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The official and only statement from Bob on the ASR forum. He posted this on the site. It has come to my attention that my amplifier design has come under sharp criticism on this forum. I am compelled to say that the 275 is safe as it is wired and assembled, and performs as it was designed. If a customer were to chose to utilize the earth ground pin of the IEC plug (to be connected to the chassis), this can be done at no cost. This design was well considered, and follows a long history of excellent products. The 275 is a powerful, easy to listen to amplifier. I am happy with its design. In fact, this is one of the best designs I have produced. If for any reason a customer is disappointed in the performance or sound quality of this amplifier, they may return it for a full refund. The general reception of the 275 to date has been that of a high quality design, one that does not disappoint in any respect. The performance as it was measured by Amir does not do justice to the sound engineering practices that the 275 represents. I am not going to explain or attempt to refute the reasoning behind each criticism that has been made, the product speaks for itself and stands on its history of satisfaction. This amplifier was not designed to measure the best, it was designed to sound the best, and to do so at an affordable price in relation to products it might be fairly compared to. It is unfortunate for this type of bad press to make such an impression on people not directly familiar with the amplifier. In conclusion, such criticism would be much harder to support in the presence of a 275 playing music. It would be all but impossible to argue that it’s deficient in any way when you experience the actual musical performance. I stand by that. The character of this amplifier is exactly what I wanted it to sound like. For any customer with a 275 wanting to change the grounding or get a refund, email info@bobcarvercorp.com and we can fulfill your needs.

Honestly, this forum is not built on shitting on people or products. Of course we're allowed our opinions, and sometimes we have complaints, but I think what defines us is that we are fans of audio and promote good experiences. I'm with AJ. Karma is real. It's one of the reasons we don't piss on people here just for the fun of it.

And, do they retrofit the products they designed, produced, shipped (or "tube amp kits" they sold !) to users in past years under previous interpretations of the regulations..., with FREE upgrades and fixes, or offer money-back to users that want/expect regulatory compliant products in perpetuity - forever in the future?

It's not a safety issue. It seems whenever people want to leverage their argument, they bring up safety as a means to diffuse opposition (like uhm, the authoritarian coronavirus policies). So all this is about is a 3 prong socket used as a two prong. I'll give them that. It implies it is Earth Grounded, which could be a selling point? I don't know. It's a meaningless concern, in the context of safety. It's really about presentation. But that can be fixed, so time to move on. I wonder, do these safety nazis get their gear inspected every year for a safety compliance? They should, if they really cared about it. Safety regulations change all the time.

We can do product 'reviews' and 'measurements' here too. Hell, we can even benchmark their specifications.

I too appreciate (usually) the attempt at moderation here on CS. Group think and personal attacks have been commonplace on the thread. Replying with a measured response/question has been interpreted as passive aggressive, egotistical and defensive. Stating that the amp 'sounds good to me' is consistently met with attacks that one is refuting their measurements. They believe that statement is mutually exclusive. The thread moved from not performing to specifications to lethal. The "experts" state "laws" and "standards" with links to IEC etc. Pretty comical. "Theoretical" accusations of danger, death and dismemberment run rampant. It would be amazing for someone to make a deal with all of the smart people.... (who have been "building tube amps for 20 years", "owned some tech biz for 30 years", "I'm a lawyer") Buy an amp.... test your hypothesis. If the chassis is deadly - you will be reimbursed. I am sure the amp would be damaged but... If not - retract what you have alleged. There are no aptitude nor personal stability requirements to participate in forums... I find short replies to be very revealing and extremely humorous. "You suck" " What a pos" P.S. A "Sherlock Holmes" will make the association - congratulations, you know how to use a search engine 😇

It will power up with the radio //etc display lit up and will switch functions however there are only 1 LED showing in each volume indicator and no output to the speakers no matter what I do. I changed out the Relays and the Toshiba selector IC and the usual charred resistors already. There is only one click on power up so my question is what is the startup routine and how is it done _R/C delay circuit I am guessing ! I am thinking it probably needs the power supply capacitors changed out but there is probably a voltage test point or two I can verify if the switcher supplies are working ?? Also I see references to a cap that should be changed that is located near the radio IC so what are the symptoms if this cap is bad or going bad ?--Thanks in advance for any help

I have been wondering if Bottlehead is this guy.... https://bottlehead.com/ sure seems like he had an agenda, 1st posts were, "look at what I found". PS: I haven't comment on the "other" sites as I don't want to feed the Trolls don't feed the trolls....LOL

I believe Karma is a real thing. Opportunities for Karma, in abundance. 😉

So damn impressive!

Welcome @Jim Walter, glad you found us. That receiver is a mainstay, and loved by many. Well worth putting back in shape. In a bit, you'll be able to post pictures..., we love pictures! @Rob has experience, as do several others on the site. Those jumpers will make a difference. they look like this (circled in red) :

Welcome to the Carversite Jim. I also have the 150 and love it. After reading that the relays click after turning on the receiver and you replaced them, I just want to make sure that you have the jumpers installed in the back of the receiver. And yes on replacing the filter caps during a tuneup. If you can access the manuals yet, all the procedures and bulletins are in there. Good luck with the project. Rob

Mother Love Bone Chloé Dancer & Crown Of Thones

Just a thought, but if I wanted to buy a real nice power cord it seems all the ones I find are made to fit a 3 prong IEC socket. It would be a bummer to find I had a non standard plug at the back of my amp and lets say I am a non DIY person so I would have to pay a crazy amount to have one built? That is of course if I believed the test data that an upgraded power cord would make enough difference in the sound to justify the cost🤑

Thanks for posting that link. I have read Amir's reviews for some other audio gear and they have been reliably accurate for the reviews I have read. One thing that I have concluded from the methods Amir uses (and the results of the tests) is that there is a lot of discussion about how much difference there is between the results of the tests. There is very little mention that the audible difference is negligible (or nil for many people) between a SINAD (at 5 watts 4 ohms) of 113 (best of all gear tested) and SINAD of 78 which the site calls "FAIR." While accurate, this difference should not have much relevance when an audio enthusiast is comparing gear and making a purchasing decision. The test result is as misleading as the specs claimed by many manufacturers trying to make sales to people who have little or no opportunity to hear the gear and make a relevant comparison. Getting relevant data on audio gear is nearly as difficult as knowing who was responsible for killing JFK. This Carver site is a notable exception and the administrators and contributors here have my gratitude.

REO Speedwagon Keep On Loving You

Yes it is.. I find it curious that the OP has a tube amp business.. I also find it interesting that he has all the time in the world to talk about Bob.. Nothing better to do? Amps to build?

There's no rhyme or reason as to how they mount those outlets: prong on bottom, prong on top, I've got at least two pieces that have them sideways. If you're only going to use two prongs quit being so cheap and stick on a two prong connector or just hard wire it in there and then you can complain about no detachable power cord. Frank Van Alstine was funny, he said he finally put in a detachable power cord socket so you can buy your own fancy one and it can fall right out!