you would be hard pressed to find a better amp than either the Phase Linear 400, in either the series one or two versions. The Series Two amps had LED meters instead of the VU's, so power level monitoring was probably much more accurate for them than on the earlier 400 series ones. If you do purchase one of the series one 400s, try to find the later version of the series one with the extra heat sinking. The labeling on the front panel is different as well. These are probably more reliable. The one I owned was of this variety, and I NEVER had a problem with it. This amp is like a old HOT ROD for your stereo...it looks cool, tough, and full of power...and it is! Just remember, its going to be at least 26 years old. 26 years from now, check and see how many of today's amps are still around and kicking! Overall, a very nice, older amplifier and well worth the $200-300 price you will pay for a nice one.

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Pioneer Spec 2 & 4, SAE 2200.

Cheap watts in the late 70's. Cost saving design. Decent sound for the money and their day. Classic looks.

They can blow fuses or even blow up. Some were prone to oscillation problems. Carver was constantly tweaking the design trying to avoid all the warranty returns. Not enough heat sink on most of them. Really small power supply caps. These amps were made very cheaply compared to most designs then or now. Power supply power resistors get hot enough to start fires with some units (earning the nick name "Flame Linear").

See strengths and weaknesses. Given the almost cult like praise of these amps in this forum, I figured I'd jump in with a little reality check for those who might be considering one. I used to sell Phase Linear and later managed a repair shop that serviced them.

The Series II, in particular, was a decent amp for the money. The trick LED VU meters were a big step up from the lethargic analog ones on the orignal versions.

But even the series II has really small filter caps, a crude op-amp input stage, insufficient heatsinks and it isn't fully symmetrical. These amps use huge amounts of negative feedback to get the distortion figures down and damping factor up (and to overcome the simplistic crude circuitry and small filter caps) but we've since learned that huge amounts of NFB don't sound very good.

The reliability is also a big issue. I've seen a ton of them blown up or with other problems and that was more than a decade ago. Today, they're likely to be even less reliable. The original output transistors are no longer available, and some of the designs are VERY fussy about the output transistors used. Many have been serviced and have a mix of output transistors in them and they're just waiting to blow up when driven hard or into a difficult load. Likewise, there are power resistors in the series II power supply circuit that run so hot they burn the circuit board and unsolder themselves. It's a really marginal design.

Bob Carver was very clever at producing lots of watts for a minimum amount of dollars. But, as they say, you get what you pay for. The Adcom GFA-555, for example, is a FAR better vintage power amp than any of the Phase Linears. It has a much more solid power supply and a vastly superior circuit design that needs a lot less NFB to achieve low distortion. Buyer beware. If you're a big Bob Carver fan, try to find one of his mid-80's vintage "T" series amps. He'd learned a few things by then.

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Adcom to Zapco and everything in between.

I bought my Phase Linear 400 about 12 years ago in a second hand shop for $299. It's now selling for about $399 in second hand shops around D.C. This amp is a beast, a tank, a warhorse. It's great. Never had one bit of trouble with it. It must now be about 20-25 years old and is still going strong. High points -- 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 400 into 4 ohms; high damping -- around 400, I believe. Low points -- probably not the most transparent amp around but then again, a lot of transparent amps seem to be a bit tempermental. This ones isn't (although its brother, the Phase Linear 700 is VERY tempermental). It just keeps going and going and going. I really love it. it was perhaps one of my best audio investments ever. My speakers -- ESS AMT 1 Towers take every bit of power this amp can dish out so I'm glad I've got the watts. Can't ever see getting rid of it. Five stars.

Sounds like an amp.

Blows up easily.

I guess I should preface this review by saying that I'm one of those guys who cannot hear huge differences in the sound of power amps. I know that this makes me suspect to some people, but let me just say that I'm a professional musician with years and years of experience in the studio and playing live--I believe I know what good sound is,and what live music is supposed to sound like. But, in my relatively modest system (currently, Thiel, Adcom, Krell, etc.)I have not heard any real difference when I have upgraded or changed amps. I've used amps from Acurus, Dynaco, Phase Linear,and Adcom, to name a few, and they all sound more or less the same to my ears.

That said, I can't help but laugh at all the people who are writing the incredible reviews of the Phase Linear 400. This amp was used mostly in the 70's as a pro-audio amp for live-sound reinforcement. To say it was prone to blowing up is an understatement. Ours was always, ALWAYS going out. I had a chance to pick one up very cheaply from a music store I worked in. At the time, I was in between amps for my hi-fi at home, so I decided to hook it up. It sounded fine, while it worked. About 3 months later, for no apparent reason,it went POOF... and that was that. Totally fried. Repairs too extensive to warrant having it fixed.

My suggestion to those who can find one of these amps very cheaply is to enjoy it while it works, but be ready to buy something new.

It has power beyond my wildest dreams,smooth,clean and solid.

I have never had a problem with this unit,but I have heard some outrageous problems. A DC shots sent to your speakers which in turn leaves them as burnt toast.

I used this amp to run a pair of TSW-AR-910'S,it pissed off the whole neighborhood.This is to include my wife,but she's special and understands me.I have noticed all of the above listed short falls,VU meters and lights, but when this unit came to me it had been factory speced and rebuilt.Never in my life have I seen such flawless power and sound reproduction from something that was built in the 70's.Well the ar's are gone but I still have the amp,it's sitting in our spare bedroom closet.It's a shame that something with this much butt would cost 3000 in today's dollars. I wish Bob Carver would come back to a more civilized time and best buy would stop buying equipment by the pound

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carver-25 hk-16 hk-12 spec1

great headroom and accuracy

takes up 4 rack spaces. for those of you with racks for your stuff thats expensive real estate.

gives me great sound cant complain one bit. drives my tannoy proto-j studio monitors like a dream. i dont push it though about 9 oclock on the dial. it is driven by a sound card a turtle beach montego 2 18 bit d/a converters. it give me chills actually i would give it a ten but this review only goes to five.

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acoustech 111, audio centron rm250,

Power, tons of clean power

VU meters could not keep up.

Bought this new and loved it. I owned this amp for about 14 years+, sold it for over $500. Not a ton of bass, but good solid highs and mids. Never blew a fuse. Ran the hell out of it for many hours at a time. I put this Amp in a topless bar for a few months and they loved it. NEVER had a problem with it in any way. The sound rivals a tube amp. Would not be interested in one again. Like my sound tighter and more responsive.

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Pioneer, teac

Kick-ass amp! Rocks the world. Great sound for an older model amp.

I need to change my CAPS and new meters.

This is one of the best amps I have ever owned. Besides, having problems with the CAPS and the meters, would definately give it twenty thumbs up if I had them. The price was too low to resist and my wife can't say it was not a bargin. I paid $300 CAD for my amp and it is for sure worth every penny.

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