SOLD
Carver ZR1600
Pro Digital Power Amp
The Carver Pro ZR1600
is a class T (Tripath) digital amp, and according to
Carver themselves, the amp "has impressed audiences
and system integrators for years and has introduced
state of the art technology (in the new ZR Series
amplifiers) utilizing Tripath™ Digital Power
Processing™"
The name Carver is
generally associated with legendary designer Bob Carver,
indeed the name is his but the rights to manufacture
this product and other pro-audio products have been sold
to a non-associated company based out of Portland Oregon
and operating as 'Carver Professional'. The long and
short of it is, regardless of what you think of Bob
Carver and his products, this amp bears his name and
nothing else.
Spending time at the
Carver Pro website (www.carverpro.com)
you’ll see that the marketing focus is on power and
flexibility of use, with a smidgen of robustness thrown
in for good measure. Given that the ZR is designed
primarily for pro-audio use, you may not expect it to be
a 'good sounding' amp, of course, you may be wrong!
I'm currently using the
amp to drive a pair of Magnepan MG3.6R speakers, and it
drives them with aplomb! - Many amps have come and gone
in my system this past couple years, few have offered
the power necessary to open up the Maggie's.
The Carver isn't the
last word in performance, it is after all a $1200 amp.
However, those wishing to extract more from the amp
might consider a modification, perhaps from RAM or
perhaps from Steve at Empirical Audio (www.empiricalaudio.com)
In fact I had a second ZR1600 modified by Steve some
time ago, and Steve claimed that the modified Carver
sounded better in many respects than his modified
Parasound JC1 Monoblocks. Anyway, that's an option for
you.
The amp retails for a
touch less than $1200 and is yours for a firm $550 with
shipping ($30) and any PayPal fees (3.5%) on top.
Condition is very good,
the front is clean, there are small, hardly noticeable
marks on the top plate. The amp is intended to be
rack-mounted, so it doesn't have feet. I used small
brass cones (not supplied) so there may be small marks
under the neath. |
