Leaderboard

Well, better late than never> I am a new member to the site, having just joined within the last two weeks. My name is Joe and I have been a ardent Carver fan for, well, as long as Bob Carver has been designing. I always liked his work with Phase Linear and sold his equipment in a past life as an audio salesperson. I currently have both a Carver tl3200 CD player and a Carver c-3 Preamp connected to my system (although I swamp the Carver with a Bryston MC-1 preamp). Once I accumulate the required number of points, i can post my system for the group.

Thanks for adding me to the group. I am a long time Carver owner. Bought my first Carver in the early 90s, a TFM-25. Since then I have had a HR-752, and currently have a M1.0t, M1.5t, Sunfire Cinema Grand, CT-24, CT-7, and a C5.

Hello. Thanks for the group add. I'm a Gen X'er that has finally decided to bring my Boomer father's Carver stereo system back to life.

Been following Carver for more than 40 years. Completely modded an M200t ten years ago..... Which still plays superb. Next is a PT-2400.

I hope I did this right by starting a New Topic to introduce myself. I have a Carver 4000 pre-amp that my late husband and I have owned since approx 1983. He had kept it in condition and has sent it in for repairs at least once over those years. Now I have an issue with the power switch (button) and need some input and direction on how to fix it or get it fixed. I look forward to the expertise on this site. I miss listening to our album collection since the power switch went bad. Thanks, Teresa

I am new to the group and currently own a Sunfire CG1 and Sunfire TG1. I purchased these items new and have been in love with them up until recently. My TG1 has gone bad with several of the channels no longer working. I am in need of wiring schematics to aid the tech working on the unit currently, specifically the opto amp circuits.

I was discussing my bass journey and current status of my HT on a popular home theater forum when something kinda weird happened. A guy named Scott Newbey chimed in. He’s a self-proclaimed “bass expert” with a cult following similar to Amir’s over on ASR. Anyway, this Scott guy commented on my system and said that I could get way more bass with just a dual 18” ported sub from GSG, pairs with a Crown amp, and that I was “wasting my time with sealed subs in a home theater”. i replied tactfully and directly that I wasn’t looking for “the most” bass, but rather “the best” bass. This didn’t sit well with the bass guru, and he marshaled his minions to his defense. I don’t really care, and I am a firm believer in the accuracy and speed of sealed subs. Sure, ported subs have prodigious output at the tuned frequency, but well designed sealed subs just make me smile at all low frequencies….

Hi fellow Carverites, I’ve been curious about Carver Holography since its inception. Yes, I’m 76 and was budded to be an audiophile since buying a Grado FCE+ cartridge for my Garrad TT in the late seventies. I’ve read about every issue of audio mags and newsletters from Stereo Review and The Audio Critic to Stereophile and TAS. I built what I consider to be a very economical high end system using suggestions from trusted reviewers with the Blessing of my wonderful understanding Wife who’d since passed. Feeling somewhat unworthy since then, I seldom visit the required ‘Dedicated Listening Room’ where it resides. Instead I’ve used that acquired HiFi knowledge to scour EBay, Mercari and USAduiomart to find known quality units at cut rate prices. From them I’ve found: an NAD CD, Sangean HD FM, OPPO DVD and pairs of KEF Q150s and ELAC Atmos speakers. I bought a Dayton Audio HTA100 tube buffered integrated amp from Parts Express and quality cabling from Usedcable.com Then one day at work scanning the Audiomart I saw a C9! I’d all but forgotten about it. I thought “Why not?” I’ve got a clear, fairly phase accurate system, what with the two pairs of speakers with coaxial point sources drivers. All of the sources (save the TV, whose sound is served addiquitly by a ZVOX soundbar) pass through an Andover Audio SongBird streamer that’s probably the best $89 I’ve ever spent to the C9 and then to the HTA100. I downloaded the C9 manual from here and though I lack the space behind the speakers to meet the required parameters, I do sit in the proper location and have toed in the speakers as advised. Well sorry that I’ve “gone ‘round Robin Hood’s barn” to get to the conclusion that it sounds magnificent! Despite the Vienna Acoustic Bachs and Cary amp upstairs, I’m locked into the brilliant spacious soundstage the C9 has brought to my couch. Combo Jazz to live BSO concerts or DVD Opera, I’ve found the long sought after audiophile ‘Holy Grail’! Thank you Bob and Greg, HiFiRich 😎

Hello everybody. I found an M–1.0t a at Goodwill a few years ago. Long before I had the confidence to work on it myself. It did not work so I sold it not working. Always wondering what I was missing out on. Well, last week I came across another one with a C1 preamp and tuner. It of course also didn’t work, but this time I am determined to fix it. So after some troubleshooting, I found that the PreDrivers were shorted on both channels preventing it from powering on all the way. I have since replaced those, it powered up all voltages were good. I set the Bias and have been listening all day. It sounds great and I’m glad I was able to find another one. However, I have a very loud pop in the speakers about 5 seconds after I switch off the amplifier. It seems that the longer it is powered on the louder the “pop” I have read the service bulletin about the the “turn on / turn off thump” and I’ve ordered the parts to complete the repair however, my question is, is THAT noise THE thump? I have heard amplifiers thump before, but this was a very loud pop. I wouldn’t describe it as a low. I have a hard time believing this “thump fix“ is going to take care of this. Also. this is a Non-inverting model Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

Moderator(s)---feel free to move or copy to a more appropriate forum. Hi All---Recently "found" my C-2 preamp. Original owner, purchased almost 40 years ago. Did some quick testing, pot's obviously need cleaning, not really working well at all (get some audio from line inputs, but very, very poor). Cosmetically in good to very good condition (minor imperfections on case, bottom plate screws show some corrosion, possible VERY minor corrosion bubbling under cabinet/case coating/paint). Faceplate and knobs look very good, maybe a little cleaning to spiff up. Would love to pass to someone who wants to give it a new lease on life, or at least recycle some of the bits. Free for the asking (you pay shipping and, if I have to find special packaging, charged at cost for that). Available for local pickup--I am in northeast Florida (located between Jacksonville and Gainesville). Frequently in Gainesville and will to meet at a mutually convenient time and location. It had a good life for awhile with my NAD amp and Acoustat speakers (also have a set of Acoustat Ones with sub (sub driver replaced and speaker covers replaced--look good from the front, the staples in the back, not so much). Haven't run them up in about 6 years, but were working fine then. Also free to a welcoming home, but I'm not shipping those. Just reply or PM me if imterested in either....trying to declutter a small portion of my life. Paul

hello, I kinda fell into some Sunfire gear recently. I’ve been doing my best at using the resources available to me here on the carver site.com, but, as I’m sure you’re aware there are many similar models of most of these amps. my first DIY is to replace the lamp for the joules meter. I think I’ve found one on eBay, but I like to buy parts in multiples or bulk if possible. I can’t locate the specs for the lamp. I forgot to measure voltage when I had it open, and I can’t measure the milliamps at hand. I’ve found axial 12volt 100ma bulbs in bulk, the ones marketed towards Sunfire units are much pricier and sold singly. any info is greatly appreciated thanks

Today is the 50 year anniversary of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Something I learned just today after watching a documentary - this recording was not a first take, it was the first time the band had ever played it. They tried recording more sessions but none were as good as this one, so this is what we have today. The only take, first time ever played by these guys! btw - it is still unknown how the ship went down.

Agreed. Many, many years ago when I was really into car audio I always used sealed subs for optimum sound. I never needed to blow the windows out with a ported design because I could get tight bass response from a sealed unit. Personally, I find that some ported designs actually muddy the sound a bit (at least to my ears).

Worth the watch - talent is all kinds of awesome!

Chris Cornell Black Hole Sun (Acusustic)

ELP Emerson Lake and Palmer TARKUS (FULL Album 1971 Remastered)

I sent an email to Sunfire back when they were answering email. Here's the reset procedure for the TGx-401. Let us know if this clears up your problem. Factory reset - TGx-401 Setup>Enter Control>Enter Setting Save>Enter Reset Factory>Enter RFAC (Enter after each one). Dial up on left hand knob. Since the Sunfire TGx-401 passwords are not published anywhere… Turn knob to put in each letter: Save Dealer – SDLR Recall Dealer – RDLR Recall Factory - RFAC

George Benson Breezin'

Not cd/dvd but I'll drop this here https://simplewoodgoods.com/?tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=17614187032&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17612642877&gclid=CjwKCAjwu9fHBhAWEiwAzGRC_6Oaxz-9ODu5f-tN2d01oDd--NT3sfQ6JiyF5IEE8BkdHN5TFDNWPhoCZ6wQAvD_BwE Looks interesting, if I was looking for album storage I'd get one to check it out.

Thank you all for your responses. Nope, not tech savy in this area........I do appreciate the information on Nelion. I will probably go that way. I wondered around the site a little and will do so some more. I love the Carver and really want it working again. Thanks, Teresa

Thank you everyone! Going to just do it all. Just ordered all the parts. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. I only Paid $100 for the stack, so throwing another $300 into it is a no brainer! Thank you again!

Rhythm Logic, Sweet Talk (album)

https://youtu.be/RwcpxED_Esc?si=QNgYyuMG79WBB-4h

Neil Young Old Man

I have a budget to be able to make some updates to my carver m1.0t, which would recommend me at present, I want to know about the experiences of those who had the opportunity to do so and make the right decision well, if they could give me the diagrams it would be

Thanks for the kind words my friend. During Tim’s visit, we sat down in the theater room for a quick demo. I put in the 4k disc of the new Brad Pitt movie, F1. What was going to be a quick demo turned in to watching the entire movie…:-)

https://www.gammaelectronics.xyz/audio_013-1985_carver.html What do you folks think of this? Should I go by its measurements? I am not interested in turning it into a project so I suppose, 'yes" is the answer. It is a little distressing that there can be unit to unit variation... But I am not going to do any measurements or pay anyone to do them. Do any of you use the circuit either in acd player, standalone, etc...? I like it! Just curious what others have found

I feel the same way about all speakers. I'm sure there are some good ported speakers out there.... but, I have not come across many ported speaker designs that really nail the accuracy. For lower powered systems, maybe they are a good choice. But, give me a sealed cabinet speaker and gobs of Carver power, any day.

JD Allen, Love Letters (The Ballad Sessions) was released on September 26, 2025. "Tenor saxophonist JD Allen had only one goal in mind—to play “pretty”—when he set out to record an album consisting entirely of ballads. He put the brainier aspects of his craft to the side and opted to feed his emotional core, focusing on melody and tone while making a personal expression of empathy for the human race. Allen also took off his composer hat for this project: He draws from a repertoire of classic siren songs (including “Stranger In Paradise,” “Until The Real Thing Comes Along,” “Why Was I Born,” “Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies,” “Put On A Happy Face,” “Gone With The Wind” and others) in a nine-track program that’s presented as a love letter to the listener." You can read the rest of the review here... This is an album I'd expect to hear on an episode of Bosch.

Ed Partyka, Arrangements and Compositions for Jazz Orchestra was released on October 3, 2025. "Indeed, the epic opener “Do As I Say … (Not As I Do),” a Partyka original, wears the Brookmeyer influence — and perhaps that of another Brookmeyer protégé, Darcy James Argue — proudly on its sleeve. A lesser craftsman would make that his manifesto and the mold for the entire album’s worth of material. But Partyka, born and raised in Chicago but now resident in Graz, Austria, has too much range, and too many high-caliber collaborators (17 great players from across Europe), to let it go at that. He immediately offsets “Do As I Say” with an enchanting, breezy Latin orchestration of Charlie Parker’s “Klactoveedsedstene” that shows how deeply he knows his stuff." You can read the rest of the review here...

Lauren Scales, Many Rivers was released on July 25, 2025 "Many Rivers is the effervescent trio debut from vocalist Lauren Scales, saxophonist Mike Flanagan, and pianist Chris Grasso — three acclaimed artists from divergent backgrounds united by creative chemistry. Due August 8 on Truth Revolution Recording Collective, the album features a soul-stirring program of seven covers and two originals by Scales, brought to life with support from Grammy-winning bassist Luques Curtis and first-call drummers Richie Barshay and Grammy-nominee Charles" You can read the rest of the review here...

I like this song.

Alice In Chains Would? (w/Jools Holland)

Completed 6 straight hours of live Grateful Dead from the Europe 1972 tour on Tidal and it still wasn't enough. Seriously good solos by Jerry in this version of Goin' down the road feelin' bad.

Then we need to go to amplifier repair 101, especially after finding shorted pre-drivers. Check these resistors since you didn't mention them: R154, 156 43R FR VAS HR emitter R146, 144 10R signal coupling R168, 170 10R FR HR low current R172, 174 10R signal coupling R196, 198 22R, 27R CMR bias Deviations more than 10% are BAD PARTS.

Come Undone

Hi Everyone...first time poster. SUNFIRE TGP-401 AV Pre/Pro...how to do a factory reset? The unit ws workingwhen it first cmae in...but now, no output from any channel.....so, we thought we'd reset it, to start fresh. The Google AI recommendation is wrong/not applicable. I think it's referred to in the menu as factory recall settings...but, you need some sort of 4 digit PIN to reset facotry settings....this unit came in used...so, have no idea what the code is.....or, if there is an admin 4 digit code that can reset the unit. Any simple/stupid cheats to do the same thing? Let me know...thanks. Chris - acX.

The new RC4136Ns at Mouser are drop in. However using a socket on these chips does not present the problem in the C1. Special care is needed when replacing the op amps in a C1. It's very easy to lift the pads or break traces. As for whether you need to change one or not depends on what the problem is. If you don't have the knowledge and the equipment to assess what's causing the issue then changing the op amp can be a reasonable next step, provided you have good workmanship, but of course there's no guarantee this will solve the problem. 'Popping' is normally caused by a difference in voltage from one circuit to the next. The op amp could have a slight DC offset, there could be a bad solder joint somewhere, the switch itself could be really noisy even after cleaning, etc. If you could see the frequency response of the filter this would make everything so much easier. Because if it's working correctly then a little bit of noise is not a big deal because it's not like you stand there and play with the switch while you're listening to music. The more often you use the switch then the cleaner it will become. They are slide contact switches so they clean themselves the more often they are used. Convenient!

Bob James & Earl Klugh, Two of a Kind (album) on the backyard system. WiiM Ultra, Adcom GTP 500-II, Carver M200t, Niles OS6.3 speakers. My neighbors are listening to it too.

KORN Falling Away From Me

Joe Bonamassa, Breakthrough was released on July 18, 2025. "Produced by longtime collaborator Kevin Shirley (Iron Maiden, Journey, The Black Crowes), Breakthrough was recorded across Los Angeles, Nashville, and Greece. It captures Bonamassa at his most fearless, venturing beyond his blues roots and leaning fully into a wide-open palette of sound and story. From Texas swing and singer-songwriter intimacy to swaggering rock and funky soul, the album brings together everything he’s honed over more than 50 releases." You can read the rest of the review here...

Welcome, Carlos! You've certainly got a great amp to be looking at updating! Tons of capacity in there to take it to entirely new levels, or just add some new, fresh caps to it and give it many decades more life. Are you looking at doing the work yourself, or looking for someone to do it for you? Either way, there are lots here who can help you out. I have an upgraded M1.0t which is up to what is called the Mk II, Opt 2. level. It's extremely clean and puts out massively more power, now, than I have any sane use for. I have less than no regrests going that route, though I admit I did not touch it myself - I and the amp would likely both be fried had I tried that. I can certainly attest to the sound quality (and quantity) after having the work done - well worth while. In any case, please post some pictures of your setup when you have a couple of postings under your belt, and enjoy!