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Submariner here and happy to join the site - this is my first topic. I used that "handle" as I was driving a submarine in the late 70's out of Groton, CT when I became acquainted with and had never heard anything so crisp/realistic/nice as the Carver M-400 coupled a C-4000 powering Dahlquist DQ-10's. Sonic holography was simply astounding. Of course, neither of the Carver units nor the DQ-10's fit aboard my boat, but they did make my BOQ room rock. Later I got an M-500 when I decided to expand with a Dahlquist DQ-1W base cube and powered the cube with the M-400. I've found over the years (at different houses - I retired from the Navy) that I usually only set up the M-500 and C-4000. Now I'm setting down some roots and want to really enjoy my vinyl collection. I've been doing some reading about different alternative preamps and from what I've read on this site and on other sources that the C-1 preamp with the Bill D modification makes the C-1 (still with sonic holography) a very attractive component when compared to the relatively high cost alternatives out in the market compared to high. And I just feel like a change as I don't use the surround/delay nor most of the other features of the C-4000. I'd really appreciate your learned opinions to help me confirm that the C-1/Bill D mod unit is a worthy upgrade (I'd sell the C-4000 (till have the original box)).

I’m about as far from a fan of “grunge” as one can get. However, I have developed a taste for “unplugged” versions of various grunge bands (see my notes on Godsmack - The Other Side HERE ). The one that grabbed my attention lately is Alice In Chains Unplugged. The track “Would” in particular has awesome bass and superb vocal presentation. The whole disc is recorded very well, and the “unplugged” renditions of the songs are quite listenable.

Thank you Charlie, I somehow developed an emotional and yet logical attachment to my Carver and couldn't understand why I was the only person I knew who had one. It's refreshing to learn there are others with this disease... I mean gift.

fixed.

I have heard LaScalas in the past, and I have to admit, even though not a huge Klipsch fan, I would love having a pair of those. Note - I do currently own a pair of Heresy II's that I like, but those are more nostalgic pieces for me from my youth. And I did have a pair of KSB2.1 and the matching center channel in my HT setup years ago. I say, find the room, damn it! You can never have too much stuff! Especially audio gear!

I'm enjoying the education and looking forward to more - especially about the mods & modifiers out there. Thanks. Pictures when I'm able. And refurb or new C-1 w/BillD is in my future.

The BillD C-1 (or C-11) will outshine the stock C-4000. The design philosophy of the C-1 was (if I can paraphrase BillD) "Make it sound like it wasn't there". The engineer that developed the mod, focused on noise reduction throughout the preamp. Of course, we are comparing a standard preamp (C-4000) with an upgraded unit (new op amps, bi-polar audio caps replacing polarized caps in the signal path, upgraded resistors, etc). Many of these updates can be applied to the C-4000, but its hard to beat the value and quality of a BillD C-1.