I amnowhere to be seen because I'm outside of theof camera angle. Alvin Foster and my young lab assistant Jordon Gerber. Thepictures show us hard at work on the speakers, andin attendance are Dr. The extrapictures are of myfull-size Silver Sevenmono-block amplifier andmy new line source speakers.
Well maybe not better, just different, and a LOT more powerful.ĭon't let this small, unassuming amplifier fool you, within its power rating, it is one of the greats.
Carver cm 1090 2 channel amplifier full#
They weren't of course, but they were very close I spent two full evenings doing extensive listening tests with the three amplifiers, and finally decidedthat the big amps were indeed better. The sound was so good that I was really and severely worried that this small amplifier might be better than my Cherry 180 or my big Black Beauty amplifier. Power will increase to about 24 watts with a 5AR4 rectifier.Now for the best part: After I did all that and hooked it up for the first time, I began sweating green apples! It took about six musical notes and I understood that I was in the presence of greatness. It comes to you withthe best ofmy best6BQ5 tubes, sweet vintage 12AX7s, and a 5U4 rectifier tube. Thepower output is about 20 watts, its frequency response extends from 16 Hz to58 kHz, the power bandwidth is 26 Hz to 43 kHz, and harmonic distortion is below 0.5%, dropping to almost unmeasurable values as power is reduced (not that it needs to). I have regulated the screen voltage, and beyond that I've given it every deluxe circuit feature known to Man, Woman, or minor Wizard. I incorporated my new circuit I called a DC restorer. I increased the open loop gain, I changed the response to reflect my latest thinking regarding amplifier response design. Vintage designers, even genius ones, could only dream about such energy storage capacity. I retained the best of what I decided Stu had created: I have increased the energy storage by ten-fold, a full order of magnitude. I put it on my laboratory bench and set about designing a new amplifier. That was enough for me! Taking all the evidence together, I am now virtually certain this output transformer, if not the whole amplifier, WAS designed by Stu. Citation sounded familiar to David, but that was all. He remembered that an old man (to this youngster anyway) whose name he could not remember, but remembered that he was an outside consultant for the company, and designed many amplifiers for many companies. Not anywhere on any of the schematics was I able to find a single name! After talking with Packard Bell for hours, I finally got the name of a man who used to work in the audio division of Packard Bell, one David Jenkins, who was a very young apprentice way back then. I found four of them, one from Sam's Photofact, one from Packard Bell, one from Vintage Schematics, and one that was embodied in the amplifier itself that I traced. I think I found every schematic ever drawn for this small, unassuming tube amp. I spent many days trying to find out who designed it I checked with Packard Bell, and looked at all the archival information I could get my hands on. It wasn't, of course, it was simply designed by a genius. Anyway, this small output transformer seemed too good to be true. Most notably Harman Kardon, Lafayette, and several other big-name companies.My heroes are Einstein, Gandhi, Hegeman. Stewart Hegeman was a Top Gun for hire in those days, and designed many output transformers and amplifiers for a vast armada of companies. I tried to find out who designed it for Packard Bell so long ago, for It seemed to me to have the signature of Stu Hegeman written all over it. It was so good it truly was NOT to be believed.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed that its output transformer was rather amazing in that its bandwidth was so good it was difficult to believe. I hooked it up, and to my great surprise it worked! It sounded quite nice, not much power (about 12 watts, weak output tubes), and its overall performance was similar to many other 6BQ5 amplifiers. These consoles were built by the millions in the 1950s and 1960s, and I ordered this amplifier on a whim one fine day as I was window shopping on.
When this small amplifier appeared on my doorstep one day, I found myself holding a very worn and tired vintage console amplifier, typical of units found in 50 year old console stereo systems. Not so baby:With speech and music, 40 W rms per channel, 80 W rmstotal! I LOVE THIS LITTLE AMPLIFIER, AND EVERYTIME I LISTEN TO IT IHAVE TO ASK MYSELF"HOW DOES IT DO THAT?" ISTILL HAVE ONEMORE OF THESE BABY SILVER SEVENS.