Thoughts on the AL-III Plus?

[Brian_at_HHH 2,691]

From what I've seen, most people, here, who have Carver Speakers, have the Amazings that are essentially flat panel units, but I've seen very little commentary on the AL-III Plus speakers.

 

There currently is a pair of AL-III Plus speakers in my general area that my OCCD has me pondering, but knowing all too little about them, I thought I'd get everyone's thoughts before going further.  

 

Good?  Bad?  Indifferent?  Stay away?   Grab instantly?    Any thoughts would be welcome.

[RodH 4,866]

The ones at V.H.A.?

 

You would be wise to visually inspect the ribbons as well as the subwoofer surrounds, on top of giving them a good listen.

Listen loud and listen to some solo piano music to detect ribbon issues.

[Brian_at_HHH 2,691]

Thanks Rod - that's what I generally expected.  That's the one thing I've worried about with AL's of any flavor - ribbon condition.

[xavionics 2,069]

Depends on how much he wants for them. And what you may do with them.

 

I have a pair (non ‘plus’) meaning mine have the sound contour adjustments on the backs.

Driven by a TFM-25 in my basement office. About maybe 10’ away from my desk in a fairly open area.
I like them but I have sunk some additional $$ into them. 
If the ribbons don’t buzz, they either have been rebuilt or they will need to be.

The woofers had already been changed before I got mine, but I upgraded to Infinity Perfect 10’s.
 

[cuda 523]

My theory since 2018 on all the ribbons new in a box NOS to in use daily is that glues after time (20 years plus) will turn brittle and the magnets if given enough of a bump or flex will fly into ribbons. I have had these apart and some of the glue will be holding just fine and strong and it takes me a lot of effort to remove them, then I will get to some and they take only the amount of effort to over power the magnetism to the steel frames. If one does buy some of these you really need to put extra effort (2 guys) and move slow and even, no impacts really treat them like   nitroglycerine

[Brian_at_HHH 2,691]

Thanks @cuda - that was exactly what I was concerned with.  I had a feeling that moving them would be dicey at best.

 

Great as the deal is, I think it may be fraught with a little too much risk to be worthwhile.

[Dadvw 2,876]

1 hour ago, Brian_at_HHH said:

 

Great as the deal is, I think it may be fraught with a little too much risk to be worthwhile.

By some of Kingman’s gear, can’t go wrong there. Excellent gear in great condition.....grin

[PMAT 2,038]

 On the other hand they might be perfect. I’ve had two sets. I’ve also had my silver‘s for a while. All of them had the 48 inch ribbon. In my experience and opinion these are the most stable of them all.  All six ribbons still going strong. With a little care they can be moved no problem. One set I sold to a local guy who beats the living daylights out of them. Still no issues. There’s always risk in older stuff and maybe I just got really lucky but these 48 inch ribbons seem pretty tough to me. As far as room size is concerned they did not work in a large room for me. In a medium room they worked just fine but I added a sub because I like a lot of bass sometimes. Woofers are pretty easy to fix. Maybe you should go listen to them just for fun. If they blow your socks off then you can reconsider.

[Brian_at_HHH 2,691]

1 hour ago, Dadvw said:

By some of Kingman’s gear, can’t go wrong there. Excellent gear in great condition.....grin

 

Yea, I did look at the list, but there wasn't much I could honestly make use of.  I tried to find something, but, in spite of my OCCD, I still have to have an active use for it.

 

@PMAT, I might try to have a look at some point.  Right now is not a time to go out there, but we'll see if they are still around when the dust settles.  Even though the are listed on CAM, they are at a retailer, so they will be closed for the for the foreseeable future - or at least they had better be, or they will be acing a nasty fine.

 

As odd as it may sound (pun only partially intended), I haven't had the chance to listen to many higher end speakers, so I had no idea even what their sound might be like.  The price has dropped down to $1200 CAD, and unlike many I've seen pictures of, they don't seem in bad shape. But age, with the ribbons is definitely a huge factor.

 

Here's the ad for anyone curious - @RodHwas right - they are the pair at V..H.A.:

 

https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649595410-carver-al-iii-plus-amazing-pair-of-speaker-speakers/?utm_campaign=price-changed-watchlist&utm_source=notification&utm_medium=email

 

It was just that this popped up, today with a hefty price reduction, and i caught my eye, or at least my OCCD notification system.

[cuda 523]

Just for the record I love the 48" and 60" ribbons! I only wrote that as a warning that you have to be all in if you pick up the Carvers. Once you get a set in a room set right and with the right amp they will make your jaw drop. And that pair of Amazings with 60" ribbons I posted that where for sale at $600 bucks I bet they would go $500 and they are closed now also because of the lockdown, but in a few weeks they may go $200 who knows.

Edited March 28, 2020 by cuda

[edneck 44]

Kicked the hell out of a pair for a couple of years.  Tried all my amps on them. They sounded really good actually. They image very well and the ported bass was acceptable.  Feeding them 500-650rms per side got them to run and hide levels and they still sounded terrific. I was going to do the perfect 10,  or the JL W4(I think or 3) and there was one other +/- drop in replacement woofer that I can't remember. I ended up selling them to a friend when I got my RS 9 Kaopa before I tried that. The woofer upgrade was supposedly a real improvement. I'd give a thumbs up for the ALIII+ if they're in decent shape. Mine were oak. I've read that with the ones in black, they were less likely to be oiled and the wings would show splits in the wood through the black finish from drying out. Just sayin'

[B-Man 4,780]

I have two pairs of them - AL-III+ in black and AL-III in oak. Neither pair have the ribbon buzz and neither have splits in the wings. I wonder if that is more common in low humidity environments? I have lived in FL and TN and both are far from low humidity.

 

I replaced the woofers in the AL-III+ pair with the then currently available Eminence equivalent to the old woofer, the BP-102-4. They sound great.

 

I replaced the woofers in the AL-III pair with  car audio subwoofers, the JL Audio 10W1v2-4. Note: there is a response difference between woofers and subwoofers. My ears did not like the lack of upper bass that was apparent with the JL units installed.

 

If you find yourself out of sleeping pills and counting sheep just isn't working, you can read some about it here: My thread on changing drivers in the AL-IIIs

[AndrewJohn 10,451]

I have a pair of the AL II+ love them.

 

This pair, unless they were recently refurbished, to the bone (like Ed doing the ribbons, and a new woofer), seem over priced. 

 

I paid $350US for the pair in black, that I have.  They are on CL here in Chicago Land for sub $500, every so often.

 

The AL III and AL III+ are wonderful - you should experience them.  Don't let us talk you out of the pursuit - just don't over pay, as you know how it goes when it comes to refreshing audio gear..., like a boat is a hole in the water to pour money into, so goes OCCD!

[edneck 44]

Might sound a bit strange to some. My wife was rather upset when I sold my ALIII+. She LOVED the sound AND the looks. Although tall, they really don't take up alot of real estate. Quiet they sound very good. House rattling loud they sound the same. Just BIGGER! They're relatively easy to run. The difference between two Hafler 500's compared to a PT2400, Lightstar or a MC2600 is immence though. Everything has it's limitations but even when playing music at a moderate level supposedly sending the same amount of power to the speakers, the more current and headroom makes these speakers just sound that much better even at the same volume. Nothing wrong with the Haflers. Even though they were modded, the sound of these amps even before the mods are some of the best I've heard. A true sleeper in this game is the Hafler XL600. Beautiful liquid mosfet sound stable at 1 ohm and bridgable.