Bob Carver bought by Emotiva! OK, not the man...the LLC

A

admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
Is Bob Carver LLC going to be the best thing to hit Emotiva in a long time, or just another acquisition?



Discuss "Emotiva Audio to Acquire Bob Carver LLC." here. Read the article.
 
gtpsuper24

gtpsuper24

Full Audioholic
Wow Emo is becoming a giant, if this all pans out. Seems like they will have just about all the bases covered, value internet direct, installer/custom base, and boutique/B&M offerings. Carver just had a new Line Array released as well, perhaps "budget" Emo reference like linearrays in the future?

Just hope they don't grow too quick and becomes unmanagable.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
So based on the article, it sounds like the Carver name will be dropped and the tech will show up in Emotiva products. I almost expected them to just be a parent owner and let him do his thing, but having him in their stable still sounds like a good thing :)
 
ratso

ratso

Full Audioholic
rumors have been flying around for a while over on their boards. i wonder if this will finally shut up the "audiophiles" that claim a supposed HT company can't make a good amp.
 
surveyor

surveyor

Audioholic Chief
Bob Carver is a very bright engineer! This will be a plus for EMOTIVA- hopefully?
 
internetmin

internetmin

Audioholic
So based on the article, it sounds like the Carver name will be dropped and the tech will show up in Emotiva products. I almost expected them to just be a parent owner and let him do his thing, but having him in their stable still sounds like a good thing :)
it helps them with their brand to absorb everything under Emotiva. That will then make the perception of the brand as a whole increase. Personally, I think this is a fascinating development. Usually, tubes are thought of being limited to the uber-rich folks and setups. Most of the dealers don't sell tubes or if they do it's limited. I'd also say that most manufacturers make multiple solid state gear models.

I'm personally excited because the implication is that this move will keep the Carver quality and keep the Emotiva direct to consumer pricing.
 
ImcLoud

ImcLoud

Audioholic Ninja
maybe this means we will see Emo black magics for $2000 a pair, lol...
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
it helps them with their brand to absorb everything under Emotiva. That will then make the perception of the brand as a whole increase. Personally, I think this is a fascinating development. Usually, tubes are thought of being limited to the uber-rich folks and setups. Most of the dealers don't sell tubes or if they do it's limited. I'd also say that most manufacturers make multiple solid state gear models.

I'm personally excited because the implication is that this move will keep the Carver quality and keep the Emotiva direct to consumer pricing.
This doesn't necessarily mean that Emo is going the tube route. I'm sure Carver can (has) designed SS amps too.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
I was curious for a little Bob bio, and found this on Wiki. Some of y'all may be familiar with this, but first I've heard about it:

Carver caused a stir in the industry in the mid-1980s when he challenged two high-end audio magazines to give him any audio amplifier at any price, and he’d duplicate its sound in one of his lower cost (and usually much more powerful) designs. Two magazines accepted the challenge.
First, The Audio Critic chose a Mark Levinson ML-2 which Bob acoustically copied (transfer function duplication) and sold as his M1.5t amplifier (the “t” stood for transfer function modified).
In 1985, Stereophile magazine challenged Bob to copy a Conrad-Johnson Premier Five (the make and model was not named then, but revealed later) amplifier at their offices in New Mexico within 48 hours. The Conrad Johnson amplifier was one of the most highly regarded amplifiers of its day, costing in excess of $12,000.
Of note that in both cases, the challenging amplifier could only be treated as a “black box” and could not even have its lid removed. Nevertheless, Carver, using null difference testing, successfully copied the sound of the target amplifier and won the challenge. The Stereophile employees failed to pass a single blind test with their own equipment in their own listening room. He marketed “t” versions of his amplifiers incorporating the sound of the Mark Levinson and Conrad Johnson designs which caused him some criticism by those who failed to understand the true nature of the challenge — that it was possible to duplicate an audio amplifier's sound in two completely dissimilar designs. In light of this criticism, Carver went on to design the Silver Seven, the most expensive and esoteric conventional amplifier up to that time and duplicated its sound in his M 4.0t and later models which sold for some 1/40th the price (around $600–$1500).
 
Cos

Cos

Audioholic Samurai
This doesn't necessarily mean that Emo is going the tube route. I'm sure Carver can (has) designed SS amps too.
According to Emotiva at the roadshow in Naperville, IL, they will be entering the tube business, though I wouldn't expect to see anything soon.
 
skizzerflake

skizzerflake

Audioholic Field Marshall
Is this Bob Carver the company? I thought that Bob himself was not part of the company any more. I had one of his huge stereo amps some years back and loved it until it got hit by lightning and was fried along with the rest of the electronics in the house.
 
lvb1770

lvb1770

Enthusiast
Is this Bob Carver the company? I thought that Bob himself was not part of the company any more. I had one of his huge stereo amps some years back and loved it until it got hit by lightning and was fried along with the rest of the electronics in the house.
This is Bob Carver's third company, I believe. The other two being Carver Corp. and Sunfire. I am very intrigued by this development. I have been a Bob Carver fan for over thirty years and still use his 1995 Sunfire Cinema Grand in my HT setup. I have also been keenly aware of Emotiva lately and am very interested in several of their products. I think I'm feeling the upgrade bug again.
 
U

Ubercharged

Audiophyte
IIRC, he was the founder of Phase Linear, back in the day. He's had a long interesting career.

Although it was a bit of sonic voodoo, I have fond memories of startling (in a good way) customers with his Sonic Hologram Generator. It required perfect setup & seating placement and sold well.
 
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J

jeffca

Junior Audioholic
Wow!

This is like finding out that David Bowie and Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree are going to collaborate.

Over the years, the bane of Bob Carver's existence has been the business side of the industry and the invasiveness of bean counters that comes with success. He opted out of Phase Linear because of that, got kicked out of Carver because of that and I'm sure that some part of that caused him to leave Sunfire.

Bringing a man of Bob Carver's titanic stature into Emotiva should be a great thing... at least for a while! It's akin to a car company bringing the late, great Carroll Shelby on board to design sports cars. You know that there are going to be at least a few truly great things to come of it.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Bringing a man of Bob Carver's titanic stature into Emotiva should be a great thing... at least for a while! It's akin to a car company bringing the late, great Carroll Shelby on board to design sports cars. You know that there are going to be at least a few truly great things to come of it.
That is probably a very good analogy
 
surveyor

surveyor

Audioholic Chief
Is their malice in the palace already between Bob Carver and Emotiva? There has not been any new news at Emotiva. Carver was not at their Emofest either.
 
sgtjim

sgtjim

Junior Audioholic
Quote:

Hey all,

To clear everything up regarding Emotiva, Bob Carver, and tube amps in
general, here's an update.

First, yes, our professional relationship with Bob Carver is at an end. I
was excited to have had the opportunity to have worked with him.

Second, we're absolutely committed to making tube amps (and other
products) under the Emotiva name, and they're coming to our website in
short order. You'll see them listed under a separate series, like we've
done with the Pro products.

Finally, thank you for bearing with us in this transitional time. We
simply need to work through some details before you see tube amps for
sale on emotiva.com, and we maintain our greatest respect for Bob Carver
and his work, as well as our commitment to providing exciting tube amps
with exceptional value and performance under the Emotiva name.

All the best,
Big Dan
 
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