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I have a Carver 900 receiver that I bought new back in 1985 or so with my pair of Polk 5B's. It has been moved dozens of times and 1000's of miles over the years and eventually got relegated to workshop duty when I couldn't get knobs for it (looked decrepit). I finally got some new knobs for it, I've been trying for 3 years, and hooked it up to the Polks again. WOW!!! Now I remember why I got this combo. They just go perfect together. I am comparing it to the NAD 320BEE and I have to say the Carver stomps all over the BEE in my opinion, even with 20+ year old caps in there. Tighter bass and a smoother top end are my first impressions. At least when using the Polks. Now I think the edge may go to the NAD with the ART arrays. Also, I hooked my POS turntable up to the Carver and it sounds nicer than the Seduction thru the NAD does, IMO. I'm stoked to actually pair the Carver and the Polks up again. The Polks really aren't tube friendly with the flea amps I've got, so this is great.
I have both Carver and NAD gear too. I agree with you in some respects, but the biggest thing I like about my Carver preamp is how many features it has. Then again, the tape in/outs are really weird. I think Bob must've done some shrooms the month he designed the tape circuits. Does sound nice though.
Which pre do you have, Wayne? I've always wanted a C-1 and a power amp to go with it. Thought about grabbing a C-9 sonic holography unit off fleabay or someplace just for the interesting factor. Basically it does the same thing that the Polk SDA design does.
Mine's a CT-17 Sonic Holography unit, made for rack mount.