fev1969 10 Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 (edited) Good afternoon everyone, just wanted to say hello and introduce myself. My name is Frank, I recently found this site while I was doing some searching for amps. I'm a 53-year-old music lover who suffers from tinnitus. I believe it stems from my teenage days growing up in the 70's and 80's when we all played loud and proud and the music would speak to your soul lol. Anyways, now that most of my kids are grown and out of the house (all but our 2-year-old), It's time for dad to start on his music room project, which leads me to my first order of business. I'm searching for a good two channel amp that won't break the bank. Right now it will be used for music only, however, in the future it could be used in a 5.2 or maybe a 7.2 HT system. I believe I have it narrowed down to the two amps listed below. Does anyone have any experience with these two amps? I can pick up the Sunfire for $1000, visually it looks to be in very good condition and owner SAYS everything works and sounds amazing. Unfortunately, It's in Florida and I'm in Illinois so I wouldn't be able to demo before purchase. The TFM-45 is in Illinois, about a 4-and-a-half-hour drive north of me. It's supposed to be in excellent condition, and he will demo the unit. I can get it for $500. 1) Sunfire Bob Carver Gold Cinema Grand Signature Five-Channel Power Amplifier. Load Invariant High Fidelity Five Channel Power Amplifier. Architect’s Choice Series II 2) TFM-45 Carver Magnetic Field Power Amplifier Over the last several years I have managed to come across and purchase some mint 4ohm, Polk Audio LSI 9's, LSI 15's and LSI 25's that are just sitting in the boxes waiting on the right amp to come along. Edited June 24, 2023 by fev1969 grammar error 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTFM35 1,623 Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 @fev1969 Welcome to the CARVER family! No better place to spend your time then here. As for the two choices that you have both are very interesting units to have. For myself I have gone the way of using separate amps. The TFM-45 at that price is and would be a great unit to build around. I run TFM's 35 15 and 6 in my systems. If you acquire the 45 I would have it restored to give you many more years of great listening experience. Follow this link for more information to help you make a choice. Carver M-4.0t TFM-45 TFM-42 Restore and upgrades - Carver Amplifiers - Nelion Audio I am sure that the Sunfire could be refreshed to provide many years of enjoyment. Enjoy your journey!! This is my system. Once again WELCOME to the start of a wonderful and satisfying journey. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Community Admin AndrewJohn 8,184 Posted June 24, 2023 Community Admin Share Posted June 24, 2023 Welcome @fev1969. You found a good place to begin (and maintain!) your journey. the Sunfire Signature is a nice amp, and the $1000 price tag is about at market. The TFM 45 is a highly coveted amp, and will serve you (and your speakers) well. As noted by @BobTFM35, plan on getting it serviced. Any TFM amp that has not been serviced (consumable components replaced, service bulletins applied, and fine-tune-adjustments) is going to sound tired and won't give you the full rich Carver amp experience. These amps are approaching 30-35 years in age, but can sound glorious, and better than new, with high-end modern capacitors and adjustments applied. Nelion is the place to go. If you don't pick up these amps, please post in our "found deals" thread - so someone else might benefit... Me, personally? Well, My OCCD would probably buy both, and send them both directly to Nelion for service 😉 Again, welcome, and glad you found us. Please post what you end up doing! (BTW, I have 2 TFM 45 amps..., among many others! 😉 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nahash5150 10,011 Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 Welcome to the site @fev1969! It's not possible to get carried away here so rock on. 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenith4me 1,386 Posted June 24, 2023 Share Posted June 24, 2023 Welcome to The Carver Site! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Receiver2000 2,465 Posted June 26, 2023 Share Posted June 26, 2023 Welcome Frank!!!! Great to have you with us. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk1Bum 9,888 Posted June 26, 2023 Share Posted June 26, 2023 Hello Frank, and welcome to thecarversite.com. We're glad you're hear. There is a lot of information here, much technical know how, and a pretty good bunch of folks that are happy to help. That's a very good price on the TFM45, and there are several here that praise them. That's an amp that's on my want list, but I have a few unused amps as it is... Once you get to Novice status, please consider uploading some pics of your gear in the Members Systems area. We all like pics of all kinds of audio gear. In the meantime, kick your shoes off, turn up the music, and welcome aboard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianD 488 Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Welcome, but as a couple of the above posts demonstrate you must be careful to not contract OCCD (obsessive Carver collecting disorder).😀 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ar9Jim 6,057 Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Welcome to CS Sir. Enjoy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis47 854 Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 WELCOME @fev1969! Glad you found us.... Carver amps and Polk speakers are a great combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roughcut48 2 Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 Many years ago I applied to this website for membership and received an email saying that it was being considered and I would receive another email if accepted. However that email never came, so I just went on. At the time I owned a TX 11b Tuner, C-16 Preamp, TFM X35 Power Amplifier, TD 1700 Cassette Deck, and SD/A 490t CD Player. While working, I had an unwanted visitor who permanently borrowed ( stole ) my entire system. So now I am going to start looking to replace it. My current system is a Sony 90ES System, but I truly miss the sound quality and performance of the Carver. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Community Admin AndrewJohn 8,184 Posted July 18, 2023 Community Admin Share Posted July 18, 2023 @Roughcut48, sorry about that glitch in the past. Often, the return email mentioned, goes unnoticed into an member-applicant's spam folder, to be lost forever. Since that was years ago, and someone else was on watch back then (we rotate moderators occasionally, and the site has been around for over a decade - that's lots of folks!), it's hard to say what happened - but today, we can say, thanks for joining! That setup you had sounds like a super system! At one point, I had a pair of TFM-35 amps. What gear are you looking for today? There may be someone here (even could be me!) who has available overflow gear to sell. Really glad you found us and this time you are now in! Looking to hear more about your journey and Carver gear interests going forward. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now