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my first topic from holland about Carver C-1 TFM-45 M-1,0t i doe som Restoration and the play beautiful

carver M 1.0t amp from 1984 or so ..still works with no upgrades or repairs. Is this normal or is this a ticking time bomb to fail soon? Thanks

No WAF role as I have a dedicated "media" room in my home which measures 14' x 16' (tv, stereo, work desk, couch, treadmill, inversion table). As for my musical taste, I am all over the map from 80's - 90's hard rock to 90's country, southern rock, blues rock. I really enjoy music which integrates horns, strings etc with guitars and harmonies...think ELO, Beatles. As for budget, I could only afford whatever the Bose 901's would sell\trade for.

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@Crisp, I purchased a C-1 paired with an M-1.5t back in 2008. I always thought the M-1.5t just sounded very harsh and grainy after listening to it for a few years. So I'm going along my OCCD path and happen upon an M-400, buy it and find that it sounds much cleaner and has none of the graininess I was hearing from the M-1.5t. So I listened to it in my setup for a few years. Well, then I decided to try that old M-1.5t again. And I really crank it up and it's sounding just awful to me. That's when it suddenly went into protection mode and simply died. Now I joined this site a little while after I went through my M-1.5t, repaired it and put it back into my system, I was amazed at how clean the sound of the M-1.5t is once it is running properly with all new capacitors and having replaced the output transistors. So I would say you're running it on borrowed time and it is likely going to have trouble in the not too distant future. A re-cap is highly recommended to keep it running well for you.

The M4.0t will drive anything. I have a lot of respect for the 901s, but they need good power (which you have), and the associated EQ (which I assume you have). That being said, if the 901s are original, they might have suffered from degradation of the speaker surround foams. If so, this is an easy fix - check out the Simply Speakers You tube video. I'm not sure I'd change them; however, if you want to get rid of them and experience something different, the M4.0t amp will surely be up to the task. I drive Magnepans with mine. I love the sound of these speakers, but getting used Maggies can be problemistic. The can suffer from delamination of the wire which can cause tears/failure of the mylar. New Magnepan LRS's are highly rated and are around $700 delivered (but expect a 12 week wait after ordering them). The NHT 2.x series is also highly rated. What's nice is that with an M4.0 you aren't limited by your amp. The CT-7 is my favorite Carver Preamp/Tuner. You've got a fine system.

My 4.0 is connected to these Cerwin Vega's but not all at once. And I prefer these types. Old school vintage between 50 and 150 doll hairs for the pair. I also have some Polk Audio's that sound really nice but need to be very close to the wall as @Brian_at_HHH has stated. I also just picked up some RTR's that I am about ready to try as well. But then again I am not a person that likes to spend tons of money on speakers as you can see.

The M4.0t is a pretty versatile amp. I have one of mine driving the main front pair of semi-vintage Paradigm Model 7se speakers. But it drives a pair of Amazings, just as nicely (to my ears). I have another M4.0t driving a pair of EPI M1000 Towers, also nice. I switch things up all the time.

Euge Groove and Maysa on the same track? Heck Yeah! Title cut of Mr Groove's new album . Enjoy!

First- What do you want? Lots of great speakers with different attributes. How loud? What kind of music? Do you like lots of bass or is clarity a goal? Have you heard horns? Ribbons? soft domes? The "right" speaker is very personal.

Hello Crisp, and welcome to thecarversite.com. We're glad you're hear. There is a lot of information here, much technical know how, and a pretty good bunch of folks that are happy to help. I have four untouched M1.0t's. Two of them still work, and two of them do not. All four are in the queue to get repaired/modified to mkII opt002 status with the non-working pair going first. As far as your amp goes, it is definitely due for being refreshed at the least. 30 year old amps are eligible for Social Security & Medicare. We have several competent techs here that can handle the updates or upgrades should you choose to do so. Once you get to Novice status, please consider uploading some pics of your gear in the Members Systems area. We all like pics of all kinds of audio gear. In the meantime, kick your shoes off, turn up the music, and welcome aboard.

I think I remember that the M4.0t is pretty tolerant of less well behaved speaker loads as a rule. Someone lease correct me if that's not the case. That doesn't absolutely cover the sound, but it does give a better chance at getting he best out of speakers that don't hold to close to 8-ohms all the time (and many don't). @Walrus Gumboot, I'm guessing the curiosity, um er, extended OCCD, cum, maybe new speakers would be god, itch is creeping up on you? If that's the case, give us an idea of where you would put them (some speakers need to be well away from the wall, others close), what sort of budget yo might consider, and aside from the Beatles, what music and volume you are going to be playing. Those concepts can play into things a lot more - your amp is going to be pretty darn capable of getting everything out o an speakers you throw at it, so better to aim for speakers that are going to be good for how you'll use them. Don't be afraid of the budget it - there are folks here that have speakers costing crazy amounts, and many of us who spend very little. What's common is we all love great sound and find ways to maximize that within our means. Best o all, this can be a really fun quest, so enjoy the trip down the rabbit hole!

Good list, Itch. And, we are generally blind to the line items on our credit card bill, each month. A few more "subscription" services to add: Credit monitoring services (LifeLock, Discover, others, etc.) Malware Bytes (for your computers getting hacked.) Website subscriptions (if you have a personal website, for domain name, WP and plugin licenses, security, etc.) ADT (basic security $39/mo, then add on video, etc. etc.) In my county, if you have ADT, you pay the Sheriff $50 a year or they won't come out when the alarm goes off...) Costco or Sam's Club memberships. ...

Something more modern: Ben Williams - I am a man

Down to the River to Pray by Alison Kraus from O Brother Where Art Thou

If logging in today and seeing a post from me brings you angst, worry not – I just wanted to share a neat experience I was able to have with a fellow “audiophile” (I hate that word), and then I shall fade back into the shadows. As some of you know, I have become quite smitten with NHT speakers of late. As some of you also know, I’m a bit of a speaker hoarder (Those days may be over, but more on that later). Tim (@phildent) was kind enough to acquire a set of NHT 2.9 speakers for me shortly after I left CA this spring. With the whole Covid landscape, logistics of acquiring the speakers from Tim has proven a challenge, to say the least. So I did what any speaker aficionado would do – I kept searching until I found yet another pair. This pair ended up being in Bozeman MT, about 5 hours north of me. These are not in perfect cosmetic condition, so I am still planning on meeting up with Tim at some point in the hopefully not too distant future. Needless to say, I’ve been enjoying the sound of the 2.9 speakers a great deal. That did not stop me from dragging out another pair of speakers to play for a while (as I often do). This time it happened to be the Infinity Kappa 9 set. Seeing as how these were once my “unicorn” and favorite speakers, I was taken aback at how NOT in love with the sound I was from the get go. So much so, that I was checking cable connections and polarity (Yes, I’ve made that mistake before). All being in order, I retired for the night. As luck would have it, a friend and fellow audio enthusiast was in my neck of the woods for a few days. I asked him to come over for dinner, but my real motivation was to have someone “ground” me, with regards to my feelings on the NHT and now the Kappas. Travis (No affiliation to the forum) is a great guy with a fair bit of audio experience, but most importantly, he’s not afraid to hurt my feelings and tell me I’m full of shit. If you have a friend like this, cherish them – they are far more useful than someone who will kiss your ass and tell you they love everything about your system. Long story short (I know, too late), Travis comes over and really likes the 2.9. A lot. We also listened to the Kappas (He was more forgiving than I), and the Polk SDA SRS. 4 hours later, he heads out. I get a text the next morning (He sent it at 2am), saying we should do a March Madness style bracket/comparison with the NHT, Polk, Infinity and another speaker. I mull it for a minute and reply “How about a bracket of 8 speakers”? His instant reply “I’ll bring the beer…”. What transpired was two additional 4-5 hour evenings of listening, listening, and listening. And then listening some more… We bracketed the speakers by random number generator, as there was no other logical way to “seed” them. The first night we did the “quarter finals”, and the second night we did the semis and then the final round. Going in I would have thought that as the listening session went on it would be harder and harder to discern the subtle differences between speakers. However, quite the opposite was true – the longer we listened, the easier it became to spot the subtle differences between the speakers and music tracks. I am also happy to report that other than the Legacy Focus 20/20 vs. Polk SDA SRS 1.2 round, we were in total agreement – that one round was a tad contentious though, and it really could have went either way. The other thing I found fascinating was that with the exception of the Bose, B&W and Carver, all of the other speakers were my absolute favorite at one time or another. Now I find several of them somewhat, and in some cases severely, lacking. Funny how our tastes evolve… Here are the contenders: B&W Nautilus 805 – I purchased these from the original owner about 4 years ago. They are mint in box, and unmodified, as far as I know. Bose 901 VI – I purchased these about 5 years ago, only because they are in mint condition, and they have the original EQ and “tulip” stands. I’ve never owned a serious Bose product, and just wanted to play with them… Carver ALIII – I acquired these for a steal ($400) about 7 years ago. One of them had sat in about an inch of water, and the base was ruined. I manufactured new bases for both speakers, and installed Infinity “perfect 10” woofers. I eventually removed the woofers and replaced the stock drivers. Infinity Kappa 9 – I acquired these about 8 years ago. The woofers have been professionally re-foamed, and no further modifications have been done. Klipsch RF7 – I bought these new in 2008, as part of a 7 channel setup (RC7 and RS7x4). I have upgraded the crossovers with film caps and air-core inductors. I also installed the “resistor mod”, but quickly removed it, as I found it detrimental to the sound (there’s a thread on that here somewhere, if one cares to look it up). Legacy Focus 20/20 – Perhaps my “highest end” speakers, I acquired them from the original owner about 4 years ago. They are bone-stock, as far as I know. NHT 2.9 – After having Tim acquire a pair of these on my behalf this spring, I just couldn’t wait to get them from LA to my house in UT, so I took a quick trip up to Bozeman MT and bought a pair from the original owner. They are not pristine looks-wise, so yes Tim – I still want the pair you have on hold for me… Polk SDA SRS 1.2 – I traveled to Denver CO to acquire these about 3 years ago. They have an interesting history, as they were once owned by member “madmaxx”, prior to his passing. They have been modified with the RDO194 tweeter upgrade, the woofer baskets are dynamatted, they have a full set of “Larry’s Rings”, and the SDA cable has been rebuilt with MIT cable and Nutrik connectors. NOTE – the SDA cable was NOT used for this evaluation. The signal chain: Source - Oppo BDP 105 running SACD, DVD-A, and FLAC. Preamp – Round one was completed with a 10-Octave line stage pre. The second and third rounds with a BillD C1 (Modified by B-Man – That’s right, I haven’t gotten around to modding a C1 for myself… yet…) Amps – Carver Silver 9t pair. Cables – Kimber Silver Streak ICs and MIT Shotgun S3 speaker cables. The Music: Dire Straits “Love Over Gold” SACD, Private Investigations. This is my new #1 test track. It really has it all – Imaging, detail, deep bass, a deeper soundstage, and tons of subtlty. Specifically, the xylophone is very prominent in the middle of the track, but its also present in the first half, albeit “hidden” by other instruments. How much of it you can hear (and how detailed it is) in the first half of the song is a function of your system synergy. There is a sound of breaking glass in the last ¼ of the track – this sound should be way beyond your front wall (behind your speakers) and to the left. When the deep bass hits, it must maintain its composure, and not color the mid bass. The high hat cymbal in the first half of the track should have the most subtle presence – almost a “kiss” of a sound. The guitar plucking is stunningly life-like, and it really should sound like Knopfler is right in the room with you. Fleetwood Mac “Rumors” DVD-A, Gold Dust Woman. I really only use this track for one thing (I don’t even particularly like the song, lol) – In the first minute of so, I’m listening for the separation between the cow bell, the high hat and the snare. That’s it. You should hear three VERY DISTINCT sounds – there should be no overlap or “meshing” of these three, as they were mic’d separately in the studio. Alison Krauss “A Hundred Miles Or More” FLAC, Jacob’s Dream. Alison’s voice is a tricky thing, as many of her songs start out soft and subtle, then 20-30 seconds in, she really opens up – Jacob’s Dream is no exception. I liken it to a race car going into a corner. Just like a racecar driver needs to choose his corner entry speed carefully, the Alison Krauss listener needs to choose their listening volume carefully. If you go in too fast, you are going to hit the wall – the same is true for listening level. If your system is well-assembled, you have plenty of power, a solid source, and perhaps most importantly great speakers, you’ll hold the corner and the result is goosebumps. If not, you WILL find yourself reaching for the remote to turn the volume down. I wish all artists put the level of importance that she does on quality recording – The detail of her recordings is truly a thing other artists should aspire to. The detail of her vocalizations, banjos, guitars and a real joy – acoustic bass- they all blend together for a memorable experience. Shawn Mullins “Soul’s Core Revival” FLAC, Ode To Billy Joe (Electronic). Shawn’s baritone voice can be a real challenge for crossover construction in 3+way systems. If there are any humps or valleys in the output, the result will be non-linear, and it WILL sound compromised. Shawn is another artist that takes great care in his recordings, and you will hear it in a well-defined and spacious sound stage. Klymaxx “Greatest Hits” FLAC, Man Sized Love. This track is just plain FUN, and it plays BIG – Tight, solid bass, big horns and great vocals. This track is just FULL of sound, yet all the sounds seem to have their own space. On great speakers you can play this song at truly “live” listening levels, and it will not be fatiguing, in fact it begs you to inch the volume “just a bit higher”… Ramin Djawadi “Game Of Thrones Season 6 Soundtrack” FLAC, Light Of The Seven. This is a piano and string composition from the HBO series. Surprisingly well recorded (for a soundtrack), the piano is quite well done – nice key strikes, pleasant decay, and when the strings come in it takes on a whole new level. One of my favorite mid range tests. Without further delay, here are the results: Here are our score sheets: Semi-Finals: And the finals: I am happy to report that the NHT was the CLEAR winner. It had incredible bass for a sealed 10” – deeper than I would have ever thought possible, taut and controlled with not even a hint of boom or flab. The melding of all the drivers into a coherent sound front is truly something to behold – absolutely no frequency dips or humps, and as stated all drivers sound as if they are one. Sound stage that is as deep as it is wide – close your eyes and the speakers just disappear. But perhaps the most impressive trait to both of us was their ability to present both the most subtle detail and the strongest crescendo side by side, and the subtle detail was never lost. Never. If you have the opportunity to give a pair a listen, do so. And if you have the opportunity to buy them, so much the better. Thanks for reading, and as promised, I’m headed back to the shadows… Peace.

We will host a meal gathering on Sunday September 13. I am going to do a little something different this year but it still involves shrimp and chicken. Please RSVP so I will have a pretty good idea of the number to anticipate. I have invited the Watershed staff again this year. There will be a Watershed hosted event on the Saturday September 19. It is being billed as live entertainment and refreshments. I am not sure of the time but I would think late afternoon. So far they have not asked me for a headcount for this but I imagine they will. If any of you plan to put on sort of event or meal together please add a reply to this thread with details.

If you are somehow not familiar with it, US Audio Mart is a great place to check for equipment deals - it's basically a free buy & sell board for anyone to post what they have for sale. It can also give you an idea of prices for any used audio equipment. https://www.usaudiomart.com/ And yes, in case you hadn't guessed, I am an enabler. It's only fair - this group did me in, that way, so I have to share the love.

Greetings @Crisp ! We're glad you found us! As for your M1.0t, it's running on borrowed time. I have 4 of them restored with the MKII upgrade and they sound much better than an unrestored unit...

Welcome Crisp- Hope you enjoy the site. Thanks for finding us. You will find lots of great information here. Lots of talent ready to help a Carver brother out. And lots of humor along the way. Look around the posts and enjoy yourself😀. Good to have you.

WELCOME @Huib Wijnhoven! Glad you found us. Holland...home of the Amperex Bugle Boy tubes.

WELCOME @Crisp! Read up on the M1.0t MKII upgrade....

Greetings @Huib Wijnhoven !! We're glad to have you aboard!!

Welcome!! Looking forward to your post and journey.

I like the sound of B&W 705’s with that amp. About 1000.00 used.

Welcome - it's always great to have new members from outside North America! You have some nice amps, there - I'm sure they sound fantastic!

Welcome! You have a great amp, with incredible potential for the long term @Crisp! There are certainly many here who have not refreshed their amps, but yes, after 30 years it is likely very much on borrowed time. The electrolytic capacitors have a lifespan of about 25 years - some less, some much much more. They do tend to degrade as they get old, and you may not notice it happening, as the changes are slow. Then, one day, you hear another system and realize yours doesn't sound as wonderful as you remember it being. Or, of course, it can be sudden, spectacular, and very unnerving and die outright. There are many differnt levels you can take a refresh to. Just changing the elecrolytic caps can give you a great deal of life for ages - probably not a massive effort if you have a smattering of talent (caveat: I'm dangerous with a soldering iron, so I opted to have one of the VERY talented techs, here, do mine). There are some amazing modificatons (approved by Bob Carver) that have been developed for the M1.0t that take it from being a great amp to being something incredible. If you are going to consider going the refresh route, you might want to consder those. I'll let the tech's pipe up on that. No matter what, the good news is there are people who are perfectly able to fix, modify and refresh that amp, and it's more than capabile of holding it's own against almost anything out there - old or new.

Welcome aboard @Huib Wijnhoven!!! Glad you found us here, there's a wealth of knowledge on all things Carver in here.

I have used Polk monitor 10s, Polk sda-1bs and Carver ALS hybrids!

The Days of the New Touch, Peel and Stand

Hope you stay safe there Carversite brother.

Good morning all! I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and our team at Watershed Resort. I am Misty Sneed. Ed and I worked closely in the beginning of the planning stages for this year's Carverfest. Our maintenance manager, Derek Webb and I have been preparing our staff to best meet your needs while you are in stay with us. I am working on finding talent for our event on the 19th. I have a great local band, Red Clay Revival, potentially lined up for the event. Here is a link to a concert they performed in Asheville preCOVID. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2hiiDXfvtU&t=1426s I look forward to hearing your thoughts on them! Misty Lynne Sneed Operations Manager Watershed Resort

Thank you for the update, and welcome aboard here Ms. Sneed.

@dennismiller55, I never really thought Tiny Tim was a musician..., 😉 This came up on my wife's Pandora feed over the weekend..., we both said "what the heck is this other than really bad?"

Ah yes, Yoko.... How could I have forgotten this Yoko inspired “gem”....🤮

I can't answer that as I've never used an iPhone for net access. The only iPhone I've had was a III. I replaced it with a Samsung Galaxy, and I've never looked back.

I'd say it's a toss up between anything by Yoko Ono and 99% of rap ever produced

Joe Bonamassa Live at Carver Fest 2020 !!!! Experience Joe Bonamassa LIVE at the legendary Ryman Auditorium to present his NEW studio album 'Royal Tea' and fan favorites from his recent anniversary album A New Day Now. Scheduled event is for Sunday, September 20, 2020 4:00 PM EST...... Everyone's invited to attend Venue TBD.... I've talked with Ed about this and we should have everything worked out before the show....

This thread has so much awesomeness! With a couple of young boys at home, I admire your ability to devote the uninterrupted time performing this speaker tournament. I'm not wishing my boys out of the house prematurely, but I do look forward to doing this one day.

Looks cool but I don't think they're worth that kind of money. Just my

I must put in my $0.02 in here. I really think the ALS give a listening experience worth 10-20x their cost. If you have space, you can get them to do things a dynamic enclosure speaker cannot. But, to each his own. So many options! Albikes

My fav bookshelf, Zaph audio SR 71 in custom cabinets I built with piano black finish and minimal baffle, current main listening room set up. The Sony ES SS M7's and NHT 3.3's. GR research Encores were my 1st attempt at the SR 71 cabinets. The SR 71 and some Solstice speakers I put together did the veneer built the cross overs and piano black front baffle. And last but not least the Quad Z-4 in my main HT rig. All these are my favs and I still have all except the NHT 3.3's

The U-351 on the left has been with me the longest and as such tops the AT-15 as my fave.

I have had the pleasure to audition most of those speakers in @Daddyjt's exceptional setup, and I also have the pleasure to enable him to add this specimen to his already impressive collection.

Bob Reynolds - Cant Wait for Perfect Very very nice.