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Glad to find this Carver community! You must be an exceptionally bright and discriminating group. :-)

 

I first bought a M400 cube back in the early 80s to power my beloved Allison: 1 Speakers. Now I have a TFM-25 that was powering a pair of B&W 802 Matrix speakers, that is until the amp totally failed - no output at all.

 

My opening question is basically what now?  Should I take the amp to my local repair guy and see what he can do? Should I look on eBay for a replacement?  They seem reasonably priced there but I guess it's a roll of the dice. For that matter what should I do with my old M-400 which I haven't hooked up in many many years that on last use distorted badly and clipped and would shut down?

 

I apologize for the remedial newbie questions but perhaps you more knowledgeable and experienced Carver hands can point me in the right direction. I have a limited budget and don't want to waste time and money. I'm a musician and music addict but know little about home audio other than what sounds good to me. 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Bill

 

P.S. If this question should be posted elsewhere please feel free to correct me.

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WJStephens,

 

Welcome aboard!  There are many wonderful folks here that can provide assistance and address your concerns.

 

Great to have you here.

 

Turbo

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Welcome @WJStephens! You posted in the right place - many people join with questions about their gear. But if you would like to have a discussion about the TFM-25 or the M-400 there are forums for each in the Audio Chain.

 

If you're looking for a tech...please just be patient and I'm sure you'll get some leads.

 

@loner_t We are working on something better than just a list...

 

 

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Welcome to the forum Bill!  There is a lot of info on these pages, many here have had the same amps as you!   My first Carver was a tfm—25 being fed by a ct-seven!

 

thats what got me started...

 

long live OCCD!

 

barry

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Thanks for the warm welcome gang! I hope I can contribute in some small way in the future. It certainly will not be a contribution of technical acumen unless I want to see how my cap gun stacks up to the impressive heavy artillery around here...anyway if I say something stupid please fire at will (not Bill) ?

 

I'm thinking based on the responses thus far I'll take it to my local guy and see what he says. He's an experienced fellow who works out do his home and helped me solder in new lamps for the meters (which are burnt out again. When he had the back open he remarked that the Carver amp was built like a brick sh*thouse or something very positive along those lines.

 

Is this advisable or should I really go to a Carver specialist guru? I see eBay has Carver bulbs as well- last time he slapped in what he had on hand and they only lasted a few months (and I always turn the amp off when not in use).

 

Thanks again!

 

Bill

Edited by WJStephens
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Howdy Bill and welcome to the forum. Nice to have you on board. Thanks for the intro.

 

3 hours ago, WJStephens said:

I'm thinking based on the responses thus far I'll take it to my local guy and see what he says. He's an experienced fellow who works out do his home and helped me solder in new lamps for the meters (which are burnt out again. When he had the back open he remarked that the Carver amp was built like a brick sh*thouse or something very positive along those lines. Is this advisable or should I really go to a Carver specialist guru?

The TFM-25 is a pretty standard design so any qualified service tech should be able to handle it.

 

The M-400 "cube" contains circuits that are unique to Carver so I wouldn't trust it to anyone who isn't very familiar with it.

 

3 hours ago, WJStephens said:

I see eBay has Carver bulbs as well- last time he slapped in what he had on hand and they only lasted a few months (and I always turn the amp off when not in use).

Most of us opt to replace the stock incandescent bulbs with long-lasting LEDs. When you find a tech ask him about lighting options.

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Welcome Bill,

Your at the right place, You will not find a better group of guys who's  knowledge of the Carver and audio equipment  is amazing , and they have been incredibly generous with there time and help. They'll get you straight.

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Thanks again so much for the advice and warm greetings. Briefly pursuing the forum I see what a wealth of information, experiences and knowledge lie within. I'm now inspired to get off my rump and get my Carver fixed ...and the LEDs sound like a great idea. Cheers.

 

P.S. Anyone want an M-400? It went south about 25 years ago but somehow I couldn't bear to part with it.

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Hello Bill and welcome to thecarversite.com. We're glad you're hear. ;) I see that you've already poked around a bit. There is a lot of information here, much technical know how, and a pretty good bunch of folks that are happy to help.


When you get the chance, upload some pics of your gear in the Members Systems area. We all like pics of all kinds of audio gear.

 

So kick your shoes off, turn up the music, and welcome aboard.

 

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Welcome to the forum Bill, glad you found us and decided to join in.

I'll second what Zumbini said the TFM-25 is a standard design amp but most of the rest are a very different design and have enough stored power to severely injure or even be fatal, and or can be destroyed by trying to apply standard repair techniques, with the mag coil design if it gets damaged the  amp is toast as they are no longer made.

I recommend one of our site techs who know these amps inside and out.

 

Good luck and enjoy the forum........

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Thanks again folks. I thought the sound of the TFM-25 & B&W's worked very well indeed and so did others including my snob engineer brother-in-law who admitted to being amazed at the sound of an old vinyl jazz album played on that system. ?

 

Jazzman53 those ES speakers look boss. Very interesting and congratulations on putting that together. I bet they sound awesome.

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Hi Bill. Those old 802 Matrix are sweet speakers. If you are sticking with them you may see some benefit from the higher power Carvers like your 400 or others. [-- obligatory caution insert-- We will cost you money around here]. I think the shortest route to eargasm would be to buy a refurbed amp from one of the members here. Sometimes a tech may have one hanging around. BTW what other gear is in your chain?

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LOL! PMAT I have a feeling you're right! I'm already virtually drooling reading over the high-power Carvers forum members have carefully maintained and modded at the center of some amazing systems. If I keep reading I just might have to pry open my hermetically sealed wallet and upgrade a few things. It very edifying to see so many informed people who not only appreciate fine American engineering but are carrying the torch into the future keeping this heritage alive. Having said that, I've always been a fan of the B&W sound and after many years of Allison: 1 enjoyment I finally assembled a set of B&W matrix (all used/restored) for my main (surround) system. I guess I'll see what the fate of the TFM-25 will be in terms of an inexpensive quick fix and take it from there.

 

I'm at work just now taking a break, but I will catch up and post my system rundown as it is with a couple of photos perhaps. I'll look for the right place in the forum to post that. In fact I look forward to any feedback on how to optimize without breaking the bank and getting beat over the head with the proverbial frying pan by the domestic tyrant that calls herself my wife. I'm definitely not at the level of many of you here in terms of sophistication or state of the art in terms of my overall systems, but I certainly can aspire can I not?

 

Cheers,

 

Bill

 

P.S. Nice underwear (speaking of drooling). 

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