TBT: Bob Carver Cherry 180 Vacuum Tube Monoblock Amplifier Review

Everyone, I’m sure, has by now heard that the innovative and dare I say legend in his own time, Bob Carver, is back! Carver LLC is about tube amplifiers, and soon loudspeakers. It is really the tale of two Bobs: Bob Carver the designer, and Bob Farinelli the business and marketing hub. Two tube monoblock amps are currently shipping: the Cherry 180 and Black Beauty 305. Both share the same chassis, but the 180 is optimized for a KT88 output stage while the 305 is designed specifically for the KT120. Although promoted as a nominal 180 Watt amp, Carver tells me that the Cherry 180 will deliver about 270 Watts. Although on the surface they may appear to be conventional push-pull Class AB power amps, there’s much more here than meets the eye. They should be understood as Formula 1 racing car designs, optimized for high-power performance. Throughout this review I’ve taken the liberty of quoting from Bob Carver responses to my many questions.