Leaderboard

Hello from New Zealand, it's not often Carver Amplifier's come up for sale down here in our part of the world. There is currently a Carver M-500t listed locally which has piqued my interest. Two questions I would like to ask the hive mind here... Would this stock amp comfortably handle running a pair of Acoustic Research AR-LST speakers ( 3 way, 9 drivers. 4 ohm and 89.5db sensitivity) I see that there is a mod for this amp also. Is this only available in America? Or will a local Carver service technician be able to perform it?? Thanks in advance, Nick

Hi Nick, and welcome aboard. I use an M500t mkII to power a pair of Martin Logan ESL's. The ESL's dip to as low as 4 ohm, but the nominal load is 6. I rarely turn the volume up over halfway, as my system is in a small room. The M500t is my favorite Carver amp, but I've only owned 4 different Carver amps and no tube amps. One thing to watch for with the M500t in stock form is heat. It will warm up quite a bit with high volume and low impedance. Before mine was upgraded, it shut down a couple of times. I've not had it do that since, but the upgrade bumped the output to 495w/channel.

Thank you AndrewJohn and 3M-Audio for your insight and knowledge 🍻 Very much appreciated. It sounds like it will be a good match for these hard to drive speakers. Hopefully this will be the last link in the chain for a while if I win the auction (6 more days to find out). I will definitely post photos if I win. Thanks again, Nick

hello Nick, @earthNZ. Reading up on the LST 1 speakers..., users that have them say they like power..., and the M500t should give it to them at stock rating. Since the m500t is rare, in NZ..., if I were in your shoes, I'd buy it (if the price is right)... Audio hobby is a journey..., not a destination..., you might find you want to get the upgrade to MkII, you might find you want different speakers..., you might find..., 😉 who knows. ...worst case, if the price is right on a rare Carver item in your region, you can flip it. Reading on some of the other audio forums, they point out that not enough wpc for those speakers is problematic, for some who have experienced blown Crown amps. Carver amps are generally more robust than many. And with 300wpc, as @3M_Audio wrote, that should be in the realm of need/demand for the speakers (I have not experienced AR LST's..., only reading on the internet about specs.) Interestingly, a post on Hoffman's forum, wrote that the LST 1s have blown amps, pushing 150wpc to them. They are rated (according to hifiengine.com) at 64wpc with a 4ohm impedance. my thinking on that is to share that Bob Carver himself pointed out that ratings are not always what they seem..., meaning that "speakers blow more often from not enough wpc, than from too many wpc." Clean high-power amplifier power is what speakers drink like water..., keyword "clean" meaning more distortion from the amp, the more likely your 65wpc-rated speakers will have issues. Bob Carver amps are known for their clean solid state power. ...now, if the used amp you are getting is not working, or needs service (it is over 30 years old - and may be stock)..., it would be good to have it looked at, checked for out of spec consumable components (like capacitors of the era, they are consumables..., and worth recapping your amp with modern caps, which will make it better than new!) Good luck on your journey..., and hoping you post more on this thread on your system once you dive in. We love pictures!

Hello Nick and welcome! I'm sure some members here that regularly run the M500t will add their feedback for you, but I don't think the M500t would have any problem with the AR-LST. In its stock form it is rated for over 300 watts per channel into 4-ohm loads. For your reference, the Owners and Service Manuals for this amp are on the site located in the 'Manuals and Specsheets' pulldown at the top of any page. I don't believe there are any factory service bulletins for the amp (aside from a note about replacement component spacing on the board), but there is a mk II modification that's available. More info here. That mod info is available, and a good service shop should be able to do that work, but I think there may also be some merit in simply using the amp as-is for a while and seeing how you like the performance in your system. Assuming the amp you are looking at is in good electrical condition, it is a very nice performer in its stock form.

Hi, My name is Jeff Bailey. I lover Carver! I have 2 M1.0t mk2 amps with a CT-7 Pre Amp pushing my Polk Audio SRS SDA 2.3 tl. Thank you in advance for you help and the positive review so I can peruse the site! Thank you!

@audiophreak Jeff, Welcome to the Carver Site!! Great combination of Amps, preamp, and speakers. This link here should shed some light on your 1.0s https://nelionaudio.com/index.php?/services.html/carver/carver-amplifiers/carver-m-10t-mkii-opt002-restore-and-upgrade-r3/ Enjoy your site exploration and we all look forward to you posting pictures of your gear!! Welcome!!