Who owns Bob Carver Company in 2022? Whats going on?

[Ar9Jim 2,810]

Over the last several years I've been asked this question many times, as a dealer for Bob Carver. 

 

Over the last 2 years a company called Glass Audio built Bob Carver products under license, in California.

 

Glass Audio closed at year end 2021. Bob was not a partner in Glass. 

 

Bob has started a new company to produce and market his vacuum tube audio products.

 

Bob Carver is a legal entity owned 100% by Bob Carver and his wife Peggy. No investors, No partners. Bob and Peggy's baby. 

 

Bob is at the helm and his creativity is guiding the ship forward. The on-line store is coming soon.

 

Thanks for your time. If you have any questions please ask here, or call (815) 985-3557. 

 

Here is a press release that was released in the last few days. You will see it in print and on-line from many sources soon, but you can see it first at The Carver Site!

 

 

Bob Carver Announces Important Changes

 

 

Bob Carver has announced he is moving his company into the 21st century, with an

upcoming on-line store at his website. Customers will soon have the option to purchase

direct from Bob Carver with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee with no restocking or

shipping fees attached either way.

 

Soon you will be able to have your own Carver Amplifier Challenge in your home and

system, with no-risk to your audio budget. You can experience the work of Bob Carver,

anywhere UPS delivers in the USA. Bob Carver will continue to deliver the innovative,

high performance products that made him world famous.

 

In recent months, supply chain issue has disrupted shipments of Bob Carver products to

our customers. We have been working overtime to solve these issues, and we believe

we have.

 

We regret the delays and how this has caused worry and upset to our wonderful

customers. The recent closure of Glass Audio America has again caused a disruption in

our shipments. Glass Audio built Bob Carver products under license. We know the good

people at Glass Audio are in great demand within the industry. Their individual futures

are all very bright.

 

As a response, Bob has taken personal stake in multiple USA manufacturers to produce

Bob Carver products under his direct oversight and guidance. In recent years, demand

for Bob Carver products has exceeded supply continuously.

 

Bob hears your demands and is going back into USA manufacturing of his products.

In the near future, you can see what products Bob has planned for 2022. Exciting

changes ahead for Bob Carver fans at https://www.bobcarvercorp.com

 

Questions – Concerns - Needs

 

CALL US! --- (815)985-3557
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Immediate Release_Bob Carver Annouces Important Changes .docx

[Brian_at_HHH 2,359]

Jim, when things gel a bit more, can you let us know what the path will be for those of us who are not in the U.S.ofA.?  

No rush at all - if things are not settled in that respect, that's fine.  But when things are figured out, I would love to know, and I'm sure the rest of us from outside the US will be interested as well.

And, of course, Good Luck to you and Bob and all in this.  May business continue to be very good, and may Bob's innovative ways continue as ever!

[Charlie 16,366]

Thanks for keeping us informed, Jim 

[AndrewJohn 5,739]

Great News, Jim.

 

Looking forward to the new store!

[Scrappy 200]

Thanks for the information and I look forward to the updates!

 

Cheers!

Rob

[Receiver2000 1,454]

Can't wait to see what happens with this and see dome new Carver gear!!!

[Ar9Jim 2,810]

On 2/7/2022 at 5:07 PM, Brian_at_HHH said:

Jim, when things gel a bit more, can you let us know what the path will be for those of us who are not in the U.S.ofA.?  

No rush at all - if things are not settled in that respect, that's fine.  But when things are figured out, I would love to know, and I'm sure the rest of us from outside the US will be interested as well.

And, of course, Good Luck to you and Bob and all in this.  May business continue to be very good, and may Bob's innovative ways continue as ever!

Hi Brian,

I have an update on new Bob Carver products for exports. All new Bob Carver products will conform to CE, REACH and RoHS. The Crimson 275 is also being brought into compliance and will also be available for export.  Bob put his Captains hat back on and is piloting his company. We all know good things happen, when Bob is running the show. A world class company will be the result, once again.

Edited February 16 by Ar9Jim

[Brian_at_HHH 2,359]

Thanks very much, Jim!  Does this also mean we (foreigners) will be able to order directly?

 

BTW, thank you for your instructions on setting up the Crimson 275 for mono mode!  You put up the only clear info I could find on it.

[Ar9Jim 2,810]

19 minutes ago, Brian_at_HHH said:

Thanks very much, Jim!  Does this also mean we (foreigners) will be able to order directly?

 

BTW, thank you for your instructions on setting up the Crimson 275 for mono mode!  You put up the only clear info I could find on it.

Thank you, Brian. Yes. You will be able to order online as well, from most stable countries.. Some countries we can't ship to, because the amplifiers never make it to the consumer. Lol. Sad but true.. 

[Ar9Jim 2,810]

Hi Guys,

The last few months have been very busy. Our team has taken Bobs latest preamp design from sketch to reality since the last post. Reference Preamplifier Model -   RPM V12 is heading into production. We are building the 1st 2 units for verification. I'll be taking one unit to Snohomish for testing with Bob, for any final changes and for his approval. Then we build 8 more beta units for customer trials before building a batch of 90 units.

 

We just received a report from a 3rd party audio designer that is very respected mentor of one of our Phd level team members.  Before going to production it was a good idea to let a 3rd party see if we overlooked anything. He examined Bobs design carefully and ran simulations to test the performance. His summary was, this is the highest performance vacuum tube preamp design he has ever seen. 

 

He said the THD numbers show a lifetime of commitment to lowering distortion in vacuum tubes, with numbers on par with excellent solid state designs. He was very impressed with Bobs work, using words repeatedly like "Best I have seen", "brilliant". 

 

You can imagine the boost the team received.. When guys that are considered genius are calling the design "Best" and "Brilliant", that feels really good. Bob is back strong and these legacy products will perform with the best out there at any price.

 

The V12 will be a home run. Greatest designer, highest performance, High customer value among its peers.  The V12 was a Bob Carver hand sketch in February. Here are some pictures.

 

Following soon is the matching 285 amplifier. Here again 'Bob is back' and designed a beast.. 2X85 watts that will make full power all the way to 20Hz or below. It has the full width 17 inch chassis, due to the diameter of the transformers. It takes the full width chassis to fit the 3 large toroids side by  side.  Selling direct helps with pricing. We are shooting for $2995.  

 

 

 

[Receiver2000 1,454]

That's really exciting news.

Bet it sounds as good as it looks!!!

What is the round thing on the left side?

Thank you so much for the updates.

[AndrewJohn 5,739]

13 hours ago, Receiver2000 said:

What is the round thing on the left side?

I believe that is an indicator screen, with information for setting bias, noting what component/source is playing, etc.  LED digital text display.  (Similar to the Marantz receiver display.)  Jim will come correct me on that, or embellish the remaining capabilities that I don't know about.

[Receiver2000 1,454]

OK got it. For a pre-amp it wouldn't be a meter so I figured that it was some sort of information display or a screen to display a hologram of Bob.

[Ar9Jim 2,810]

17 hours ago, Receiver2000 said:

That's really exciting news.

Bet it sounds as good as it looks!!!

What is the round thing on the left side?

Thank you so much for the updates.

Hello Sir,

Thank you for the question. Here are some early programing photos of the display in a rainbow of colors showing the color choices. The user may end up with a few choices to allow some color matching with other brands of gear. 

The production display has better resolution than this picture, but this gives you the basic idea. 

As you turn the volume control the radial bar graph indicates position. 

The display will also show hours of use on the vacuum tubes. 

Neil Davis designed and built this programming fixture for doing this work. Neil retired late last year from Raytheon. He has a lifetime of experience using his talents for weapons of war, like most of the men on Bobs team. Aerospace audiophile geeks.  Now we work for Bob Carver building his KILLER audio gear !

Thanks,

 

Jim Clark

Here is an even earlier design.

 

Edited June 5 by Ar9Jim

[Receiver2000 1,454]

Cool. Thanks for the response. 

 

[maytag 690]

Probably not going to use the headphone jack every day, it would be nice to have a cover that plugs into it and cleans up the right side. Maybe an option for purchase? 

[AndrewJohn 5,739]

11 hours ago, maytag said:

Probably not going to use the headphone jack every day, it would be nice to have a cover that plugs into it and cleans up the right side. Maybe an option for purchase? 

I agree, the aesthetics are beautiful, left to right, then you get to the headphone jack..., some kind of snap-on cover would be a nice touch, ... something that mimics the look of the volume knob, perhaps.  I'd order that option for an extra $15.  No headphones in my house.

[Brian_at_HHH 2,359]

Personally, I like the cover on the headphone jack.  Any removable cover is as good as missing for most of us.   I think it a classy touch.

 

I have every such connector cover I've ever had (including for gear long gone), but don't ask me to find them to use them!

 

 

[ZappaPatton 488]

13 hours ago, maytag said:

Probably not going to use the headphone jack every day, it would be nice to have a cover that plugs into it and cleans up the right side. Maybe an option for purchase? 

 

A magnetic plug?

[Ar9Jim 2,810]

Here is a new video featuring my boss. Bob Carver.

 

 

[Receiver2000 1,454]

Thanks. Great video. Makes me want to blast some music. And yes, get one of those hats. Didn't see that Dolly Parton thing coming!!!

[Franzk 20]

By all accounts and images provided, this stunning and unique  new amplifier has clearly had a great deal of design attention - from the circuitry design, to parts selection and final overall layout and appearance.

For consistency of quality, I, seemingly like others,  do hope the placement, installation and selection of the headphone jack receives another design visit. It is nowhere near as resolved as everything else placed on the external panels.  It upsets the balance with the TFT display. Recessing it like the TFT display, or doubtless other treatments,  would help it not look like a bolt-on by a rogue engineer, or an after-thought as part of a subsequent in-service consumer mod. Just my humble view. Thank you for indulging. Cheers.

 

[RodH 4,790]

For the technoids among us:

 

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/whats-on-the-bench-tonight-obt.372508/page-36#post-7001719

 

also:

 

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/whats-on-the-bench-tonight-obt.372508/page-39#post-7048001

Edited June 15 by RodH

[Receiver2000 1,454]

Good stuff Rod

[Ar9Jim 2,810]

12 hours ago, RodH said:

For the technoids among us:

 

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/whats-on-the-bench-tonight-obt.372508/page-36#post-7001719

 

also:

 

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/whats-on-the-bench-tonight-obt.372508/page-39#post-7048001

Thanks Rod. Viet is a brilliant young Phd and one of 7 great guys on our team. His day job is interfacing between NASA and SpaceX with the Starlink system. We had Viet's mentor review Bob's circuit designs for the V12, before production just as another set of eyes, that Viet thought were way more qualified than his own.  His mentor studied Bob's design thoroughly and ran simulations on the circuits performance. He came back with results using words like "brilliant", "shows a lifetime of work lowing distortion in vacuum tube amplifiers", "best I have ever seen" "genius"..  Viet says, "this is a true testament to the genius of Bob Carver, and he did this without using computer simulations"!   A young guy like Viet found Bobs ability utterly amazing. Viet's genius mentor found himself humbled at the circuits performance.

 

The V12 was a hand sketch from Bob in February. We came this far that fast.. Lots of zoom calls with Bob on styling and details not circuit related.

 

Bob is back!  A nothing less than world class will meet his standard for these legacy products.  Our entire team are guys similar to Viet in their own fields. All aerospace audio geeks, building Bob's designs to aerospace type quality standards. They are the best team we could have. Most have had careers within the war machine. At least 2 were chief engineers. Companies they worked for include: Lockheed , Northrup, GE Aviation, Raytheon, NASA..

 

When Bob says its ready, we make it. We work with Bob every day. I talked to Bob and Peggy yesterday while Bob was getting a haircut. This was yesterday. Bob's legacy is safe, and his designs are being executed to the highest level of performance using all of the technology available in 2022..

 

The 285 amplifier will be another great design come to life.. No changes to Bobs design, but very low distortion, due to the manufacturing engineering and simulation abilities to check EMI, avoid voltage creep and other fine details.  The 285 will make full power to 20Hz and then some. At 1 watt into 8 ohms, THD is .09%. At full power THD is .16%.  We have the team to show the full potential of Bobs work and make him proud. Humbled to do the legwork for Bob.