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Hey everyone - glad to be a part of the community. Looking forward to reading through some of the posts and getting more knowledge of amplifiers and circuits. Build and repair amplifiers (notice I didn't day design) for almost 6 years now, which started with designing and building speakers about 15 years ago.

Hi! My name is Brayden. Recently got introduced into the world of older sound tech from my dad since I do some light work with sound for film production. Joined to talk about and hopefully get some more insight about Carver gear, since my dad has a lot of it from back in the day!

Welcome, from San Antonio! Without a service manual, you may still be able to look at the amplifier section, identify the output stages and any variable resistors nearby. Typically, in most amp circuits I have seen, the process is to measure output transistor emitter current as a voltage drop across the very low value, and usually a 5-watt emitter resistors. Look around, see what you may find. I the amp is running cool, no distortion in the output signal. there may no need to adjust anything.

This came up at 4:00 AM this morning on FB....Goes to show Rock has no limits...

Glenn Miller Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree (1942)

Welcome again. Noting your post to sell the C-3 preamp and the TFM-15 amps..., and your introduction post above..., I'm curious to ask: "What other Carver (and non-Carver) stereo/audio gear did your dad collect that you have now?" Is your current audio set-up a Carver stack? or? 😉

WELCOME @braydensho! Happy you found us. Good luck with your pursuit of Carver gear

Welcome. Great to have you with us!!!

Welcome from Virginia! Enjoy your stay!

Thank you for the warm welcomes! My pops has a couple of things; currently out of the house so I only have a picture of one right now, which is this 5 disc carousel. Not sure what the specific model is? Still very cool though. Otherwise, a couple of amps and preamps. He's encouraged me to sell/trade some of the ones he's not using to trade up, so I might even look into that too honestly. Happy to be here!

Welcome to TCS! Would love to see pics of your gear!

Welcome to the Carver Site!!

Inquiring minds want to know!!

Welcome! You've come to the right place to talk and learn about Carver gear. What pieces does your Dad have?

Welcome to TCS!

I'm a bit behind but we're glad you found us!!

Welcome to the Carver Site!!

Welcome to the site!!!

Welcome from Virginia! Enjoy your stay!

Welcome, @bullittstang. The A series amps came in the timeline late in Carver Corp's life. A little less rigor on the service manuals and schematics production - so we haven't found a copy for the library, yet. If you find one out there, we'd value adding it to the library. Another tech here (I'm not one) might have the answer to your question from their experience. Glad you like the amp! It's easy to fall in love with these Carver components! Again, welcome!

Reason for the join, is this forum was mentioned to me from DIYAudio.com, where I posted for some help on a Carver A-220 and setting the bias. A friend found a working, decent condition A-220 at an Estate sale and asked me to look it over before he hooked it up to any speakers. It all checks out, all original (it appears), except for a 14-gauge plug, although it's still only 2-prong. I checked the repository and there is a Specs Sheet and Owner's Manual, but no schematic or Service Manual for this model amplifier. Like I said, it works (listening to it as I write this post) and sounds great. I only want to check what the Bias procedure is, because when I check the voltage over the emitter resistors I get 0-1mV and the heatsinks are barely above room temperature after 2 hours of playing music. I would expect there to be 10-20 degree rise over ambient after that long. So mainly want to see if this design requires special bias procedure, and what the voltage measurement at what points is correct for factory spec. Thanks and appreciate any help or comments.

Hi boffins I have a C-4000 and C-1 that need service and upgrades. I contacted Nelion and they were happy until I mentioned a transformer change from 120V to 240V. Is there anyone in the UK that would like to do this work. Looking to start September after hollibobs. Thanks

WELCOME!

Hello all, I'm Jason and i got bit by the vintage audio bug spring of 2025 when i watched SkyLabs audio's YT vid 'We Used To Love Them! What Changed?' I ended up with what was advertised as an mxr130 but it turned out to be the 150 and all it needed was the trim cap and the display glued back to the faceplate. So i got a hold of the circuits and concepts cap kit, performance regulator, and 1 replacement knob to do a good service to it. After all that i'm here wondering about a few hot components and already finding answers, very grateful forums like this with the info we need still exist! I am a YT content creator and you'll likely see at least 3 mxr units gone through and vids posted... eventually! The 150 and a hopefully easy fix 130, but also a 2000 that blows fuses on power up or at least that was the ebay description!

WELCOME!

Yessir I do actually. Kokomo IN is usually where I go to visit. We might be able to work something out.

Welcome to the Carver Site!! I'm kind of reading behind the lines, sounds like these units were maybe operating in a 120v location then they moved to the UK? On the C-1 have you taken a look inside? Some have a switch (SW15) near the power supply. Switch in question - Black item, far right center below white card on top of power supply. If the C-1 has this switch already installed then maybe at least the C-1 has a chance of being restored and upgraded by Nelion. The type of plug will also need to be looked at. What type do both have? US or European? As for the C-4000 I have no Idea if it has a similar switch. While not the most elegant of options it does sound like a Step-up transformer might be the first option? Maybe. When you get 5 or more likes please post some pictures.

Welcome !!!!!! Great to have you with us. Hope that you get the C-4000 and C-1 sorted and that you can enjoy them.

You ever make it back up this way? I'm constantly looking for ppl willing to haul broken gear from Eville area back up my way! lol

Welcome to TCS! Was born and raised in Central IN, now in southern IN. Glad to have you here.

Welcome to TheCarverSite, @roryhamilton. I take it you are in the UK? I don't have an answer for you on the power supply change to 240..., maybe someone else here might have an old EX (export) unit for parts you could use. ...another question: Are we to assume you already have a US C-1 and C-4000 that is made for 120v? And you want to convert it for UK use? What about using a transformer, and keeping it at 120v? That might be easier to achieve.

Welcome from Virginia! Enjoy your stay!

Welcome to the site!!!

Welcome. Great to have you with us.

Welcome to the site!!!!

Common with the TFM-15's is an issue where the amp gets stuck in protection mode and a giveaway is that there is a relay involved and after power on, the 'click' of coming out of protection never happens. A search here will give you lots of info about this issue and troubleshooting these amps. Here's one to get you started:

Okay, so here is an update. What I have: Preamp CT-17 (seems to be working) Amp TFM 15 CB Amp TFM 55 CD player SD/A 360 I was trying to see what worked and didn't work. I hooked up the preamp and the TFM 15 CB to an old speaker I had and used a DVD player to play a CD and I used the tuner. It was working for two days. Then suddenly it stopped working. The power comes on to both the preamp and the amp. I googled how to test the rca going to the amp it seems like the signal is going to the amp and the signal increases as I turn up the volume knob. The TFM 15 does not seem to receive the signal. I checked the fuse in the back and it is good. I am going to try and get the amp working again before messing with the CD player. Again, I am a complete newbie so any help is appreciated, and I will look for similar issues in the past threads.

Welcome to the Carver site!!

Welcome to The Carver Site! Glad you found us. Looking forward to your YT repair videos..., please post a share link here on TCS. As for help on these units from our archives..., I'd start by searching (upper right corner) the archives. Again, welcome!

Welcome from Virginia! Enjoy your stay!

Welcome to the site!!!

Welcome to the Carver Site!!

I found this on an oldies station that I never heard of; WMTX 100.7 (MIX 100.7 Tampa Florida) Love those oldies!

It all depends on what you are looking to do. I will freely admit that I’m a complete outlier in my digital delivery. I have no desire of a streaming service - I have a 3tb FLAC library on SSD that I plug into an Oppo 105. The Oppo on screen interface is a bit clunky, but I organize my FLAC into about 24 files by alphabet letter, so navigation is pretty easy. I like the Oppo for the ESS Saber DACs, the fact that it plays all my SACDs & DVDAs (and virtually any other disc format known to man), and the fact that I can output the video OSD via HDMI to a screen. Most streamers have tiny screens, no video output, and only an App to control. This also works on the Oppo 103, which are usually between $300-$400 on the used market. I realize this seems antiquated by today’s standards, but it works for me…