WHAT ABOUR CARVER?

[JerryDelColliano]

There is a big difference between Sunfire and Carver.

Nortek owns Sunfire and has Bob Carver on staff. Carver the brand was owned by Phoenix Gold and was going to relaunch but it never happened. Randy Bingham (the guy who put Sunfire on the map) was there to do it but the project lost its $$$. Randy is now doing very well with growing Krell.

[kloneman]

I have to disagree about several points, though I am hardly an insider on the details.

I believe that Bob Carver's designs and reputation put Sunfire "on the map." After all, he created that reputation with the Phase Linear products, and Bob's "post-cube" ("Tracking Downconvertor" vs "Magnetic Field") power supply design was the heart of both Lightstar and Sunfire amplifiers. According to Bob's own whitepapers, the two amplifiers were not that different. (I cannot speak for the "CarverPro" commercial amplifier line, since I have never heard anything from it.) Carver Corp. essentially died when Bob left to form Sunfire Corp. I recieved an email notice from Sunfire Corp. that stated they eventually acquired Carver Corp.

I have heard the Lightstar, but was never able to compare it directly to a first generation Sunfire under identical controlled conditions. When it came time to purchase, I chose Sunfire over the Lightstar for several reasons:

(1) Sunfire Corp had Bob Carver, the man, and Carver Corp only had his name and a static snapshot of his great designs. I figured this would be a devastating blow to Carver Corp, that would probably lead to its demise.
(2) I figured the design team Bob would assemble, would be able to improve on his designs, better than any team left behind, if not immediately, then at some point in the future.
(3) Bob Carver would actively ensure that (2) became a reality, because he was sufficiently UN-amused.

I believe I guessed correctly on all counts.

Originally Posted by JerryDelColliano

There is a big difference between Sunfire and Carver.

Nortek owns Sunfire and has Bob Carver on staff. Carver the brand was owned by Phoenix Gold and was going to relaunch but it never happened. Randy Bingham (the guy who put Sunfire on the map) was there to do it but the project lost its $$$. Randy is now doing very well with growing Krell.

[JerryDelColliano]

Interesting trend someone suggested to me:

Every 10 years Bob Carver implodes or needs to get bought out.

Seems to make sense. Phase linear, Carver and ultimately Sunfire.

YES, Sunfire is an ongoing concern but Bob HARDLY got rich from selling it. He got it DEEP POO POO from suing over his small subwoofer w/digital amp deal that was a total mess. He should have never gone down that path - just taken a fair royalty and just ben happy and rich. Fighting it made him need to sell the company and dismantle the successful part of Sunfire (Randy Bingham and Miriam Lindergard). That was a HUGE mistake but it was pushing 10 year again.

Just a philosophy. Not a rule.

[kloneman]

I don't know about imploding. Historically, he's managed to develop something better on each move. I am concerned about how much creativity he can continue to bring forward to consumers as a result of the acquisition. Conflicts regarding his being able to exercise his creativity seems to be a recurring theme.

Originally Posted by JerryDelColliano

Interesting trend someone suggested to me:

Every 10 years Bob Carver implodes or needs to get bought out.

Seems to make sense. Phase linear, Carver and ultimately Sunfire.

YES, Sunfire is an ongoing concern but Bob HARDLY got rich from selling it. He got it DEEP POO POO from suing over his small subwoofer w/digital amp deal that was a total mess. He should have never gone down that path - just taken a fair royalty and just ben happy and rich. Fighting it made him need to sell the company and dismantle the successful part of Sunfire (Randy Bingham and Miriam Lindergard). That was a HUGE mistake but it was pushing 10 year again.

Just a philosophy. Not a rule.

[deacongreg]

This is pretty disturbing to me. For someone who has always admired this mans equipment. I`m really sorry to hear Jerry that Bob is in some trouble here.

[kloneman]

It is disturbing to me that he got into financial trouble for defending his patents, this time for the technology in True Subwoofer. I wonder how competent the "jury of peers" is to evaluate the merits of the case. Based upon the times I've been summoned to jury duty, I would have a real concern... When I state that I am an engineer, I seem to always get eliminated from the pool.

Originally Posted by deacongreg

This is pretty disturbing to me. For someone who has always admired this mans equipment. I`m really sorry to hear Jerry that Bob is in some trouble here.