New owner of an old tfm 6cb

[GeorgeC 12]

Hello, I came upon this site while looking for a manual and schematic for a TFM 6-cb.  This looks like a great user group and I hope to learn from the experience of others here. I am in my late 60s and this is the first solid state amplifier that I have owned. My audio interests have previously been with tube gear. 
 

I really like tube amps for how easy they are to restore, modify, and also because they seem like magic. My main amplifier is a Fisher X202-b, and I also  listen to 1 wpc SET that is home brewed/up-cycled from a 50’s console. These sound great, but I wanted to expand my horizons a bit. Last night I just plugged in my first intentionally solid-state amp. This is a Carver TFM 6cb, which I just purchased on eBay. I was happy to find that it worked great, and sounded great to my ears. I listen in an average size bedroom, as a civilized, volume for a married man.  I listen to blues, classic rock, and some jazz. My tastes and budget for audio gear is not too far up the scale. My need for wattage is also not very extreme, obviously. 

 

I first listened to a Carver amp at a stereo store in Minnesota in the 80s. I was very impressed then at the sound, but really did not have the money to act at the time. I purchased my TFM 6-CB from EBay this week, mainly for the purpose of hearing how it might drive my Cambridge Audio Ensemble speaker system, which I have had for few years (another EBay purchase).  My Fisher tube amp, which puts out 16 watts of savage tube power, will adequately drive these speakers, but does require me to turn the volume knob up a bit. The Cambridge audio speakers are known to require higher current. Tubes, I understand, are voltage amplifiers rather than current amplifiers. Carver amps were held to be a good current source for these speakers back in the day, or so I have read it.

 

The speakers which I usually use for my tube amps are Epos M12s. These are not especially sensitive (86 db) but are very easy to drive.

 

I did enjoy what I heard last night of the new amp, and it does seem to drive the Cambridge Audio speakers very easily. I do like the Ensemble system for how flexible it is, letting me put the speakers exactly where I want them to be.

 

If this were a vintage tube amp, I would have replaced all of the electrolytic capacitors, possibly even before testing it. I am less familiar with the longevity of capacitors from the 80s and beyond. Since I don’t hear any problem and it seems to be running very cool, I wonder if I can get by safely without replacing all of the electrolytic’s. 
 

In any case, I would love to get a PDF users, manual and schematic, and wonder if they were available at this site. Thanks for listening. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[3M_Audio 883]

Welcome George. Manuals are available in the 'Manuals and Specsheets' pulldown at the top of the page.

 

And regarding the caps, in my experience most of the small board caps do start generating a high resistance after a few decades and can therefore become problematic, but unless you're looking for a project I'd say just put on some more music and enjoy.

[BobTFM35 1,626]

@GeorgeC Welcome to the Carver site!

 

Do we have manuals? You bet we do!! You can find them here.

 

https://thecarversite.com/carvermanuals/

 

Since its a new addition to your system I might give it a once over to check for any age related problems, like leaking or bulging caps, or previous owners attempts to fix things.

 

Look forward to seeing pictures of your gear. Once you advance to Novice status and get a combination of 6 reactions in the form of thumbs up, love it, and that rocks, you should be able to post pictures.

 

Once again, Welcome to The Carver Site!!

 

 

[AndrewJohn 8,184]

Welcome @GeorgeC. Glad you found us.  You will fit right in here.  Lots of both SS and Tube discussions.

 

As for manuals, I hope you found them by now - access from the top menu on the home page.

 

Enjoy!

[Dadvw 2,807]

Welcome to the forum!  From a solid state gear head just getting into tube amps the last 3 years, I like the tubes as well.  As for solid state, my preference has been to refurbish all my own gear that I am going to keep and use.  If you enjoy doing it yourself, great.  If not, Nelion Audio is who I would recommend to service it. Glad you found the manuals and enjoy the bedtime reading........grin 

[Sk1Bum 9,894]

Hello GeorgeC, and welcome aboard. You've found a like minded bunch with many of the same experiences. We're glad you're hear.  

 

[Will Meyer 2,018]

Welcome George!

 

I'm a fan of the TFM-6 amps, I have 3.

I'm using one of them in a stack with an Adcom preamp in my bedroom system.

The amp is simple and bullet proof.

There are 2 versions, the TFM-6c and the TFM-6cb.

The only difference between the c and cb if the ability of the cb to run it in bridged mode as a single 200 watt mono amp.

 

The removable rack ears allow it to stack well with orher 17 inch gear (such as my Adcom GTP-450). Fitting the rack ears allows it to blend in with other Carver amps such as the TFM-25 or -35.

 

Welcome aboard and enjoy the music!  

[itchitch 3,997]

Welcome to The Carver Site!!

[Kurt 1,393]

Welcome!

[Zenith4me 1,386]

Welcome to TCS!

[GeorgeC 12]

I have continued to enjoy the TFM 6-CB through Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble speakers. I did listen through my Epos speakers and it sounds great, but those seem to do their best with tubes (Fisher X202-b). Vice versa with the Cambridge, which really seem to want that extra current. I’m having a lot of fun convincing myself if all of the above is true. 
 

The TFM as I got it did have a small issue. One channel would be weak and scratchy for several minutes, and then it would warm up and be fine. A YouTube video showed this exact problem, along with a two-part repair series. That individual did an amazing job with restoration.  He made a really educational video, replacing all the caps, the relay, and the transistor heat sink compound. Fortunately, mine responded to just a spritz of DeOxit on the input potentiometers, and now it seems perfect. Fingers are crossed for now.