Musicality, transparency, dynamics.

Hard to set up. Big.

I have listened to these speakers for about 6 years now. I bought them after several years of shopping to replace our Boston Acoustic T1000’s. These speakers were the only speakers I have heard that give me a truly transcendent experience. But, I don’t shop much now. Even after all this time, they can still amaze me. I have never reached their full potential.

Physically. these speakers are imposing and dominate the room that they are in. They do not take up much floor space, but the height of the ribbon panel draws your attention.

These are complex speakers in design and sound. They can sound bad or good depending on how they are set up in a room and what equipment is used with them. This probably accounts for some of the conflicting statements made in the previous reviews

Experiment a lot with placement. Not easy with these 85 lb speakers. These are dipole speakers. They put out just as much sound from the rear of the ribbon panel as they do from the front. So, their relationship to the wall behind them, and to the rest of the room is important. They need to sit further out in the room than most people are used to placing their speakers. If they are placed to close to the wall behind them they will sound muddy. They should not be placed against the side wall. Objects behind the speakers have an effect on the sound. It is tempting to set accent lights just behind the ribbon, on top of the woofer. Resist the urge.

Properly placed, these speaker have a sound that is so balanced that you tend to play them louder, with less ear fatigue, than you would other speaker systems. When properly set up, there are no large peaks in the frequency spectrum to make these speakers sound artificially loud like a bad table radio does. They also do not develop harsh peaks when they play loud. As you turn them up you can quickly lose perspective on just how loud they are playing.

These speakers will reveal problems in the other components in a stereo chain. Don’t worry about this. At first you will be overwhelmed by the sound of the speakers and the improvement they make in your stereo system. Existing problems will not get worse just because you added these speakers (unless your amp is not up to driving the speakers, or your previous speakers hid an existing problem). But, later when you change out components you will hear more difference between the old and new than you would with most other speakers. When auditioning new stereo equipment, at the least, listen to the new component on an equally revealing system at the showroom. Take the component home if you can.

There is some confusion about the power needed to drive these speakers in the previous reviews. These speakers are not as power hungry as most planar speakers, but are more power hungry than most cone based speakers. They are low impedance speakers, approx. 4 ohm. And, they have the ability to reproduce a very wide dynamic range. This can make them hard to drive.

Can lesser amps play these speakers? Sure they can. And possibly sound more beautiful at lower volumes than a powerful amp. Just don’t expect them to play loud without problems.

These speakers need a lot of current to play dynamic full range music at concert volumes. After much research on power amps I settled on a PS Audio Delta 100. The Delta 100 can be found used these days for $450, and there are lots of other amps out there with the PS Audio’s qualities. This power amp is rated at only 100 watts per channel, but it is capable of delivering huge amounts of current over short periods of time. This is due to the output capacitors. They are HUGE. Capacitors this large have the ability to deliver lots of current very fast. These capacitors are capable of taking care of large musical peaks. The output transistors are also large. They can take the heat of continuous loud music without damage. With this amp and these speakers, your neighbors may complain before your system does. These speakers also benefit from an amp with a high dampening factor.

Ribbon drivers have special qualities. The ribbon on this speaker has the mass of a conventional tweeter and the surface area of an 8 inch cone speaker. This is why it can play loud and clean. However, ribbons have resonance’s. This ribbon has a resonance around 3000 Hz, right where the ear is most sensitive. There is even a knob for adjusting this frequency on the back on the speaker. If the speaker sounds harsh (or dull), try adjusting this knob to get a good balance. Because of these resonance’s, ribbons do no produce the highest frequencies as well as the best tweeters. If these speakers seem to have too much high frequency, the 3000 Hz resonance may need adjustment, or there is a problem in the system, either with the speakers or another component.

You are more likely to blow the woofer, or your amp before blowing the ribbon. This happened at the showroom where we bought our speakers. The ribbon is well protected from damage. Our ribbon has shown no signs of problems from being stretched after six years. We don’t play them loud very often or for very long.

These speakers are very musical, and a bargain for it.

Imaging

None ever found

First thing's first. I am NOT a Carver fan - their amps sound harsh and 2 dimensional, and their pre-amps "break" all the time (ironically I own a Carver Sunfire Theater Grand pre-amp and I just Love it; go figure). But these speakers are second to only the Martin Logans. They are simply beautiful! Music is (really) 3-dimensional, clear, exact, pin-point, you name it. I have had these speakers for 7 years and have NO plans on replacing them. They are bullet proof (i've heard of ribbons going out, but none of that here). They are easy to drive (I had a Pioneer reciever powering these speakers for a few years and they just sounded amazing). I now have a pair of DENON POA-S10 mono-blocks driving them bi-wired, with a Sunfire Theater Grand. Let me tell you, NO smaller speaker will sound more 3-dimensional and realistic as these (actually, i'm sure there are better sounding systems), but honestly, these are INCREDIBLY AWESOME speakers. You MUST use a high-current amplifier with these babies. That much more control that high current amps offer will make these babies sound the way they should. You can not go wrong with these speakers. If you have the room for these 6 foot tall speakers, and have quality components, and a Hi-current amp, you will not be disappointed.

System includes:
Sunfire Theater Grand Pre-amp
Denon POA-S10 mono blocks (mains)
Denon POA-8300 (center, surrounds)
Boston Acoustics center and surrounds
Denon DVD-2500
SONY SAT-A55 DSS
Phoenix Gold Reference II speaker cable (bi-wire)
Blah, blah, blah...

As with any system, you must use the best possible cable, connections, components, etc, that you can afford. Do it right the first time, and you'll be rewarded for many years to come.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, Klpich, Boston Acoustics

The AL-IIIplus ribbon speakers from Carver are extraordinary. The soundstage is deep and wide from 2-feet to 6-feet vertically, which is effective in maintaining a consistent stage from sitting to standing positions. With ribbons not reaching the lower frequencies, the speakers have complementary 10" cone drivers to give that needed "punch". These woofers are located at the bottom of the speaker, and thus the best mix of upper and lower frequencies is attained at about 3' vertical, which is standard listening chair height. Although the soundstage stretches to the ceiling, the bass tapers off a little above 4 feet, so a separate sub-woofer would probably be desired by bass-hunger listeners.
If you like your music to fill the room, these speakers are unequalled. With proper floor placement, music will emanate from the entire half of the room. With such dipolar speaker sound, though, music is not "pushed" at you like conventional cone drivers. Instead, as the volume increase, the music-hall effect increases. So, if you like speakers to blow you backwards with sound, the AL-IIIs are not for you. But, if you want your speakers to envelope you with music, the AL-III are simply amazing. Although I've heard great sound from other speaker systems, I've never been "overwhelmed" with sound like I have with the AL-IIIs . . .

As well, these speakers are beautiful pieces of furniture. This is good, since (with proper floor placement) they will take up a third of your listening room!

All-in-all, the AL-IIIs bring goosebumps to my skin. Be cautioned that the instruction manual is correct: The speakers need about 15-20 hours of play to loosen the ribbons somewhat (the sound is too tight the first few plays). But, once these speakers have loosened up, you'll wonder how you were able to buy these speakers for under $1500 . . .

I purchased a pair of AL-III some years ago, not realizing there potential due to poor support electronics/components. After recently purchasing a Marantz 67SE CD player, a used Carver TFM-45 power amp and Carver preamp did the speakers sound truly amazing. After installing Terminator "bi-wire" speaker wires and good interconnects and Fowler feet, the speakers really became alive. There was some cabinet noise that I noticed. (The is a by product of going from a 80 watts per ch to 375 watts per ch. The noise came from the woofer enclosure and the front wings in the area in from of the woofer enclosure where it is poorly supported. I stiffened the woofer enclosure by adding some cross bracing. I eliminated the "wing" noise by epoxying 1/8 inch steel plates behind the wings where is covers the woofer enclosure.
I know I'm rambling. Back to what I think of the AL-III's. They are very open and detailed. They image beautifully. Instruments are place on an appearant sound stage. Vocals are absolutely magical. The bass is very smooth and natural. Everyone that listens to these speakers is truly amazed. For the money they are a steal.

Excellent product! Perfect for every aspects. I bi-wired them with KSA-150 and CDP-XA50ES. Unbelivevable sound of highend class...
I have tried to add two subwoofer to them... with bi-amplifier. Nothing to say much... I give 10 stars out of 5!!!

I have just picked up a pair of Carver AL-III+ speakers from Circuit City. Carver has currently dicontinued this speaker model from the line-up so the store is clearing them out for $1150 a pair. Unfortunately, they now only are available in black, since I wanted to buy the natural oak finish, but for the price I can't complain (but spouse sure does). They are six feet tall monoliths, only a couple of inches thick on the upper two-thirds containing the dipolar ribbon, with a large base housing a 10 inch bass relex woofer facing down on the elevated base (the AL-III+ model no longer has the three controls for the woofer, midrange and high end output adjustments that the original AL-III's had). Although very large, they are visually appealing due to its somewhat slender oak wings attached to the sides of the tweeter to aid high frequency dispersion.
I have demoed several speaker systems. The Polk RT1000p and RT2000P were very forward, vocals were to me too strong, the bass was hard to balance. It could get very tubby with some recordings or thin on others. The soundstage was good but I could not get over the vocal emphasis. Energy speakers were far more musical the the Polks but the soundstage imaging was only fair. Definitive Technology's 20002/2004 were surprisingly disappointing, imparting a nasal sound to female vocals.

The Carvers for the price were surprising. The high end is very smooth and uncolored. Imaging was very good, imparting a sense of depth that I only heard with Magneplanar speakers. The bass output is decent, not exactly subwoofer class but nothing to sneeze at. My only worry is that the woofers uses foam surrounds. In Hawaii's humidity, after three years, the foam surrounds rot and crumble, rendering the woofers useless. (if anyone has a solution for that, please let me know...) The biggest mistake with the AL-IIIs are their power requirements. Although minimum wattage required is stated at 100 watts per channel, you really will not get full performance with less than 200 watts per channel with a beefy amplifier. The Carvers are VERY inefficient, sucking 100 watt amplifiers into clipping at moderate volume because of its low impedance, dropping below four ohms much of its range, driving cheap transistor amps into major overload. Using receivers to drive this speaker is a sin. I can't think of any receiver that has the current capacity to drive the speakers. Separate power amps is a must. Once you fullfill the power requirements, these speakers are superb. The sound literally opens up, lifting a veil from the music revealing crystal clear music with a focussed soundstage. Being dipolar ribbons, they reveal all the nuances of your system, very open and sweet. Cone/dome tweeters cannot impart the sonic image of ribbon tweeters. Ribbons, becuase of their boxless nature, do not have the colored boxiness sound most speakers have. Another property of ribbons is that they do do not seem as loud as they really are. The music is actually just as loud as box speakers but the dynamics make it seem softer as compared to box speakers.

Overall, I rate the Carvers as four stars at $2000 per pair, but at $1150 per pair, a defintite five stars, just make sure you get enough power to drive them.

Carver ALS-III+ speakers are amazing! I've been hearing and feeling details in my music I'd never realized existed. I never thought I'd be able to afford a pair, but several months ago I entered Circuit City and found a display pair for sale at the unheard of price of $349 per speaker. I bought them despite the prospect of facing my wife's ire when I arrived home. Ire turned to delight as we rediscovered old musical friends. My old Carver M-200t amp made them sing and play a much sweeter song.
Luck smiled on me again this weekend. Again at Circuit City, the same salesman, an open-box Carver A-500x power amp with full warranty, now upgraded to 10 years by Carver, at a price I couldn't refuse. $399. Again, the ire was braved and conquered. ( Music has charms to sooth the savage breast.) My appreciation for the ALS-III+ speakers has increased once more with the addition of the A-500x.
The M-200t has been switched to powering my Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble system, replacing a Kenwood receiver whose protection circuitry was activated when driven hard.

I'd really been neglecting my music until my latest purchase of the Carver speakers and amp. They've rekindled my interest since I now have a "new" music collection.

Simplying amazing!!! These speakers are worth every cent. However they are power hogs. I'm currently in the market for additional power (I only have 125rms), any suggestions on a good amp?

Wow these are incredible. Is there a better pair of speakers on the market? I thought the Martin Logan CLS II z we're the ones but they have been sold. For the 1500+ range I would love to hear something better. They are much more easier to setup than the CLS II z's no 3 month moving period for perfect staging and imaging.
Proceed PAV PDSD Preamp
Mark Levinson model 39 CD
Mark Levinson 333 Amplifier
JPS Superconductor Connections

I got my ALIII+ for about a year. I first listened to one of my old roommate who has the old Carver Amazing Loudspeaker Silver which use the same kind of ribbon driver and I was hooked. BTW, Carver discontinued that model at that time. So, I tried all other speakers in my price range < 2000 which include NHT2.5i, Defentive, B&W, Paradyne Studio Series and so much more. However, I couldn't find anything that match those AL Silver till I first audit ALIII+. I tried AL-III in one of the store around my area, but it was set up incorrectly, and it seems to be sensitive to the amp also. However the sound is very promising to me though compare to the other speaker. I'm a little bias here through my past experience with AL silver. So, I decided to order one pair in natural oak back home.
Well, the first month, I just try to move speaker around to find the best position in my room and also allow the speaker to break in a bit. It begin to sound better if you put it 2-3 feet from the back wall and at least 2 feet from the side. I tried put it farther even more than that, and the sound was improve a lot. I also tried to put it back against the wall too just to see how it would perform, but I stick to my former position anyway.
The result after fine tune is astonishing. The sound stage was so transparent, all the sound and music was so real. When I listen to classical, it seems so precise, and all the detail is there. When you listen to some blue or Jazz and close your eye, it make you feel as you really there at the same place as those musicians. The good thing about this speaker is that it fills the room with so much detail and so vast listenning area. You can almost stand at any point in the room and still here the same thing. The bass level is going down to more than acceptable level. Not as good as the old AL Silver, but good enough to rock my downstair room. (AL Silver have six 12" driver with smart design sub system). I figure out that I can buy a better subwoofer and live with it for the rest.
I probably stick with this a few more years. Only bad thing about this speaker is its heaviness. You need so much care to move it around the room. But for the price, you realy can't find any better deal.