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Hey everyone. Im Randy. Bob has always been my hero. I love how he started out making stuff the small guy could afford, yet it sounded like the top of the line. Many heavy hitters in the industry lost in blind testing to his creations. Anyway enough about that. I have been extremely sick I am a bit better now, but I was Death bed sick. Started in 2006. I’ll just say I was taking enough medication to kill a large horse my pain was so great I begged God to let me die. I had stomach issues , migraine for 25-30 days non stop neck and back pain. I now have 13 plates, 26 screws 2 rods and a clasp holding my neck together and had to have every tooth removed due to bone infection. So I am much better now. It just took the Dr so long to figure things out for me. This Bob Carver…… wry compassionate. I would get on an email with Bob. He was so kind and polite and even though I could barely string a sentence together or say anything coherently, no syntax at all….this kind man would talk to me. What I never told him was that I contemplated suicide because the outlook for my life was dismal and seemingly without hope. I was bed ridden for nearly 4 years and Bob would answer my phone call and speak soft kind words and because he showed so much grace. Well my goal was to build the mono block 350 amps. I can tinker but my goal is this, Bob knew I didn’t know how to build an amp and now that my health is much better I want to learn how. I do want to thank Bob cause I wanted to take enough medication to end things. Bobs kindness helped in my decision not to…..more than once. So, first I want to thank Bob and say what a great person he is. And secondly, hello Bob Carver fans. I hope to learn during this journey, to learn from all of you how to do fulfill this dream. I have two chassis and the pre amp tubes and the electrolytic caps and most other parts. Any starting advice I’m all ears.

This was his shop stereo, and he was an Excelsior Henderson motorcycle guru for the last nearly 25 years. I knew Carver was good from back in my youth, and if my great good friend Jamie had it I knew it was worth having. I'll be re-socking the Vandersteen Model 2's and refinishing their wood, looks like they got wet at some point since 1989-1991 when they were new. I believe there are some recommended things to do to the Model 1-0t amp and the Model C-1 Control Consol. There's also a TX-2 receiver. I'll be giving these to my daughter's family so they can enjoy it as Jamie and everyone else we knew did.

Looking forward to sharing knowledge and ideas. I’m retired EE with a passion for Phase linear Amps. Some day would like to own either 700 II or Dual 500. Bought a 400 series I and II many years ago (1990’s) Both blew fuses so needed output transistors. Could find the PL909’s do used any old non To3 the local shop had. Kept blowing fuses after a while. Got smarter as I got older and ordered M15024’s mixed with PLs. Finally went to all 12 15024 in each amp which resulted in better stability. Tried to bias the amp and shorted/exploded a low Ohm resistor across the back of the T03 connector with the VOM probe. Replaced it and now waiting to unbox it all after moving and starting again. Oh well!

OK, back to this project. Lots of recent distractions..., some good some frustrating. The grills come off, attached by velcro - which is unusual for EPI of this era, they typically used white silicone caulk as glue to permanently affix the grills to speakers in manufacturing. I didn't have to wrestle these off. I pulled the old drivers out, and remove the old "gaskets" which is really just that white foam, that you find wrapped around new TT dustcovers to protect in transit. You might notice that there are two pots on the back..., one is to adjust by attenuation the high frequencies going through the crossover to the three inverted dome oil-filled tweeters. The second one is for attenuating the front panel output altogether. It's actually a fairly complex crossover. I'm not going to do anything with the crossover at the moment - right now I just want to get the new drivers in, and see how they sound. I find that the mdf in these old speakers typically is fraying or crumbling where the screws were driven in, w/o pre-drilling. What I do with this MDF, is try to "tighten up" the screw holes just a bit, as the screws always just seem to crumble it, like it's a triscit cracker or something. I rub off or cut back any of the "pulling" or fraying of wood chips, with a knife. so the frayed sawdust chips come off, leaving a flat surface to mount the new drivers against. Basically, this is pretty fragile, and very likely to "bust-out" when the new drivers are installed and the screws are driven back in, so I try to make it more solid, by using this technique..., I use some wood glue, and with a toothpick shove a bunch into the screw-hole, to and let it soak in. I wet the wood first, so the glue will soak in a bit beyond the screw hole, and attempt to hold the chips together in the area. I don't want to drillnew holes, as from two pictures up, you see the tweeter plate overlaps the driver, and this method strengthens the screw hole considerably. When done, the screw holes with the glue look like: When the glue dries, I will reinstall the drivers, turning the screws in by hand, carefully..., I've poked a driver foam with a screwdriver that slipped, before...,

Leon Russell Tight Rope

Thank you @AndrewJohn, i will do just that.

Welcome to TCS!

Hi Robert Atkinson JR. I'm still trying to figure this site out and how to use it. just wanted to say hello and i am just starting in audio upgrading...ish. novice and just starting out. i may ask advice from you soon. i was a part of this site back in 2006 or so and i had to start all over. Welcome.

Hold pants guys

I see that the topic is still alive, and you probably liked it. This week I will be ordering capacitors for recap, and maybe I can look into the paint shop. And here is something to read

Welcome @Rek. Glad you found us. Hard to say if the Carver pieces you have received were ever refreshed in the recent past or not. But in general, these items, if untouched since they were new, or if they were in a challenging environment (a dusty shop?), it's worth having them fully refreshed and adjusted back to new. Many here send their Carver gear to Greg ( @Nahash5150 ) proprietor of Nellion Audio, in Hersey, MI. I'm sure others will pipe in with other questions and recommendations. Again, glad you found us! There's a lot of information here, hope you post a few threads and stay a while. Welcome!

Patience and scouring eBay will eventually yield the Carver Autosound system dreams are made of. It took over two years to create the a/d/s system I used to have in my Odyssey…

They restore/refresh, just like any other amp..., I recall that thread from @Carlton8000, or another thread, that he (or someone) recapped and refreshed the m240's he had. I've found that the "background noise" or a good portion of it, for me, was actually road noise, or noise generated by the car/cabin acoustics..., I only did one car audio build, when I was in my 20's..., so today, with all the sound deadening, and other things one can do..., I wonder if it's as bad. I have in my garage, a full system, brand new, that I picked up for my F150..., pioneer head unit, infinity cappa speakers for all four doors, and an infinity kappa sub... It's one of those projects I keep putting off. But I know that one thing I must do is put in a lot of sound deadening in the doors, where there's lots of flex from the increased throw and air movement of those Kappa's. I don't think I'll go so far as to deaden the floor of, I'm too lazy to pull out the seats, and carpet, to add it.

First being a consumer of audio products myself before being a dealer and later a partner with Bob, I've seen it all. I had no idea how deep seated the snakes were in audio. Honestly, you couldn't make it up. This is not a rant. It's just advice to consider when spending your money and seeking the best for you. Most often, people of means to buy these limited production products, did not gain their wealth by spending foolishly and value is still appreciated. Having owned an aerospace manufacturing company for decades and accustomed to one of the most regulated industries on earth, audio is truly a wild west of conflicting information and deception for a consumer to attempt to navigate in order to spend their money wisely. IMHO this is really sad and consumers deserve better. It's destructive to the niche market for these products for both companies and consumers, IMHO. This post is not meant to discourage people from entering the hobby, but more as a guild to hopefully save consumers the frustration and expense that comes with being educated by industry snakes and lab rats. If a company won't let you audition their audio product without restocking fees, I suggest you walk away. Don't fall into the BS of listening for chocolate in a wire or the premise that a designer chasing specs like SINAD provides a higher quality listening experience. There is no free lunch in audio design. Some of the best measuring products come and go like the wind. More often than not, companies get great reviews in the pay to play world of food flavor adjectives, hear by number and sci-fi physics, only to fail in the actual market when compared directly to others making music. You have likely noticed the brand of the month in audio publications. Every month there is a new brand that is a game changer with either an improved number or richer chocolate, to prevent the consumer from finding contentment and to keep buying more, chasing an illusion of improved audio based in words and charts of very limited value to the customer in making their decision. What are the snakes? Snakes are products with no basis in science. The list is long. Companies actually invent products and create a market for problems that don't actually exist. This is really sad. Physicist and real engineers, like those from regulated industries in which snake oil is called aerospace fraud, with lives a stake, are laughing at the snakes in the industry, I can assure you. This is damaging to a great industry made up of mostly passionate people busting their butts to deliver a more pleasing experience and overall value for the customers they are loyal to. Snakes do not care about the customer, they want the customers money and do as little as possible to provide actual value to the customer. If the company is telling you what you will hear, and not offering a trial offer without needing a restocking fee from you. Think about it before spending your hard earned cash. Talk is cheap. Make them earn your money without risk to you. Sonic results talk. Tell the BS to walk. What are lab rats? Lab rats are at the other end of the spectrum. These are those claiming to have truth and standing in judgment based on simplistic numbers as a representation of customer value. The lab rats steer customers based on absurd claims and ranking of products, claiming that a number like SINAD further below audibility equals a better value for the customer. Numbers don't lie right? Recommending or discouraging customer purchases with this entirely erroneous perspective, is possibly more damaging to the hobby than the snakes. The value to the consumer is less than worthless. So what can a consumer do to get beyond the extremist at both ends of this spectrum disorder? Hear for yourself. Don't believe any salesman selling science fiction physics or a guy playing a BS game of SINAD of 120 will sound better than 100, and taking a poll based on followers who read his numbers.. Don't follow, lead. If the SINAD game was audio reality, they would show up at audio shows and put everyone else to shame. Here again, if a lab rat is trying to tell you what you will hear based on a numbers game, don't believe them until you hear for yourself. They are no more credible than the snakes, just a different angle on their game of leveraging misunderstanding. In no way am I saying believe me, if fact I'm saying don't believe me. What I am saying, is hear audio for yourself. Audio and hearing are inseparable. Fundamentally, you can not read about it with enough relevance to make a good decision. If you can't hear a product without a restocking fee, the company already knows they have trouble competing in the cold hard realty of the customers system in their home driving a wide variety of loudspeakers. We call it The Carver Amplifier Challenge. Step right up snakes and lab rats. We have a trap set for both of you that offers the customer 100% satisfaction by helping consumers sort through this maze of misinformation. Regardless of the brand they choose to purchase, a happy customer will result from the value offered by one outstanding designer or another. The customer and industry will be better off. Honestly, lets save the consumers the endless confusion and let them hear audio products for themselves at home, without taking money from them if they choose another brand. $799 or $24,999, don't charge them 10-15% to experience your product at home making music compared to ours. This industry has been in contraction for more than 30 years. Putting the customer first, may slow the contraction of the hobby from within caused by both the extremist snakes and lab rat deception. Make companies waive their restocking fee in writing so you can hear the truth for yourself without losing money. I've been working with the owner (Bob Carver himself) just over 2 years now. We do not play games with the customers money. A good competition driving loudspeakers in the customers home is fair enough. This educates the customers by experience, being of far more value than the confusion being sold by both the snakes and the lab rats. Jim Clark Director of Operations Bob Carver LLC.. CEO BC Audio LLC.. 4563 Hydraulic Rd Rockford, IL, 61109 jim@bobcarvercorp.com