Carver Audio MV 5 CD Players

Carver Audio MV 5 CD Players 

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 11  
[Jan 03, 2000]
Rory Truitt
Audiophile

Strength:

I have absolutely no problems with this unit. It has performed without incident since I bought it. It seems to have a good build even though it did come from Carver during a very questionable time in there history (What kind of morons get rid of Bob Carver and expect to actually be able to do serious R&D) Well things are almost as they should be, just waitin for the new Carver stuff.

Weakness:

I have no complaints at all. I think I am very picky and I can find nothing to complain about at all.

Well I may be the exception but since I have had no problems of any kind I will give this 5 Stars. If it Craps out tomorrow I will mark it up to experience and remember never to buy a product from Carver unless Bob is in charge. I do however own several other Carver items and have never had anything but good luck and great sound from all of them.

Similar Products Used:

I have had Sansui, JVC, and Sony CD Players and I would still pick this one over them all.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 27, 2000]
John Roe
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

uhhhhhh. . . decent sound . . . actually scratch that thought . . .this unit should have never made it off the drawing boards

Weakness:

Piece of Junk

I know you are only supposed to place one review per product. . . but this unit deserves two. I think consumers should have a right to know as many details about a product before buying it.

I bought the MV-5 about 2 years ago and although the sound quality has been decent. . . the product keeps breaking down and malfunctioning. I've has this unit replaced because of problems with the tray (kept coming out during play and not closing). After I got my new unit, it kept mixing up my cd's in the tray so almost every day i had to open it up and pull the clogged cds out. There were also a slew of new electrical problems with the new unit. On top of that because my cds would keep getting stuck lots of them got scratched pretty bad. I ended up buying 8 cd's i already had just to replace the scratched ones. It got to the point where I was about to physically destroy the unit (I mean with an aluminum baseball bat). I finally got a minimal trade in value for it and bought a Nad 515 cd changer unit which has been absolutely superb.
I am currently running B&W 602 S2's for the front, B&W LM1's for the rear, Atlantic Tech 352 PBM sub, Carver 885.1 receiver (going to upgrade that soon), Nad 515 cd changer, and a Sony 530 Dvd player.

Please no one ever buy this product ever . . . ! Carver is also out of business so you have no chance to fix your unit at ALL!

Similar Products Used:

Nad 515

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Sep 19, 2001]
Matt
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

None

Weakness:

All

I've installed many of these units and cannot recommend them to anyone. Even though the sound is really pretty good for a changer (not as good as the SD/A-360 of the TRUE Carver era) it's build quality is nil.

Don't waste your money...

Similar Products Used:

Many

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Dec 03, 1997]
Duane
an Audio Enthusiast

The sound from this 5 disc changer was very good, far better than my Sony CDP-C85ES changer. Bass was tighter and the overall sound was smoother. Unfortunately...The first MV 5 I got would play tracks 1-5 fine, tracks 6-12 skipped like crazy and it refused to play any track numbered above 12. It would also not reconize certain imported discs. This unit went back to the dealer and was exchanged for another MV 5. This one didn't have the previous problem, but most of my imported soundtracks (which tended to skip on the Sony player) would play, but with a harsh (and loud) crackling noise. This was incredibly annoying, I would rather put up with the occasional skip. Also many domestic discs, that play on my other players,would skip, but not consistantly.This one also went back to the dealer and was exchanged for a Sony CDP-CA8ES (which costs about $150.00 more). I will post a review of the Sony when I've had a chance to live with it for a while. In conclusion I don't know if the Carver has design flaws, poor quality control (the unit is made in China)or if I was just really unlucky. If you decide to purchase one (and as I stated the sound was very good) be sure your dealer has a good exchange policy. The star rating is based entirely on the sound quality.

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
[May 08, 1998]
John Roe
an Audio Enthusiast

I think that this product delivers clear crisp sound compared to other cd player s in the same price range. I am not a full fledged audiophile yet, but I will be when i get the funds (poor college student). I hooked this up to the carver 885.1 receiver and B&W 602's. I would recommend this unit to anyone. But due to the technical difficulties (remote was not functional) I've had with this unit I have to give it a rating of 4.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
[Feb 04, 1999]
Rob Ferry
an Audio Enthusiast

I have owned a Carver mv-5 for about a year and love it when its working. The overall sound quality is excellent and I wouldnt trade it for anything in its price range. However the mv-5 is subject to some design failures. I have sent it in for repair and it still does not work right. It reads that there is a disc in the player but it will not play it unless your lucky and it makes a horrible clicking noise until it does start playing it. If it wasnt for the fact that most times it wont play for me I would love it. It gets three stars for sound quality and price but be wary its moody and Carver is "disorganized" right now so good luck getting fixed!

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
[Mar 16, 2001]
Brian
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Sound,Build Quality,and Aesthetics

Weakness:

None

The first thing I noticed about this unit was the weight and build quality. The face plate is of alumimum and the case is of a heavy gage steel. Compared to the changers I have experince with or others in its price range of $400.00-$500.00. The Carver is far superior in this aspect.
I like the grey rubber controls on the unit. They add a nice feel as well as a contrast to the black.Everyone who sees the unit makes comments on how they like the looks of the MV-5.
I have not had any problems with the reliabilty of this unit.Everything works as designed.I bought mine through Everett Audio (ex-Carver guys). They went through mine before I bought it.It seems that there were some quality problems from the factory on some units.
I love the sound of the MV-5. I could not belive the difference between my Elite and the Carver.I did'nt think there would be much of a difference if any. The Elite sounded some what harsh on the highs compared to the Carver.Not that the Elite sounded bad, its just that the Carver sounded more natural/realistic.The bass was a tad tighter as well.
In the end I can only recommend this unit based on my experince.For the $175.00 I paid nothing comes even close.Even for the retail price of $450.00 its a tough act to follow.
I have my system in a dedicated listening room.The room is 20'D x 16' W with an 8'6" ceiling.There is only one chair and one table besides the system in the room.My system consists of the following componets below.
Carver A-500x Amp
Carver CT-24 Pre-Amp
Carver MV-5 CD Changer
Klipsch ChorusII Speakers
Monster Z1 Spaeker Cables
AR Pro Series Interconnects

Similar Products Used:

Elite (Pioneer) PD-M59 Yamaha CDC-775

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 29, 1999]
Matt Poes
an Audiophile

I bought my Carver MV-5 about 10 months ago. I burned it in with an XLO test disc for around 48 hours. I put in some of my favorite pieces of music including Bach, Beethoven, and Mendolson. I also Listened to some Santana, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and various other pieces. I was very unhappy with the sound. I will say that it was detailed, but also very bright. I see that many people had problems with this carver unit. I havent had any problems and feel that the build of it is pretty nice. Quality control isn't great, but better than any Sony or Harmon Kardon unit I tried. I bought an outboard DAC to use with it inorder to improve the sound. It works well as a cd transport but I dont recomend it as a cd player. If I had the money to spend over again I would get a C.E.C. or a Marantz, But it gets the job done pretty well.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
[Apr 13, 2000]
Richard
Audiophile

Strength:

Great sound.

Weakness:

none

A very nice unit for the money. Better sound is available for three times the price. The unit has survived 4 moves (one across the country) and continues to please. I've had mine for 3 years.

Similar Products Used:

Teac and Technics CD changers

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 23, 1999]
Chris
an Audio Enthusiast

I bought the MV5 based on the performance of a Carver receiver I've had for 5 or so years. I wish I had known that Bob Carver had left the company before I bought it. It seems that when Bob left, design quality and quality control went with him. While the sound quality is excellent - clear, nice bass - the build quality is sub-standard at best. I had to exchange the first one due to problems with the tray. The one that I have now has a tendency to malfunction during disk exchange so badly that you have to power the unit down with the tray stuck open. The design layout is less than brilliant as well - who put the disk skip button below the tray? Makes it kind of hard to find it when you're loading cd's. Forget trying to get it serviced. Carver's in such a mess now that they've begged Bob to come back that their web page isn't even working. It will be a long time before I ever by a piece of Carver equipment again, if ever.

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
Showing 1-10 of 11  

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