Dingman 227 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Greeting gentlepeople. Hey, thanks for the welcome. First off, don't get to excited, I'm likely to one of those drive-by members. Have to admit, the Carver that I now own seems rather low on the Carver list (a CT-7 and TFM-25) and serve basement repair bench listening system. Then a couple of units coincidentally came in at the same time for repair. First on the bench is a m-200t with no output whatsoever. Two other units, from a friend at work. a C1 I think and a tuner. Honestly not sure of #'s because I can't read the lettering on those grey units - my eyes don't work as well as they used to. I have a pic that I'll attach, you guys will know right away. I'm just not familiar with Carver stuff. So I'm mostly a Marantz guy, have been for quite awhile. Love to pair my vintage Marantz with the vintage Klipsch speakers. I've had some nice systems in the past but of course, change things up on a regular basis and have also sold a good chunk of my stuff just to make room.... for more! HA! The pic of the equip in for repair is on another PC, but here's the stuff I got from a recently divorced woman... The story behind the CT7 and TFM25 was I saw an ad on CL simply titled "Stereo - must go now". That's always interesting (Note that I do NOT spend much time on CL - but do check occasionally and am not afraid to buy) so I emailed her and she said she was just divorced and her husband left this stereo behind, and she wanted it gone NOW. Well, I was loaded up on amps\pre\tuners at home but I did want the speakers she had - Klipsch ForteII's. She wanted $100 for the lot of it, said it was taking up room in the closet. So I beat feet over there but was too late for the speakers. Did I lose out to another person from CL, me not being far away, rushing over there within minutes!>?? Huh? Nope, it was her son. He snagged the speakers! Dingit! Grrrr. Well, she was willing to give me the Carver stuff for $50. I paid her the $100 that I brought and took the two Carver units home (er, untested, not my style normally - but dingit, she was just divorced and happy to be so. My age, kinda perky, Ithink I was influenced). Thankfully, they both work OK, although a visual inspection shows some hot spots on the board. But I've done nothing to those two units. Oh, RCA's on the back flakey I think (or the cheap cables I use) but works OK. Oh! My technical background - I wired a garage once! Ha, joking. 2 years of local college electronics a long time ago, worked as residential electrician for a few years, that sucked. Back to school for BA in Robotics, that landed me a gig with a company that Siemens eventually bought. So, I work for Siemens in the building automation division, I'm a senior (that means I'm old) System's Engineering Specialist. Which means that I'm not an engineer but have played one on TV. Since my electronics knowledge didn't help at work, but I do like fussing with teh stuff, I set up a simply repair bench in my basement a few years ago. I kept aquiring more Marantz vintage that needed help, and at first took it to local tech who has worked for a old-school local audio shop. He did a pretty good job, and prices were OK, but... I wanted better. And I knew I could do better (oops, am I bragging? No, any of us can do better with our own units - the whole time, love, ect thing). So, bench downstairs with usual Rigol scope, signal gen, DC variable, DBT, test stereo, big iron, nice controllable iron, multiple flukes, fridge with beer, pipe with... OK, OK, kidding! For most of that. Heh. Have successfully repaired multiple units - nearly all my own, except for a few friends. I do not repair for money, do not advertise, nothing - heck, I'm an amatuer (gah, all this with no speel cheek?) and so barely can understand some circuits - like this m-200t - there's stuff in there that I don't understand. OK, that's one beer's worth of typing, so we're out of time. Sorry for spelling, and I'll talk to you guys later. I think I'll spend some time here and learn about the two units I own - I think maybe time to upgrade them (such good knowledge here makes that easy!). signed up mostly because of the m-200t that came to me. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleMeat 1,173 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 WELCOME TO C! With your technical electronics background I'm sure you will pick up on the inner workings of Carver equipment quickly! Grab a chair and stay a while! I think you'll really like the TFM-25 once you have it up and running; it's got the classic Carver t-mod sound, and powerful to boot. There are several carver techs here regularly and can answer -almost- any question about Carver equipment so don't hesitate to ask them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zumbini 6,135 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Hello again Dingman. We're not gentle, but we are people (well most of us are...). Thanks for the intro. I like your sense of humor and you get a for posting pics without us begging for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzman53 1,209 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Welcome Dingman, You will like the sound of that TFM-25... and BTW, the TFM-22, 24,25 & 35 amps are NOT magnetic field amps like most all other Carver amps (these use conventional non-triac controlled transformers). It's a really sweet sounding amp though... I have five of them :-) Also, BTW most CT-7's are in anthracite color... you don't see many black ones like yours. Thanks for the pics! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslan7 954 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 What a great audio journey story, Dingman! Thank you for sharing. And Marantz!!....you are also a man after my own heart. I love the Marantz "velvet sound". It is at the heart of my system processing. Folks hop on and off the train here at the CarverSite all the time. Feel free to stay awhile or take a brief hiatus. Your talents and gifts will fit in well. And, we value your audiophile wisdom as I'm sure you will ours. I will warn you though, OCCD runs rampant with our group. Again, we love ALL things audio (and video) here --with a passion for Carver related creations of course. Our love of music pushes us to reproduce it accurately... powerfully... and effortlessly while enjoying fellowship with each other and learning along the way. Welcome aboard the Carver train my friend. Enjoy the Ride..... & the Music! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Community Admin AndrewJohn 8,035 Posted February 1, 2017 Community Admin Share Posted February 1, 2017 And another welcome. This is the first time I've seen a post measured in "a beer's worth" of writing..., and truth be told, the site is getting an overhaul, as the current environment has some shakeyness..., you got that hole "beer's worth" of writing done with out a crash. You are a good omen! Welcome ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingman 227 Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 Cool beans on the site rebuild. I've built and maintained a few forums in the past and it can be a real chore. Thanks for all the welcomes, nice to see an active site. And since there is help here, I'll most likely go thru the Carver units I do hvae here and refurb them. At least until the weather warms up enough that I can get back on my bicycle - that hobby can take up alot of my time. "Anthracite color" - ahh, that's that gunmetal color I guess. It is pretty nice and classy but I really can't read the white lettering, I have to shine a flashlight on it, Har! No biggie. Looking forward to sharing info with you guys. I will be asking questions, that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie 16,429 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Welcome, Dingman! Enjoy your stay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingman 662 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Welcome Dingman from Kingman!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcl 3,155 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Nice intro, Dingman. I have a CT-Seven, it was my first Carver piece along with an M1.0t–still have & enjoy both. Welcome! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluidcool 150 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Always nice to have new members!!! I'll have another beer for ya Dingman!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslan7 954 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Always nice to have new members!!! I'll have another beer for ya Dingman!!! Btw, Dingman, Fluidcool is also an audiophile luvin', beer drinkin', Carver luver located close to Des Moines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryG 2,846 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Awesome introduction Dingman! I beleive your going to fit right in here! Welcome to the CarverSite! OCCD is strong with this one, I feel it in the force! Thanks for photos without asking! My first carver gear was a ct-7 and tfm-25! Long passed to family and the gear count keeps growing! I wish you well with the repair of the m-200t BarryG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingman 227 Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 Hey, that's cool Fluidcool, that you're near DSM. I used to take my stuff to Audiolabs, but now just do my own repairs. I've still purchased a couple of new Marantz units from them a few years ago, I badly wanted remote control and the network\SACD player setup. I should also mention, for those that may goto audiokarma, I am Dingman there also. Heh, I'm Dingman everywhere I can get the name. And Kingman, I have a street one block north of me named - "Kingman". In fact, we're pretty sure I live in the original Kingman farmhouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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