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Hello, everyone! First, I want to apologize for the long post. I'm new and enthusiastic. I hope y'all can understand the feeling and forgive me for being long winded. I was a young fellow in the 1980s. When I was in the USAF one of my buddies had a Carver receiver (TFM series, I think) running through a pair of JBLs. I lusted after that system but couldn't afford anything of the sort. He was single & living in the barracks. I was married junior enlisted and living in off base housing. Money was really tight back then. Frankly, it remained tight for a few decades after that. I have only recently found myself in position where I could enjoy some of the things in life that I have always wanted but couldn't see my way clear to pursue. It's amazing what time and perseverance can do for a guy, isn't it? I just joined the site as a new Carver owner; or rather, an older guy who just got his first bit of Carver kit - a M-0.5t power amp, a CT-7 preamp & a TL-3200 CD player. I believe the fellow I bought it from might be a member of the site. I know I saw him post on TCS Facebook group. That's where I found the M-0.5t in the first place. He was absolutely a pleasure to deal with. His wife is just as nice as can be. He also had a very friendly cat! According to him, the CT-7 has a wonky left line output. He believes the problem with the preamp is likely just a bad/loose RCA port. I believe he is right. I just downloaded the schematic from the site. While I'm a complete novice when it comes to schematics, I noted that the headphone amp and the output port lie downstream of the buffer amp. We tested the unit using headphones. The CT-7 worked well through headphones. The previous owner told me that he'd get a horrible squealing noise which blew the tweeter on a couple of his speakers unless he propped up the output port with a coaster and a folded up napkin. For a while he ran the CT-7 though an Adcom amp that had attenuators/volume pots, which allowed him to get the workaround working prior to running the amp at volume. The M-0.5t has no such thing going for it. It's a straight 140 watts. Looking at the port I can see that it does move a little when pressure is applied to it. So, a repair is in order before I connect my speakers and start using it here. The plan is to run a Dual 1264 turntable, the Carver CD player, the CT-7 & M-0.5t through a pair of Vandersteen Model 2Ce Signature (series i) speakers. I still need to figure out streaming. I have a couple of questions and don't know if they're appropriate for this introduction forum. Being new I am still trying to figure out the rules. If it's a violation of any policy please let me know. I will delete the questions immediately and post them in the appropriate forum. I do not want to run afoul of the rules around here. You have already been a huge help through file downloads. It looks like the wealth of experience on this site will be a huge help beyond just Carver gear. There seems to be a bunch of old electronics pros here. Question 1: Is replacement of a line out RCA port something that a total novice with a soldering iron can accomplish, or is this something best addressed by taking it into a shop? I have a pair of sacrificial speakers. I wouldn't be upset about if I blew a tweeter in one of them. Question 2: What do you guys do for streaming? I'm an infrastructure tech working in the bowels of a gigantic multinational corporation - more of an IT generalist, really. I'm toying with the idea of building a NAS/streaming PC using Linux. I have a tub of FLAC rips and a subscription to Amazon Music. I have a computer case that looks like an amp. The thing is that I know there are a bunch of pre-made streaming devices out there. That's the sort of thing that's been off my radar. So what do you guys do for streaming? OK - wrapping up - I'm really looking forward to the interaction here. Happy holidays to you and yours & here's wishing all of you the best in 2023!

Whew. Finding this thread was more than I thought it would be. I will try and mark it somehow for future use. Ok, you guys have all about DSOTM. I know. Only recently did I get the idea to find the best copy of it on vinyl without spending a fortune. To compare with, I am using a Mobil Fidelity CD that didn't even realize until a night or two ago was better than any vinyl that I have owned in the past. Having said that, I got a hold of a Harvest pressing, and yah, there were big differences in the sound. Maybe I got a sucky pressing, but it won't be played twice. Very quiet vinyl, but the recording sound almost dismembered compared to the MF copy. I will try one more pressing, and that would be by Capitol records. I saw this recommendation at Acoustic Sounds by one of the customers there. I will report good news when that happens. I still can't believe the difference. I will say that some of the drum parts are better in a way but that is about it. Very narrow soundstage too. yuk. FWIW, I found a Capitol recording on eBay last. We'll see.