Dr K, tell us more about the Silver 7’s. Curious why you went with KT-150s instead of KT-120s? The ALS is not a demanding load as far as I know so I’m wondering what you feel you get with that huge power? I use Bob’s Black Beauty 305s with my Magnepan 20.7s and they’re a great match. I do wonder though if another 400 or 500 watts with the Maggie’s would be a plus. I have a very large room (almost 7,000 cubic feet) and I’d like to fill it up with sound! Curiously, I’ve discussed this topic with the folks at Carver Corp. and they don’t seem to give the Silver 7s much credit in this area. Their thinking seems to be if the 305s work why would,you want to use the Silver 7s. Odd Marketing approach if you ask me.
How would you describe the Silver 7s?
Hi, the kt150s are better match for the custom output transformers Bob designed for this prototype amp. It’s not a Silver 7 per se because the circuitry is different. When you have 900 watts on tap, you have effortless dynamics. Compared to my Cherry 180 which puts out around 200 Watts, there’s a big difference in dynamics, bass extensions, sound staging. Also the prototype is smoother yet more detailed and has more natural timbre. It’s more extended in high frequency too. The cherry 180 sounds murky in comparison. But there’s little improvement to be had between the Cherry 180 and Black Beauty 350 other than about 2-3 dB increase in power.
Tbh, the people who work under Bob do not believe in parts quality improving sound. They haven’t heard their amps in my system so I can understand their view. But you have to give them credit for being honest and not sell you something more expensive if they don’t believe it’s going to make a difference in their opinion.