Carvin HD1800 Power Amp

I decided to write this review because there is VERY little info out there on the Carvin HD power amp series. Very few reviews on it exist, so it's a 'try it after you buy it' situation.
My HD1800 was made in 2005. It's a 2 channel power amp with the usual power amp features: The gain knobs are on the front of the unit. The back has speaker outputs (banana and 1/4"), TRS and XLR inputs, an input parallel switch, a bridge switch, input ground lift switch and a fan grill.
I use this amp as my power source for my Ampeg SVPCL bass preamp, and occasionally in front of my Peavey Alpha Tube bass preamp. I run out of the Ampeg preamp into the Carvin HD1800, and out of the amp into 2 Avatar 4x10 cabs that are 4 ohms each (one per channel). The amp pushes out 600 watts per channel at 4 ohms, and is capable of running at 2 ohm loads. I personally wouldn't run a big power amp at a 2 ohm load for very long, no matter what the manufacturer says it will take. There's too much that can wrong quickly doing that, but if you decide to take the chance, you've been warned.
The difference between this amp and Carvins more expensive DCM line (of which I own two of their DCM2000's) is that these amps do not feature Speakon connectors on the back and there are no limiters.

This is a clean power amp that puts out a lot of power.
There is a little bit of fan noise, but it's not audible in the speaker cabs, of course. You can hear the fan turn on when you turn on the power to the amp, and it stays on until you turn the amp off.
The fan noise isn't too noticeable, but you do know it's there.

This amp hasn't broken down on me, and neither has either of the other 2 Carvins that I have.
I do use it at gigs without backup. If my HD1800 goes out on me at a show, I'll just use our PA system for the rest of the evening and kick a little bass back in the monitors.
I am aware that Carvin made this amp to compete with the inexpensive imported amps that are coming in from overseas. I have used the cheap overseas amps before, and I have MUCH more confidence in my Carvin amp than the others.
I took a quick peek under the chassis, and everything on the amp was done correctly. Everything inside the amp is laid out neatly, and it's 100% modular, plug & play. So basically, if something goes wrong with this amp, you can literally just unplug the offending part, and plug a new one right in.
I learned a long time ago not to block the air vents on power amps, and this amp would be no exception. If you block the airvents on most amps, those amps will shut down. Same with the HD1800. If it overheats, you're just going to have to wait for it to cool.
I'm giving this a category of reliability a 10 rating, but if that ever changes, I'll be back here to let you know what happened.

I did have to deal with Carvin on a powered mixer that was picking up radio stations very loudly. Cheap preamps in it. Carvin said there was nothing they could do about it. I've also recently e-mailed them questions, and received no reply.
In short, I have NOT had good experiences with Carvins service dept., but their stuff should be pretty easy to get fixed locally.
I'm sure that Carvin has had some customers that were satisfied with the Customer Service dept, but they were always kinda crappy to me.

I've been playing for 28 years now. I own PA systems and lights, guitars and basses...the usual rock and roll stuff. I would replace the Carvin HD1800 if it were lost or stolen. But I realize that it's not designed to be the heavy hitter work-horse power amp of their DCM line, and it's not priced as such. I keep this amp as my bass amp power amp base, but if one of the DCM's went down in the middle of a show, I know that I could just switch the PA system amp over to my HD1800 and at least get through the night.
I had looked at QSC 2450 before buying this amp, but couldn't justify the extra $250 +/- for an amp that was going to be used mainly on bass.