BobCarver.com, a new company formed by renowned audio inventor Bob Carver and home automation pioneer Bob Farinelli, just announced a new line of vacuum tube amplifiers.
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The new series of mono block amplifiers are a blend of form and function and the ideal choice for serious music listeners. The Cherry 180 is rated at 180 Watts rms into 8 ohms, the Black Beauty 305 Watts rms. Each amplifier features a high impedance input, an automatic DC restorer circuit, a "set and forget" bias adjustment, and low idle current, which reportedly increases output tube life. Selectable feedback control allows the user to change the sound of the amplifier.
A special current feedback circuit allows the amplifier to allegedly "listen to the room" via feedback from the speakers acting as microphones (using the law of reciprocity). Additionally, the transformer output impedance allows the signal to follow the impedance curve of the speaker system, allowing more voltage to be delivered to the loudspeaker at very low frequencies.
Cherry 180 (VTA 180M) Specifications:
Rated Power: 200 watts into 8 ohms, 250 watts into four or two ohms
Gain: 30 dB
Input impedance: 100 k?
Frequency response: 2 Hz - 85 kHz without filters
Power Bandwidth: 24 Hz - 28 kHz
Distortion: Less than 0.5%
A weighted noise: -110 dB below rated output
Speaker outputs: Two, four and eight ohms
Black Beauty (VTA 305M) Specifications:
Rated Power: 305 watts into 8 ohms, 420 watts into four ohms, 450 watts into one or two ohms
Gain: 30 dB
Input impedance: 100 k?
Frequency response: 2 Hz - 85 kHz without filters
Power Bandwidth: 24 Hz - 28 kHz
Distortion: Less than 0.5%
A weighted noise: -110 dB below rated output
Speaker outputs: One, two, four and eight ohms
The VTA180M lists for $7,400, the VTA305M for $12,900 and will ship in October.
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• Explore reviews in our Amplifier Review section.
