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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/08/2021 in all areas

  1. Anybody else still running a Quad system and collecting Quad vinyl? Quad vinyl is getting harder and harder to collect in VG++ to EX condition at reasonable prices! 😡😡 Probably doesn't help that I'm also a cover snob.
    5 points
  2. A 28 year old jazz singer from Chicagoland, who has the vocal control of someone twice her age....
    5 points
  3. Just wanted to introduce myself.......I'm not new to this site, but it's been years. Anyhow, long time Carver fan.....I've owned at one time or another tons of Carver gear. Anyhow, I've got a set of Platinum MkIV's that a friend brought to my place for a Polkfest back in 2008 (I sold him my original ALS's and he in turn sold them to acquire the MkIV's).....and listening to a Telarc disc at high volumes after a few too many adult beverages, a ribbon bit the dust. So, they've been lurking in a closet for, what, 13 years? Anyhow, getting off my duff.....sourced a pair of 60" ribbons and are awaiting their arrival. So, I'm excited to get them together......they will displace my trusty Thiel 3.6's and be fed by a Rega P6 (with all the cool Groovetracer goodies), Oppo BD something or other, Adcom GFP-750 preamp (Sutherland Phono Pre) and a Sunfire 300 amp. Anyhow, just wanted to say howdy to everyone and look forward to getting the band back together. Cheers, Troy
    2 points
  4. Yep, I still have the Marantz 4400 Quad Receiver, in its original double box, that I purchased in January 1975 at the Navy Exchange in Yokosuka, Japan when I transferred back to the US. I also have the Marantz SQA-2 Decoder and Marantz RC-4 4-Channel wired remote that I bought with it; both in their original boxes also. And, yes, I still have all of my Quad (SQ and Discrete) LPs that I bought way back then and a JVC Discrete Demodulator.
    2 points
  5. There were several versions of quad, the version I had was cd-4! Provided four discrete channels not hybrid like other versions! Found this on the web about cd-4! I wish I would have kept that equipment and quad recordings! CD-4 This is the “odd man out” in the quad world. Extremely ‘fine’ grooves were etched onto the vinyl record to provide frequencies between 35,000 and 50,000 hertz. The CD-4 demodulator sensed these high frequencies then converted them to a range of around 100 to 15,000 hertz. These frequencies were then sent to the amplifier and on to the rear channels.
    2 points
  6. 2 points
  7. A nod to the inspirational Hendrix.
    2 points
  8. Hey guys! Thanks! The guy I’m getting the ribbons from told me that the ribbons were rebuilt by a gentleman from South Carolina from the carver site......The guy I’m getting them from got them from a guy who had Ed rebuild them. Anyway, they arrive next week so we will find out what is what. In addition the that rig, I have my other rig which is a VPI Scoutmaster, A Jolida CD player heavily modded by a guy (F1Nut) from the Polk forum, a Musical Fidelity A1008 integrated amp....and I rotate between a pair of Maggie 1.6’s and AR 302’s Cheers, Troy
    2 points
  9. I started this journey in the early to mid 1970's with a Marantz 2270 receiver, Dual 1229 turntable, Rectilinear IIIa speakers and a Sony Cassette deck. I also had a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls (before the II, III, and IV) but didn't like them for classical music listening. As time went by, that stuff all got sold or traded and I moved into Audio Research tube equipment, buying some new and some used. The wife didn't like the ARC bi-amped Tympani IIIa Magneplanar "room dividers" , as she called them, with a set of bass panels, so they got traded for a pair of KEF 105 (no suffix, just original 105) speakers that I still have. I am sure they probably need to be refoamed. Over time I got rid of most of the ARC stuff, some of which I regret, and kept an ARC hybrid SP-8 MKII preamp, paired with a Nelson Pass designed Threshold S/300 Stasis II 150WPC Solid State amp, which I also still have both and they drive the KEF's now in a secondary system in another room. I have long been aware Bob Carver and his equipment, but until recently never owned any of his equipment. One of my friends owned one of his Phase Linear 200WPC amps and it did sound nice. I always thought his stuff was high powered SS equipment and didn't realize he had moved into tube architecture. After a long hiatus from buying HIFI gear, I recently decided to get back into some tube stuff. After much looking around from cheap Chinese stuff on Amazon, to expensive Conrad-Johnson and Audio Research stuff that just seemed way overpriced, even used, I stumbled upon the made in USA Bob Carver stuff. Made in USA, Tube, Good power output, Reasonable price, all boxes checked. So I bought a Bob Carver Crimson 275 amp, driving a pair of much improved Klipsch Cornwall IV speakers . I am also running a Sunfire HRS-12 subwoofer and the 10 Octave LP-1 Preamp. I use a vintage Denon DP-60L turntable with a Denon MC cartridge feeding into a Pro-ject tube box DS2 Phono preamp since the LP-1 does not have a phono stage. My tuner in the main system is a vintage late 1980's Sony. S555-ES. About 5 years ago my Nakamichi CD player from 1984 or so crapped out, so I replaced it with a moderately priced Marantz unit. Along the way I have also picked up a Fisher 500-C tube receiver which I listen to as background on a pair of inherited Fisher XP-7 bookshelf speakers (not the best but well cared for and look nice) and another Marantz 2270 which sounds terrific through a pair of Klipsch RP600-M bookshelf speakers. A shout out to JimClarkStereo.com and Jim for the help with the Crimson 275' and the 10 Octave preamp. A great business to work with and up to speed on Carver equipment. The imaging and sound stage with the 10 Octave LP-1 and the Crimson 275 is stunning. I started off with just one Crimson 275, running it as a 75WPC stereo amp, and loved the sound so much I went for two of them when Jim Clark told me they could be run with paralleled speaker outputs as monoblocks. The amount of detail and clarity provided by using the 275's as monoblocks has to be heard to be appreciated. Bass is tight and crisp. He provided the jumpers and input Y connectors. Great service. For the price of the Crimson 275, Carver hit it out of the park. Together with the Sunfire HRS-12 sub, I am very pleased with what I have put together and can see myself running out the clock enjoying this setup. I am a stereo guy, no HT... yet. I look forward to learning and hearing about equipment, improvements, and other peoples experiences on the forum. Sorry for the long winded intro.
    1 point
  10. Holy Crap Batman! 35-50K? That is starting to sound like a digital thang. Um, why isn't there a batman emoji?
    1 point
  11. One of my favorites. JBL was at the right place at the right time.
    1 point
  12. Dennis, I remember when Quad equipment was really cheap. To me, it was an obvious choice to buy one for my son when he was in high school. I think that I used it to bi-amp some speakers. It was a Marantz unit, but I forget the model. I can't wrap my head around the grooves of a 4 channel record, let alone the cartridge needed to read all that. Didn't get to own any quad equipment myself. What are you using for speakers in this system?
    1 point
  13. My time (ripping, configuring, dealing with IT...), is limited, at this point in life..., and is worth WAY more than the $1000..., (my perspective...) I now use my NAS for storing those things that I created..., or digital items (photos, designs, etc.) that don't exist anywhere else - and of which I am the lone steward. OTOH..., I took the day off yesterday, was literally on the phone with Netgear Tier 3 Support for over 5 hours in ONE call..., only to finally get them to realize that the T.O.L. gaming WiFi router they shipped me 2 weeks ago, was defective..., (something I knew when I called in...) That 5 hour block only saved me $279. So, I guest the value of time is relative... 😉
    1 point
  14. To your question, let me share some philosophy (mine)..., YMMV At one point, I tried to RIP all my content..., but eventually realized..., I was duplicating, and, well, that's time I will never get back..., time I could use doing something else, productive..., that didn't duplicate what was already out there. I got rid of most of what I had ripped to my NAS. From professional/commercial sources, It's better indexed, and, well, more complete, from any of the better streaming services..., I use TIDAL, there are others. I transitioned over to one of these, the Elac Discovery Server, ELAC DISCOVERY SERIES DS-S101-G (jimclarkstereo.com) I picked up from Jim Clark Stereo, I can control what music is played remotely, from my laptop..., you can use other devices, tablet, smartphone..., etc. It feeds your DAC, or ? like any other input source, and gets its input from the ethernet cable plugged into it. Your device talks to the interenet, telling it what to play..., (WAY over simplified description there...) This works for me. Elac offers "access points" (not to be confused with internet access points for your WiFi)..., so you can have the same thing streaming on your 9 systems around the house..., all controlled by your "device" from your "streaming service..." I like the design. And, when I bought mine, it had a LIFETIME subscription to ROON, which is a great interface (for me and in my opinion) to operate the whole thing. In a word, I can drive my analog/vintage gear with modern streaming..., and, it works well.
    1 point
  15. Thats interesting. I've seen those implementations before but never delved into them. How do you remotely control said streamer?
    1 point
  16. This topic has me interested as I have a majority of my CDs ripped to a NAS. A Google search shows a few options using a Raspberry PI as an audio streamer. I'm already using a rPI 4b running OpenELEC as video streamer. I assume the concept will be similar.
    1 point
  17. That is a neat idea @Butcher! I just picked up an AirPort Express/ Extreme (one of those) locally for $15.00. Didn’t need it just bought it because of price. I didn’t think about doing what you do but now I have a new idea.......grin
    1 point
  18. Welcome back to the forum......
    1 point
  19. Welcome Troy!!! Good to know another Thiel fan. Hope that your repair goes well.
    1 point
  20. Hi Troy. It's good to have you back. We have a member here that might be able to repair your damaged ribbons. @sea . You might send him a pm.
    1 point
  21. WTF is "Matterform"
    1 point
  22. Welcome Bill Fisher!!!! Nice to have you with us. Great place you found here. Lots of great information and most of all... fun. Fantastic group of guys - always interesting, willing to help and fun to hang with.
    1 point
  23. Welcome to the Carver site. A very enjoyable place to be!
    1 point
  24. I must bring this thread back from the nether, for I have progress to report. I was mucking about on the Drop forum and found a thread very similar to this one. One participant had achieved some success by re-purposing an old Apple router as a music source for his stereo. I happen to have several boxes of cast-off computer bits, and I found a pair of old Airport Wifi routers in there. I took the newer of the pair, which is called the Express, or Extreme, or Exuberant, or whatever marketing superlative they used. The important part is that it is an 802.11alphabet router with an analog audio out on the back. Use the Airport setup program to set the modem up as an extender, and plug it into the preamp. I've gotten mine set up with my old office system: Adcom preamp and amplifier, Canton bookshelf speakers. My MacOS computer supplies the sound over the Music program, but you can use anything that supports Airplay. If I decided I don't want to sit at the desk but rather in the lounger over in the corner of the office, I can use my phone to control the system. Since my music is stored on a NAS drive next to my primary router, every device in the house signed into the network can make these bits work. Using the computer or phone, I can change tracks in my library or use TunedIn, and set the EQ and volume. The only thing left to do is figure out a remote power switch and then my swiftly decomposing bottom need never leave the chair. Since I'll need a power protector for the office system perhaps I'll find something that can do this.
    1 point
  25. Welcome to the site
    1 point
  26. Welcome to the site! I dare say not many folks would trade a TFM55 for much, but the Sunfire is probably one of the few things that can be worth such a trade. I can't offer to help much with any Sunfire questions, but there are folks, here, who very likely can, so ask away. In the mean time, join in the fun, and remember to enjoy the music.
    1 point
  27. Hello NullPointerException, 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. It's an eventful journey that brought you here, and we know Jim Clark here. @Ar9Jim He's been a member for some time. The developers of the 10 Octave preamps are also members here. @fxbill and @iamjohngalt 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.
    1 point
  28. Welcome @Bill Fisher. Glad you found us!
    1 point
  29. I find this fun (as in the way they pull it together at a Guitar Center signing... fan-crowd predictably following the "shiny object"), and good..., and, yes, Steve Vai is 60, (53 in the video...)
    1 point
  30. 1 point
  31. Possibly, quite possibly, the best cover ever, ever, Ever! yep, a bold statement!
    1 point
  32. Thanks for the reply, David. I really wouldn't be interested in Roon. I'm not comfortable with either subscription software or with stuff that sits behind the firewall and opens ports/sends info to who-knows-where, and its all a lot more complicated/expensive than I need. I have a bunch of wifi speakers to play around with for that and the list is growing. Sonos, HEOS, and now B&W has Formation, Foundation, Inflammation, whatever it's called. None of it works perfectly or even hits most popular standards, so thats all just casual listening and TV sound. What I really need is just a box that gets in between my analog 2ch preamp and my source drive (whatever that may be, from a lowly USB3.0 up to an actual laptop sitting there with a drive full of music and a software interface) and makes sure everything matches. Digital needs to become analog, maxed out bitrate needs to be sweet music, and impedances and sensitivities must be at parity. A remote vol would be nice too, because while we were sneering about cheap Magnavoxes and Panasonics with their plastic remotes back in 1985, all those high end preamps we used to push on customers then didn't have any remote at all. "Why would you need to keep changing volume? The preamp is ten feet away, get up and do it, don't color your signal path with remote nonsense!"
    1 point
  33. I just wanted to add that what ever Music Streaming Device you may choose, expensive or not, It will bring back the excitement of new Music and also the Nostalgic of the older tunes. I love the Music Streaming world and what it has to offer in the endless library of Music, High Def and the Clarity of depth of the music sound. Along with the feeling of being in this “Huge massive open Library with Row’s and Row’s of endless music “ to go through and never being disappointed, Add the Music Software management of your music with “Roon”, I feel like I did as a Kid when I got a new Vinyl Album opening it and seeing all the artwork, then putting the needle down and listening to the new music with such excitement. The added bonuses is the clarity and depth that was never revealed in the the analog world, but also it will give you information on the music and the Artist that wasn’t available on the old vinyl and cassettes. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the sound and excitement of opening up a new vinyl album for all the reason described above, But now I listen to vinyl album for just that feeling and sound of the album with it’s occasion “cracks or pops” from the old albums. But , If its clarity and depth, or Hi Res audio files, I go to the Music Streamer. Also with the music streamer come the ease of just listening to whatever your in mood for at the time, and letting it just choose that music your in the mood for and not have to go back to the source like the turntable to either turn over the album, or put on something new. This is all done by the music steamer along with it putting music on that you may forgotten or hearing for the first time. I’ve found such excitement and enjoyment in this new digitial world that when I hear something on the radio, I write it down so I can hear it in more detail at home on the music streamer. I still love putting on a vinyl album on the turntable and listening to it, But for me, If its clarity and depth in the music I want to hear, there’s no comparing to this new sound and world of the digitial Music Streaming and it’s high def library of music to choose from. Below is a quick pick of the Innuous Zen Mk lll and the L.K.S Digitial audio Dac. If there’s any I can be of help with inregards to Music Streaming systems or Roon Software, Just let me know and I’ll do my best to answer or find what you may be looking for.
    1 point
  34. I’ve always loved the sound from the Oppo’s CD players, and the Oppo 103/105 players sound good and can work with your Carver audio gear. Oppo uses the ES DAC chips and that’s one of the reason why I purchased the L.K.S. Digital audio dh-004 Dac for apx $1,425.00 which uses 2 of the ES3808 pro dac chips in mono combined to give stereo and used my Oppo 95 as a transport and loved the combo for the sound they both produced. I did a lot of research into the Music Streaming Devices out there, and again with the audio world , with quality of the sound and what they offer in abilities and dollars the Sky’s the limit. I ended up purchasing the Innuous Zen Mk III music streaming system which requires an external DAC W/ 2TB internal storage system and a built in ripper with it own software to operate it for apx. $2,400.00 or use 3rd party software like Roon , which I use and highly recomend . Hands down the Best Music software management out there, at least for me. Roon “ Brief description of “Roon “is a monthly, Yearly or Lifetime Subscription available which manages your Music Streaming, Music library either on PC or Mac, But it can manage your music library wherever it’s located on your network: on the computers hard drive, on a NAS Box or in folder on multiple networked devices. You can establish multiple user profiles so that each person in your household can compile their own lists of favorites and have their own unique play history and music recommendations.Roon installed on other computers (endpoints) on your network and you can use them as remote controls for the primary computers audio system, or you can stream your music over your network to those endpoints. In both scenarios . You can choose between the computers onboard audio subsystem and any connected outboard hardware. Roon is the Music operating software system which is setting the standards that music streaming companies and developers and building there’s hardware system to incorporate and manage the music. I did a lot research in the Music Streamers that were available at the time I purchased the Innuous Mk III and spent over double of what I was looking to invest, But I found at this time there were not a lot of high end quality Music streamers used for sale due because of it being still a New Medium and there are not a lot of used hi end music players available, so I went with a system which I can used for many years to come, and I absolutely love the quality of sound and what it has to offer. Other’s I liked and received great reviews: I purchased the Cambridge Audio 851 N music Streamer, and liked the quality of sound, The front display to see what is playing and operations for apx. $1,450.00 but returned it for the only reason that it upsampled everything it played. Though I liked the sound, I did not like not having the ability of not upsampling the music and it was missing a few things I was looking for and new that I would want in the future. Here’s a few Music streaming systems out there to considered-or get a feel for what’s out there and cost: One of the favorites for starting at Apx, $485.00 and up is the Bluesound Node 2i music streaming system, and it has received great reviews and I was very close in getting one for apx : $925.00 , But I havn’t had an opportunity to listen to with my system. But , I’ve read very good reviews for the Monies spent. Audiolab 6000N Play - review” Great sounding streaming solutions needn’t cost a lot” - Very good reviews in 2019 Apx. $650.00 Audiolab 6000A apx. $1,000.00- very good reviews Sono’s systems starting at apx. $350.00 and up/ Sony HAP-S1 high Resolution music streamer apx. $ 1.000.00 but had mixed reviews NAD C 658 : Unbalance and balanced RCA outputs- Hi resp support 32-bit/192 kHz apx $1,650.00 - good reviews Cocktail Audio X30 all in one Hifi audio system w/ music server/network streamer- apx. $899.00 -again very good reiveiws. Cambridge audio CXN (V2) reviews very good, “the best at this price range “ apx. $995.00 and up lumin M1 - starting at apx. $2,000.00 to there high end up to $14K, A very good Music streaming co with high Standards There’s Many Music streaming system out there, I feel you can get a nice system like the Audiolab 6000N for $625.. the Bluesound 2i used for less $500.00 and they both have very good reviews. I hope this helps, If there’s any more specific questions I can help, Just pm me, or post and I’ll do my best to answer or find out the answers. I researched for months back back in late 2018/ early 2019 before deciding, but it comes down to what specific needs or wants that may be looking for your system. I preferred having a seperate music streamer form my CD player, but there are some nice CD player /music streaming systems that can also work well with your system. For example, the Oppo 103/105, Marantz network music playerNA6006 refurbished for $479.00, Again, I hope this helps. I will do a seperate post on “Roon” music management software to show it abilities and eases of use.
    1 point
  35. Phone support is largely the bane of mankind. The support worker claiming through their thick accent that they're speaking to you from Omaha and asking you about the weather, strict adherence to flow-chart remedies, and when they encounter something outside their limited flow chart there's the inevitable "I will have to check with my supervisor I will return please wait" followed by interminable hold music on a 30 second loop. When I was a lad the sound was kindly referred to as "lift music", meaning Muzak versions of popular songs expired at least 15 years ago. No bends in the notes, nothing less than a quarter note, bass keyboard keeping the time instead of drums. Later on this was replaced with something akin to stock music used in videos of a prurient nature, and we've now gotten to the point where the vile "dubstep" has appeared on holds, in between messages telling us to "please wait" and "have you heard about our new... " thing that I've already bought and its broken and thats why I rung you up, you treacle-laden whore. I would imagine eventually the woke will claim this hold area as their own and start broadcasting messages about race theory and feminist intersectionality or whatever this nonsense is called while we await the next person who will refuse to believe we've already rebooted the modem twelve times and insist we do that and a factory reset while they have us on the phone.
    0 points
  36. Thats certainly one way to do it. Quite a hefty investment though. If I were to spend that much on music management for my home I'd have just bought a Mac Mini. It would have become a full-fledged server then, and one could plug the DAC of choice into it, should one be so inclined. For my own uses, I stay away from streaming music from the outside world. I've read some truly terrifying things about the information being compiled on paid customers of such services. And of course I like to own my music. Its not much trouble for me to rip and add the appropriate art, and at under $50 per unit for one in like-new condition, adding Airport extenders to the system here is both easy and cost-effective. Or as I call them, "Oiport!" for those rare moments when the Airplay connections drop. "Oi! What now?"
    0 points
  37. I had a few moments after that last post to think to myself, "Oi, what about that other system upstairs? Y'know, that one system as opposed to all the other systems? Don't you want music streams going that a way?" I had one router left, a truly ancient one that looks to all the world like a laptop power adapter, so I decided to repurpose that thingie. Plug it into the wall outlet next to my desk computer, find it with the setup utility, name it, try to update it a couple of times but its so old the firmware is rather soft and moldy so no updates, but it tests out ok. So I pull it out of the wall, run it up the stairs, stop for a moment and breathe heavily, then plug it in with all the appropriate cables and such. Cracking good music source, and this one is controlled from my iPhone. I do believe I'll sieve me a few more of these "outdated" routers from the stagnant pool that is eBay and have a go at this with the other, oh, 9 systems in the Schloss.
    0 points
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