Leaderboard

Hello all! I hope you're enjoying the Carversite! and all it has to offer. The current Administrators are: wrf - Lead Administrator Nahash5150 - Tech Staff AndrewJohn - Community Administrator The current Moderators are: Compwaco - Chief Global Moderator Sk1bum - Moderator An Administrator's job is to protect the community. Admins also assign medals/badges, approve new arrivals, organize the boards, moderate threads, assign roles, maintain the database, enforce the rules, and manage complaints. They also present ideas to the leadership for possible implementation. The Lead Administrator sets the agenda and the rules and manages all the Member Groups. The Community Administrator keeps the information organized, performs regular tasks, and manages the Moderators. Moderators keep the boards safe and fun. Moderators are not here to stifle free-speech, arm-twist or intimidate participants. They ensure that threads are kept organized and remain on-topic, and as active participants themselves, preserve the spirit of the community. Moderators, like the Admins, are here for you so that you feel welcome to share and participate without the worry of being harassed or flamed for it. If you have just signed up, then you are Inbound rank. You have limited access and you can't upload files yet. In order to advance to basic membership, you need over 6 positive reputation points. Reactions, such as 'thank you' to your content increase your positive reputation. There are three basic member Roles: Novice Member Resident A Novice is new to the forum. They have limited access but can participate in the most popular forums such as Way Offscale and The Chain. In order to advance to Member, we expect a certain amount of activity to evaluate their willingness to be a part of the community. The post count required to advance to Member is 100. (If you are currently a Member and don't have 100 posts, you will not be 'demoted'). A Member is considered an active participant. They have nearly full access to the site and its resources, and can progress in rank and earn medals by sharing their experiences in the audio world with the Site. As time goes on, a Member can eventually become a Resident or play a role as part of the Administration. A Resident is a highly active member who calls this place home and acts as a council member with the Administration. Residents are participants who are willing to take on the challenge of discussing site policies and provide the site with valuable resources - such as funds, time and talents. Greatly concerned for the site's well-being, Residents work hard to welcome new 'inbounds', encourage participation by starting topics of interest - and offer Karmas, skills and knowledge to all who visit. There is a special Member Role: Carver repair/mod Team Carver repair/mod Team - Chosen only by the Administrator, these members are trusted with their skill to work on audio gear. They actively take work and offer a variety of services. They are also essential to the site's 'helpful hand' in assisting those who need help with their troubled gear. Carver Repair Team members are also Residents by default. There are two consequential Roles: Retired Sandbox A Retired Member is a participant who has either shown a disinterest in the community but has not violated the rules, or one who has 'moved on' and no longer wishes to be an active member. This is not a disdained Role, but a Role for members who for one reason or another, do not wish to be part of the community's growth (for example). Retirement is a friendly, mutual agreement between the administration and the member. Retired members have limited access. When a participant is Sandboxed, they have violated the forums rules. A warning is always issued before a participant is Sandboxed. If the warning is ignored, and participant continues to break rules or cause trouble - an Administrator, with the consent of the Moderators, will curtail their activity for an indefinite amount of time. Removal of the Sandbox status can only be done by the Site Owner or Administrator. This forum has a lot of options for you to find information, participate, and organize how you read and keep up with activity. Remember that you can do the following: - Follow a Topic (so that if anyone posts to it, you are notified) - Follow a Member (so that you are notified of Status Updates and more) - Post a Status Update (a personal message for your friends that is public access) - Send Private messages - View Activity according to date, member, or topic (check 'Activity' in the top menu) - Post pictures and even create a gallery (Novice or above rank) - Share links, videos and files - Browse technical Manuals, white papers and spec sheets And so much more! Our goal is to maintain a site that is welcoming, helpful, courteous and fun. With audio and Carver as our common ground, we wish to stay focused on the music, and all the creativity that results. Have a great day! Hashy

If logging in today and seeing a post from me brings you angst, worry not – I just wanted to share a neat experience I was able to have with a fellow “audiophile” (I hate that word), and then I shall fade back into the shadows. As some of you know, I have become quite smitten with NHT speakers of late. As some of you also know, I’m a bit of a speaker hoarder (Those days may be over, but more on that later). Tim (@phildent) was kind enough to acquire a set of NHT 2.9 speakers for me shortly after I left CA this spring. With the whole Covid landscape, logistics of acquiring the speakers from Tim has proven a challenge, to say the least. So I did what any speaker aficionado would do – I kept searching until I found yet another pair. This pair ended up being in Bozeman MT, about 5 hours north of me. These are not in perfect cosmetic condition, so I am still planning on meeting up with Tim at some point in the hopefully not too distant future. Needless to say, I’ve been enjoying the sound of the 2.9 speakers a great deal. That did not stop me from dragging out another pair of speakers to play for a while (as I often do). This time it happened to be the Infinity Kappa 9 set. Seeing as how these were once my “unicorn” and favorite speakers, I was taken aback at how NOT in love with the sound I was from the get go. So much so, that I was checking cable connections and polarity (Yes, I’ve made that mistake before). All being in order, I retired for the night. As luck would have it, a friend and fellow audio enthusiast was in my neck of the woods for a few days. I asked him to come over for dinner, but my real motivation was to have someone “ground” me, with regards to my feelings on the NHT and now the Kappas. Travis (No affiliation to the forum) is a great guy with a fair bit of audio experience, but most importantly, he’s not afraid to hurt my feelings and tell me I’m full of shit. If you have a friend like this, cherish them – they are far more useful than someone who will kiss your ass and tell you they love everything about your system. Long story short (I know, too late), Travis comes over and really likes the 2.9. A lot. We also listened to the Kappas (He was more forgiving than I), and the Polk SDA SRS. 4 hours later, he heads out. I get a text the next morning (He sent it at 2am), saying we should do a March Madness style bracket/comparison with the NHT, Polk, Infinity and another speaker. I mull it for a minute and reply “How about a bracket of 8 speakers”? His instant reply “I’ll bring the beer…”. What transpired was two additional 4-5 hour evenings of listening, listening, and listening. And then listening some more… We bracketed the speakers by random number generator, as there was no other logical way to “seed” them. The first night we did the “quarter finals”, and the second night we did the semis and then the final round. Going in I would have thought that as the listening session went on it would be harder and harder to discern the subtle differences between speakers. However, quite the opposite was true – the longer we listened, the easier it became to spot the subtle differences between the speakers and music tracks. I am also happy to report that other than the Legacy Focus 20/20 vs. Polk SDA SRS 1.2 round, we were in total agreement – that one round was a tad contentious though, and it really could have went either way. The other thing I found fascinating was that with the exception of the Bose, B&W and Carver, all of the other speakers were my absolute favorite at one time or another. Now I find several of them somewhat, and in some cases severely, lacking. Funny how our tastes evolve… Here are the contenders: B&W Nautilus 805 – I purchased these from the original owner about 4 years ago. They are mint in box, and unmodified, as far as I know. Bose 901 VI – I purchased these about 5 years ago, only because they are in mint condition, and they have the original EQ and “tulip” stands. I’ve never owned a serious Bose product, and just wanted to play with them… Carver ALIII – I acquired these for a steal ($400) about 7 years ago. One of them had sat in about an inch of water, and the base was ruined. I manufactured new bases for both speakers, and installed Infinity “perfect 10” woofers. I eventually removed the woofers and replaced the stock drivers. Infinity Kappa 9 – I acquired these about 8 years ago. The woofers have been professionally re-foamed, and no further modifications have been done. Klipsch RF7 – I bought these new in 2008, as part of a 7 channel setup (RC7 and RS7x4). I have upgraded the crossovers with film caps and air-core inductors. I also installed the “resistor mod”, but quickly removed it, as I found it detrimental to the sound (there’s a thread on that here somewhere, if one cares to look it up). Legacy Focus 20/20 – Perhaps my “highest end” speakers, I acquired them from the original owner about 4 years ago. They are bone-stock, as far as I know. NHT 2.9 – After having Tim acquire a pair of these on my behalf this spring, I just couldn’t wait to get them from LA to my house in UT, so I took a quick trip up to Bozeman MT and bought a pair from the original owner. They are not pristine looks-wise, so yes Tim – I still want the pair you have on hold for me… Polk SDA SRS 1.2 – I traveled to Denver CO to acquire these about 3 years ago. They have an interesting history, as they were once owned by member “madmaxx”, prior to his passing. They have been modified with the RDO194 tweeter upgrade, the woofer baskets are dynamatted, they have a full set of “Larry’s Rings”, and the SDA cable has been rebuilt with MIT cable and Nutrik connectors. NOTE – the SDA cable was NOT used for this evaluation. The signal chain: Source - Oppo BDP 105 running SACD, DVD-A, and FLAC. Preamp – Round one was completed with a 10-Octave line stage pre. The second and third rounds with a BillD C1 (Modified by B-Man – That’s right, I haven’t gotten around to modding a C1 for myself… yet…) Amps – Carver Silver 9t pair. Cables – Kimber Silver Streak ICs and MIT Shotgun S3 speaker cables. The Music: Dire Straits “Love Over Gold” SACD, Private Investigations. This is my new #1 test track. It really has it all – Imaging, detail, deep bass, a deeper soundstage, and tons of subtlty. Specifically, the xylophone is very prominent in the middle of the track, but its also present in the first half, albeit “hidden” by other instruments. How much of it you can hear (and how detailed it is) in the first half of the song is a function of your system synergy. There is a sound of breaking glass in the last ¼ of the track – this sound should be way beyond your front wall (behind your speakers) and to the left. When the deep bass hits, it must maintain its composure, and not color the mid bass. The high hat cymbal in the first half of the track should have the most subtle presence – almost a “kiss” of a sound. The guitar plucking is stunningly life-like, and it really should sound like Knopfler is right in the room with you. Fleetwood Mac “Rumors” DVD-A, Gold Dust Woman. I really only use this track for one thing (I don’t even particularly like the song, lol) – In the first minute of so, I’m listening for the separation between the cow bell, the high hat and the snare. That’s it. You should hear three VERY DISTINCT sounds – there should be no overlap or “meshing” of these three, as they were mic’d separately in the studio. Alison Krauss “A Hundred Miles Or More” FLAC, Jacob’s Dream. Alison’s voice is a tricky thing, as many of her songs start out soft and subtle, then 20-30 seconds in, she really opens up – Jacob’s Dream is no exception. I liken it to a race car going into a corner. Just like a racecar driver needs to choose his corner entry speed carefully, the Alison Krauss listener needs to choose their listening volume carefully. If you go in too fast, you are going to hit the wall – the same is true for listening level. If your system is well-assembled, you have plenty of power, a solid source, and perhaps most importantly great speakers, you’ll hold the corner and the result is goosebumps. If not, you WILL find yourself reaching for the remote to turn the volume down. I wish all artists put the level of importance that she does on quality recording – The detail of her recordings is truly a thing other artists should aspire to. The detail of her vocalizations, banjos, guitars and a real joy – acoustic bass- they all blend together for a memorable experience. Shawn Mullins “Soul’s Core Revival” FLAC, Ode To Billy Joe (Electronic). Shawn’s baritone voice can be a real challenge for crossover construction in 3+way systems. If there are any humps or valleys in the output, the result will be non-linear, and it WILL sound compromised. Shawn is another artist that takes great care in his recordings, and you will hear it in a well-defined and spacious sound stage. Klymaxx “Greatest Hits” FLAC, Man Sized Love. This track is just plain FUN, and it plays BIG – Tight, solid bass, big horns and great vocals. This track is just FULL of sound, yet all the sounds seem to have their own space. On great speakers you can play this song at truly “live” listening levels, and it will not be fatiguing, in fact it begs you to inch the volume “just a bit higher”… Ramin Djawadi “Game Of Thrones Season 6 Soundtrack” FLAC, Light Of The Seven. This is a piano and string composition from the HBO series. Surprisingly well recorded (for a soundtrack), the piano is quite well done – nice key strikes, pleasant decay, and when the strings come in it takes on a whole new level. One of my favorite mid range tests. Without further delay, here are the results: Here are our score sheets: Semi-Finals: And the finals: I am happy to report that the NHT was the CLEAR winner. It had incredible bass for a sealed 10” – deeper than I would have ever thought possible, taut and controlled with not even a hint of boom or flab. The melding of all the drivers into a coherent sound front is truly something to behold – absolutely no frequency dips or humps, and as stated all drivers sound as if they are one. Sound stage that is as deep as it is wide – close your eyes and the speakers just disappear. But perhaps the most impressive trait to both of us was their ability to present both the most subtle detail and the strongest crescendo side by side, and the subtle detail was never lost. Never. If you have the opportunity to give a pair a listen, do so. And if you have the opportunity to buy them, so much the better. Thanks for reading, and as promised, I’m headed back to the shadows… Peace.

The 2014 Carversite Reference Disc project has been a total blast to put together! I want to thank all the members that suggested tracks for this project. In my opinion, what makes this disc set special is two fold: First, it's a collection of what all of YOU personally use for your own reference tracks, not just what one person thinks up as an arbitrary "best tracks" list. Second, you all gave a brief narrative of what you listen for in these tracks, and I think that information has a lot of value. I would like to extend a special thank you to Rodney (weitrhino) for giving me a Lightscribe disc drive, which enabled me to etch the discs for a professional look, and speed up production considerably. Thank you sir! Here is the final track list and accompanying notes for you to refer to while listening: The Road To Hell, by Chris Rea. Submitted by B-Man The bass line is low, clean and well balanced with the rest of the disc; his voice has a bit of a rasp that sounds "right" on a good setup; dynamic range in general is very good. Definitely a reference song for me when auditioning a system. Ride Across The River, by Dire Straits. Submitted by B-Man Great example of a dynamic recording. Great for revealing system noise or high frequency issues / harshness. Good bass moments as well. Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow / Nanook Rubs It Off, by Frank Zappa. Submitted by SteveFord You'll know within 30 seconds if the amp/preamp/speakers, whatever is really good or bites. You've got the swirling snow sounds and then Frank's voice with Tina Turner and the Ikettes doing the background vocals. Is the bass too light or too heavy, are the vocals up front or recessed, does Frank sound life sized or like a dwarf, does his guitar sound like a razor blade or is it dull sounding, how are the dynamics, etc. Those are the tracks that I use. Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo, by Bela Fleck. Submitted by Fill35U For the low notes of the bass guitar, contrast of the piano, the dynamic range. Too Rich For My Blood, by Patricia Barber. Submitted by Toy Maker No notes have been submitted for this track. If you have a write-up of what you listen for, post it as a comment, and I’ll insert it here! When You Say Nothing At All, by Allison Krauss. Submitted by Daddyjt The real magic in this track is right in the first minute or so. The opening guitar should sound very crisp and smooth. It should not sound at all muddy or dull. When she starts singing, you should hear every detail, right down to the intake of breath. In the second sentence she sings, "…. You can light up the dark, listen for the "k" in dark. It should be a very subtle "kiss" of a sound, but very well defined. On some systems, it ranges from inaudible, to a muddy, incoherent sound. When the drums kick in, and she really opens up with her voice, your system should be able to handle the dynamic increase in volume without making you want to turn it down. It should be a powerful, slightly scary moment, as the overall system output jumps significantly. On MANY systems, this moment will come across as shrill, and very unpleasant. The bass should also be solid and deep, but not boomy. This is my number one track for judging equipment – Enjoy! Brother Where You Bound, by Supertramp. Submitted by Gene C The clarity in Ricks singing at the beginning before the drums hit. The system has to knock me out of my chair with that song. Private Investigations, by Dire Straits. Submitted by Doh-R Quiet details, highly defined passages, good dynamic range. Are You Receiving Me, by Golden Earring. Submitted by BluesMan57 Great imaging and separation. Give it a listen you will be surprised......... Battlestar Galactica Theme, by Erich Kunzel & The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Submitted by Daddyjt This track plays BIG, right from the opening drum hits. This will push your system to the lowest depths it can reach. What makes it useful, and somewhat unique, is the fact that while the bass is at maximum excursion, there is A LOT of other information being reproduced – from strong horns, to subtle flutes and triangle strikes. You should hear it ALL – a veritable buffet of sound. If your system is lacking power or dynamic output, the bass will rob all the power, and leave everything else flat. The last 20 seconds are a real test for ANY system! Your Latest Trick, by Dire Straits. Submitted by Daddyjt Outstanding trumpet intro, with a seamless transition to saxophone in the intro. Listen for the trumpet fade-out note, right before the sax and drum kit start. It should keep a clear tone, and not become "nasal" as it fades out. There are crystal clear cymbals, to the point that you should be able to distinguish the different types of cymbals being utilized. When the singing starts, you should actually hear the guy playing the sax walk away from the mic, and fade into the back of the stage – it should actually fall back away from you in your soundstage, and not just diminish in volume. The bass should be incredibly tight, and you should actually hear the bass drum skin being struck. This is one of the most well recorded tracks I have ever come across. Symphony #3, by Henryk Gorecki. Submitted by dcl Female soprano & orchestra in a moving performance–you will forget the gear & room when the sound is spot on or otherwise be up fidgeting. On The Road Again, by Katie Melua. Submitted by PDR All her material is very well recorded.....the "Dramatico" label. Norwegian Wood, by Patricia Barber Submitted by ? This one came to me in a PM that I deleted – Please post a comment with your notes on the track, and I will insert them! The Forecast Calls For Pain, by Robert Cray. Submitted by B-Man Good recording; clean bass line; good imaging capabilities. Ouverture, by Robin Vassy. Submitted by Weitrhino French/Iranian jazz. Vassy creates many of his own instruments so the sounds in this track fall outside the ordinary. I listen particularly to the hard plectrum sound from the plucked steel strings and the beautiful decay of the fading vibration sometimes with multiple strings in harmony. Additional instruments appear and disappear sometimes panning and sometimes precisely imaged in three dimensions. As the piece progresses the full band kicks in. The bass is deep and resonant but with a softer touch that evokes fingers in contrast to the hard plectrum sound of the other string instrument. This is an album that sounds particularly good on ribbons. The whole album is amazing and has the advantage of presenting something fresh. http://robinvassy.bandca...m/album/bon-voyage Dirty, by Johnny Winter. Submitted by Blues Pwr Originally released on vinyl in 1974, the song "Dirty" was a bonus track on the remastered CD released in 2008 from the original LP master tapes, which creates a crisp and clean recording. This song is just Johnny on acoustic slide guitar and vocals and a flute player(Jeremy Steig an American Jazz Flutist). Often criticized for his lack of vocal prowess, this song is perfect for his south Texas twang/growl. The flute playing is incredible, at times light and airy and the next second dirty and raspy. It contrasts sharply with the dark lyrics and Johnny’s acoustic slide guitar work. The flute playing will test the upper ranges of your system and reveal any weakness's it may have. Should be a real test for ribbon and super tweeters. This is unlike any other Johnny Winter song out there, which is probably why it was added as a bonus track, because it wouldn't fit on any other release. Well worth a listen, if you’re curious what real blues are supposed to sound like. Hush, Hush, Hush, by Paula Cole & Peter Gabriel. Submitted by Daddyjt This is a great track for sibilance (the correct reproduction of the "s" sound). Paula’s voice is almost a female falsetto, and can come across as very grating in poor speaker/amp combinations. A great deal of the information on this track sits right in the cross-over region on 2 way speakers. As such, it will test the anomalies created by your cross-over design. Peter’s voice carries a soft, yet grainy feel, and should seem to anchor the entire track. All-in-all, a great duo, and a nice listen. Son Of A Preacher Man, by Dusty Springfield. Submitted by kve777 For sibilance checking - Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" as found on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. I use various tracks on that CD for testing, but this is my go to track for speakers. I've passed on many deals just because this song sounded crappy. Powaqqatsi, by Philip Glass. Submitted by dcl A mid-piece crescendo merges vocal chorus & orchestra over the deep ostinato (hey, its Philip Glass). So, massed basses, percussion over which the chorus could be shrill at volume. Walking On Sacred Ground, by Janis Ian. Submitted by Daddyjt This track is great for testing mid-bass response. When done right, it is warm and inviting with a solid low end kick. The vocals should float above all the other instruments, and especially the bass line. Her voice should have a delicate, yet powerful sound. When done poorly, the bass is very muddy and ill-defined, and the lower notes lack any kind of kick – the whole thing turns into a dull mess that is rather unpleasant to listen to. This track also has the nasty ability to showcase rattles within your system and room. The Children’s Crusade, by Sting. Submitted by Daddyjt This track exhibits great texture – from Sting’s raspy voice, to the seemingly off-key piano. Good crescendos before the chorus take a lot of power to keep the different sounds separate, and not allow them to collapse into a jumbled mess. Listen for separation throughout, and solid transients. Frequency Sweeps, Low to High. Great for detecting and isolation rattles and resonances. Be careful at the higher frequencies, as prolonged sine waves can damage tweeters! Again, I’d like to thank everyone here for their help and input – I think this first go is a success, and I’m very proud of the results! Thinking maybe we do this again next year, but I’ll let all of you be the judge of whether or not we do it again… 

Hello my name is Rebecca Baldwin. Many of you knew my Uncle Barry Galvin who passed away last May. I'm here posting on behalf of his whole family we want to thank all of you for your support for him throughout his life he always spoke highly of of the friendships he had among his fellow Carver aficionados. I know that your collective love of music and sound kept his spirit going. We all miss him dearly but are glad he is no longer suffering. Although we are all still grieving for our loss we are working on sorting out his collection of sound equipment and electric parts. If it is ok with the admins I was hoping to post a list of the items in his collection to sell on the site. We want if possible for them to go to people who can use, fix and enjoy them. As you know Barry left behind one daughter Melissa and 2 grandsons Jacob and Jeremiah, money from the sale of the items will go to help them. Again thank you all for being there for Barry we really appreciate it. Thank you, Rebecca

I would like to give Extraordinary Honorable Mention To DennisMiller for going above and beyond with helping me and repairing my broken M-500t. Dennis is a phenomenal tech, extremely knowledgeable, and a very kind person. I don't think I ever met such an outstanding and benevolent person. Dennis is a real champion. Thanks to all the support on the CarverSite. Since I am not a electronics expert, I am very grateful for all the fine people I can go to here on the CarverSite. I would like to give a donation to the site in the name of DennisMiller. Can someone please tell me on how to go about this.

No More Booting Please.... Hey CS members. Just want to say I'm amazed at the amount of Carver knowledge on site.Tons of help/advice given to members.I appreciate you allowing me to become a part of such a great site. Little about me.... Purchased my first Carver system in 1991. Consisting of 2 TFM-42's,C-11, SD/A 450, TX-10 and TDR-2400..All sounding amazing through a pair of Polk SRS 1.2TL's..Over the past 12yrs or so the OCCD symptoms kicked in. also the proud owner of a pair of Silver 9T's, M 200t,1 TFM-15, 2 TFM- 25'S, 1 TFM -45 (looking for another), C-11( BILLD), C-1 stock, C-3,C-17, DPL-33, 3 more SD/A 450's and a Phase Linear Model 3300....Also a pair of Polk SRS 2.3TL's fully upgraded (VR3 Fortress V2).Still a work in progress, eventually would love to upgrade all amps/preamps. Again Many Thanks..... The Man Cave........ The New Look.. Now The Nudes....

Hello, I came upon this site while looking for a manual and schematic for a TFM 6-cb. This looks like a great user group and I hope to learn from the experience of others here. I am in my late 60s and this is the first solid state amplifier that I have owned. My audio interests have previously been with tube gear. I really like tube amps for how easy they are to restore, modify, and also because they seem like magic. My main amplifier is a Fisher X202-b, and I also listen to 1 wpc SET that is home brewed/up-cycled from a 50’s console. These sound great, but I wanted to expand my horizons a bit. Last night I just plugged in my first intentionally solid-state amp. This is a Carver TFM 6cb, which I just purchased on eBay. I was happy to find that it worked great, and sounded great to my ears. I listen in an average size bedroom, as a civilized, volume for a married man. I listen to blues, classic rock, and some jazz. My tastes and budget for audio gear is not too far up the scale. My need for wattage is also not very extreme, obviously. I first listened to a Carver amp at a stereo store in Minnesota in the 80s. I was very impressed then at the sound, but really did not have the money to act at the time. I purchased my TFM 6-CB from EBay this week, mainly for the purpose of hearing how it might drive my Cambridge Audio Ensemble speaker system, which I have had for few years (another EBay purchase). My Fisher tube amp, which puts out 16 watts of savage tube power, will adequately drive these speakers, but does require me to turn the volume knob up a bit. The Cambridge audio speakers are known to require higher current. Tubes, I understand, are voltage amplifiers rather than current amplifiers. Carver amps were held to be a good current source for these speakers back in the day, or so I have read it. The speakers which I usually use for my tube amps are Epos M12s. These are not especially sensitive (86 db) but are very easy to drive. I did enjoy what I heard last night of the new amp, and it does seem to drive the Cambridge Audio speakers very easily. I do like the Ensemble system for how flexible it is, letting me put the speakers exactly where I want them to be. If this were a vintage tube amp, I would have replaced all of the electrolytic capacitors, possibly even before testing it. I am less familiar with the longevity of capacitors from the 80s and beyond. Since I don’t hear any problem and it seems to be running very cool, I wonder if I can get by safely without replacing all of the electrolytic’s. In any case, I would love to get a PDF users, manual and schematic, and wonder if they were available at this site. Thanks for listening.

I've been into audio stuff for a while, heavily into it in the 90's with my car. Bought myself a PM-1.5t which I lent out and was never given back. Just found a 1.5t at a thrift store for $8. It works if you leave it on for about 1/2hr, but noisy A/F before that. Hoping to learn some stuff about this thing, and eventually bring it back to life.

Ah, a topic with which I am infinitely familiar... Snobbery is one way your new audio approach can be viewed, but unless the "snob" looks down upon everyone who doesn't achieve the same height I'd rather take that word as the response a limited mind has to stimulus that it can't yet grasp. Pardon me, lads, as I embark on one of my usual lengthy tales. Imagine if you will, you're a teenager, its 1978, and your only exposure to audio is the Kenwood receiver that your family has, along with some file cabinet-sized speakers, and some arcane Garrard or BIC record changer with the lengthy chrome skewer that holds half a dozen LPs in a stack waiting to be put into service during a night's listening. Your friends are in awe of this assemblage of gear. Its loud, its clear, and it looks joyful in its display of knobs and switches and flashy brushed metal bits. In short, its the dog's bollocks. Back in that era stereo stores had interesting names. You might come across Mad Marks or Stereo Stevens, or some other alliterative appellation. Or they had some very ambitious name like UK Power Company or TV & Stereo Towne, or what have you, something that indicated This Place Means Business. Generally, they were all identical with wall-mounted shelves full of the big four- Kenwood, JVC, Pioneer, Sony. You might occasionally wander into what passed for "high end", which meant Marantz or McIntosh. And then one fateful day you happen to be hopping stereo shops, and you happen upon a proper "hifi" shop. You walk in and see the usual receivers from lesser-known but good brands like Aiwa, Sansui, and Harman Kardon. But then the hand beckons you behind the curtain to the back "sound room" where you find out about these things called "separates", also known as "components". There also happens to be a wall of speakers from half a dozen brands you've never heard of. And the cost! A Perreaux amplifier for $1800... a four foot tall pair of JBL speakers for $1500... and the most amazing looking cassette deck ever, from some Japanese manufacturer called "Nakamichi" for the price of... well, that car you drove up to the store in would be a nice start. This "Dragon" appears to be something from the future, and its not easily passed by. There's a record player that looks like it was carved from a solid piece of walnut, with a straight arm on it, when all of the famous brands had these s-curved scimitars assaulting the vinyl, and it has precisely one control - an on/off rocker. For $900 it can only load and play one record at a time and you have to move the tonearm yourself! Who are all these companies? Polk, NAD, Robertson, Carver, dbx, Proton? If they were any good, where's the ads on the telly? Why are there no print ads proclaiming their greatness in Omni? Ah... KEF - I recognize that logo, those blokes in Tovil, but I thought that was just a simple foundry? They make speakers - I'm sorry, LOUDSPEAKERS - that look like furniture? And those in turn are absolutely embarrassed by the looks of these amazing ones from some company called "Canton"? I must hear these for myself, for I am amazed and overwhelmed. And a bit combative, as I'm not used to being taken by surprise. Guard up, healthy scepticism in place, on we go. "Of course you can have a demonstration. Do you have any music with you? Perhaps that cassette we see in your shirt pocket?" "Yes, certainly. Here you go - its Fastway's debut album," and I proudly hand the case over to the salesman. I look forward to hearing Fast Eddie Clarke galloping out of those allegedly fine speakers. He looks askance at it, then me, then proceeds to launch into a healthy diatribe against production cassettes... "Are you aware that these are mass-produced on machines that copy an entire cassette in a matter of seconds, at very high speed?" "No. Why is that a problem?" "Because the tape spends less time under the heads, and you miss a lot of important information. And the tape base is very low quality to begin with. And you see the shell edges? Compare them to this high quality Denon cassette - note the differences in the molding. The Denon cassette is very precise, the factory cassette looks like a prisoner carved it out of a bar of soap. The Denon shell will hold the tape material in a precise relationship to the heads. This thing... this white, plastic... thing... is garbage." Not knowing what to say, I suggest, "Well then what do you have to show me?" "Sit down there," he says, pointing to a pair of chairs in the center of the room, of which I choose one and place my bottom upon it, the rest of me following suit. He reaches for a favorite: Dark Side of the Moon. This is one of the best-produced albums of its era, or the era in which I sat upon that chair, or this era where we're talking about the quality of a recording. Whether one likes the Floyds or not, that album should be up for a Grammy nomination for engineering, perennially, and it should simply win. Or failing that, name the engineering award after that album and move on, and everyone who receives that award thereafter should be honored to have it and also feel a slight sting knowing that they'll never achieve that height. Whereas the rest of the rock world was trying to outdo the Phil Spector Wall of Sound, these gents from out of nowhere come up with this brilliant, restrained, detailed production. Everything had its place, nothing extraneous. Alan Parsons conquers the world, in one perfect album. He places that LP - which came in a slightly unusual sleeve which looked like the standard album cover but with a bright gold band across the top of it proclaiming that it was "Half Speed Mastered" or some similarly arcane term - upon said record player (henceforth to be known as a "turntable" lest you appear to be a complete Philistine), which oddly has been on and platter rotating this entire time, despite not having any vinyl upon it. And then, rather than simply placing the needle upon the vinyl and proceeding thusly, the salesman takes out a hand-sized tube covered in what appears to be velvet or microcloth, sprays it with some clear chemical, and then he places it lightly against the record surface, radially, and rotates the tube as the vinyl passes by underneath it. He shows me the surface of the tube, which now has a line of dusty lint upon it. "How often do you clean your LPs when you play them? You're supposed to do it before every listening session." "Um..." Then he grabs something that looks vaguely like a mustache trimmer, points it at the spindle and pushes a button, and then slowly draws his hand to the outside edge of the record. "Nagaoka static killer. It eliminates a lot of the pops you might hear." Then he says, "Choose a pair of speakers," so I point at the largest pair, from the aforementioned Polk. He makes some adjustments to a selector board, and sound begins to come out of the speakers. Its not the usual pops and crackles I was used to hearing from my home system, but rather this very quiet feeling that there was something coming through those speakers. And then, the first track "Speak to Me" began, leading into "Breathe". I was astounded. Where before I might have just acknowledged 'Yes, Pink Floyd is playing. Great stuff. Louder please!' now I noticed it wasn't just this monolithic sound. My home receiver could play it loud and it could also play it clear at the same time, but nothing like this. I could distinguish the instruments from each other, and the vocals were bright and lively. It was like leaving a small room for a larger one. When the album side ended, the salesman played a few other things on a new thing called a compact disc player. He chose a disc titled "Tricycle" from the group "Flim & the BBs". Not yet in stores, they had gotten it from a new studio - DMP - at the most recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Listening to this album I could hear not just individual instruments, but the actual work each band member was doing: the gliss of a pick hitting a string, the attack of the sticks upon the skins, the resonance of each drum cavity. Cymbals were so realistic I felt they were in my head. It seemed like I could even hear the room that each song was recorded in. And the whole thing appeared before me, with my eyes closed, in three glorious dimensions. I could point in space at where each instrument was located. I could note how far away from my chair those instruments were. Mentally, I had just walked out of the large room and left the house, and I was now experiencing the wild for the first time. My mind expanded further. I opened my eyes and began to focus on the equipment arrayed upon the shelves like jewelry. NAD, Hafler, Denon, Carver. I must have it. So I began showing up at the audio store every day. I began helping out. Eventually I began representing these products to people who walked in the store. One fine day I brought home a complete stack of Hafler components. A Denon CD player and turntable. A Nakamichi cassette deck. Monster cables. Those bizarre Nagaoka products. I was most likely the only person in their mid-teens who could have contemplated and achieved such a system in that day, in my entire area. So now that I've authored that little narrative, I come to my point. After hearing that system, that first day, I'd say I wouldn't want to go back to listening to anything from Kenwood or Sony or Pioneer. Yes they all made excellent equipment for the time, very solidly built. It played loud and clear, and there were no complaints, but once you hear precise detail in three dimensions, at volume levels ranging from quiet to comfortable to garment-rustling, there's no chance of going back to mass market audio. Well, there's a slim chance, perhaps if thats all there was to listen to, but I'd say there was a better chance of a snake making it across a busy highway on a frigid winter's day. And even less chance that I'd have a Sanyo car stereo (there's a story there for another time). One cannot achieve sonic bliss and then go back to dreck. There was a very talented American science fiction author who used to relate a story of something called "Chandresekhar's Other Limit". Apparently a scientist who drafted the first specification of the limit of mass on a stable white dwarf star, Chandresekhar also got into a bit of philosophy when he tried to explain how there are barriers one can cross where one finds it impossible to impart understanding to those one leaves behind. In his example, Chanresekhar told of a dragonfly larva, born into a stream or pond or other body of water. The surface of the water was a barrier to them, and the water was their entire existence. They had no idea what was beyond the barrier. As the larvae matured, occasionally one would approach that barrier, pass through, and never be seen again. Did they die? Well, one of the larvae, a strong bold fellow, announced that he would be the one who would return and let them all know what lay beyond the barrier. As the time passed he felt drawn to it, and one fateful day he pierced that barrier and moved beyond it. His newly-found wings unfurled, he launched into the open air, and he suddenly knew his purpose. He looked down at the water, determined to return and fulfill his promise, yet he couldn't. If he landed in the water he was at risk of death, and if he tried to swim below the surface he would drown. Forlornly, he took off into the sky, hoping that everyone he left behind would soon be along. And so, after some time listening to high fidelity equipment, with well-recorded source material - something basically unknown in popular music - you find yourself unable to return. Its not snobbery, its just that you've grown, and you simply can't go back. Did this make sense? I'd like to think so, otherwise I'm just being a pretentious prat. Carry on, lads.

Hi All - I was directed to this forum from AudioKarma. I have a PSC-50 that needs a power button & board and a TFM-35 with one-dead-channel that needs me to diagnose and fix it. I've never owned any other Carver gear before, but have been curious and that's how I scratched the itch. But ... they've been sitting in the garage for 7 years (!) so I've decided it's high time to get them going. I'd really like to hear how they sound someday 💤 Looking forward to exploring the site!

^This. Not someone trying to take advantage of our mutual grief. This is my cousin. I give her great respect, she was able to post on here what I could not bring myself to do. In regards to the equipment for sale if she is allowed to post, I will be going up in a few weeks to retrieve my dad's car and empty the storage unit. There. Are. Many. MANY. Pieces of equipment. Whatever is sold or spoken for, I will mail personally when I get up there in town so that my cousin does not have to. Anything that does not sell will be sold at a local electronics shop. I will hate doing that, but I cannot afford to keep the storage unit. Nor do I have space for it at my home in Tennessee. I would much rather all of his equipment go to y'all in his favorite community. Buying in bulk is also an option if you live close enough to pick it up. Thanks so much. ❤️ Melissa

Working for Bob is great. Dealing with clowns on the internet is not. As you may have noticed, most of the legendary designers in this industry have been under attack in the measurement based forums. Bascom King, John Curl, Bob Carver and others.. The measurement site boys try and play gotcha somehow, as if everyone is a liar but them, claiming some sort of holy than thou mind game, with their groupies on their heels. The latest is a guy who works for Bottlehead Amps who makes $2000 kit amps that make 8 watts, posting on a site that our 350 watt amps make 8 watts at 1Kh.. That company has a disclaimer saying, since it is a kit, they are not responsible for their 8 watt claim or the amps performance. Needless to say, I was little irritated that someone would get measurements so far from actual, and actually post this deception on-line. Anyone can say anything they want to damage a company. Then others on-line expect companies to waste time and resources responding to their post. To me, saying an amp that makes 357 watts RMS at 1k and saying it makes 8 watts is basically a liar. His groupies say my character is questionable due to the 275 and those issues. They believe his results and don't understand my being defensive. It's all good. I'll avoid those forums. People can claim whatever they want, with products of unknown condition that are sent in off the street, and attack companies. Unfortunately people read their garbage. Like in the latest attack from a bozo who works for another tube amp company. Nice. Lets all play the same game, and cut each others throats, shale we? How's the hobby then? Everyone can listen to a Topping because it measures best on ASR.. I probably shouldn't post while angry, but after a couple days of it, I need to vent.. Life is too short to chase jerks around the internet ,and act subservient to their BS and judgement of my attitude.. Their damn right I got an attitude. We are building the best Carver products possible from excellent designs that Bob has created. We are a start-up, of a handful of people working hard to get the legacy right. When you are Bob Carver, the little tiny men will take cheap shots at the biggest guy in the room. Bobs told me "this is just someone trying to make a name for themselves, taking shots at Bob Carver, Its been this way all my life." After finding out this bozo works for a tube amp company, his motive is clear and Bob was 100% correct. If someone wants to buy a Carver, they can try it in their system at home, risk free, against the competition for a month. This the most honest way in the world to sell equipment and stay above this internet full of trash posting people, acting as if they are righteous and helping the consumer. Americans are missing out on some great products. Look at the Munich hi fi show. I have asked company reps, why don't you sell in the USA? Answer: They sue too much.. Pass Labs sells the majority of their products outside the USA.. All new Bob Carver products will meet CE and world standards for export. There is a reason Bob Carver is world famous and the hacks are, who? People with fake names hiding behind their computer, throwing stones at the legends of the hobby to pump their fragile ego.. Sign of the times I suppose. If an amp company won't let you try the product, without a restock fee, that should tell people more than any internet hacks review. Keep it Fun. Enjoy the music! Jim Clark

I was fortunate enough to be able to schedule a visit to see Bob and Peggy, with several members, last weekend when visiting my family. Jim and Lerma Clark hosted us at the new factory offices of Bob Carver Company. Plenty of music, stories and NEW GEAR to share. @Nahash5150 @xavionics @zumbini@Ar9Jim Some with significant others! (It was great to see Jenn doing well.) Here is the only picture (of 30) where someone's eyes weren't closed

Here is a some info that will be posted on the new website and store. Bob wrote this today. The web designer, Ron K, will put his touches on it. Ron is the same guy that has worked with Bob for decades and did the Carver ads back in the 1980s. I'll post the final version in a separate post when its finished. Bob Carver Amplifier Design Philosophy - What Sounds Good? Since the early days, after earning my physics degrees, my approach to audio design has created controversy. My unconventional approach has brought both criticism and accolades. World wide recognition for achieving musical excellence for my wonderful fans, while offering a more affordable product, compared to most other brands of comparable products, is a great pursuit. My amplifiers have often been smaller, lighter and less costly than others, while remaining powerful, musical, and accurate. These designs and their musical performance, compared to others are quite successful. What Makes An Amplifier Sound good? Dynamic power, low distortion and wide frequency response. My tube amplifiers have high voltage (B+) and the power supplies have ability to ‘bounce' and increase voltage, closely tracking the musical load with very little distortion.This is an important key to a musical performance. Do You Design Amplifiers Using Load Resistors or Speakers? Both. On my bench I start out with resistors, then I use different speakers, with a scope and voltmeter connected, while playing music and measuring the amp and speakers reacting together. The back EMF that is present makes speakers slightly easier to drive. Power response, by design, tapers below 80Hz, yet frequency response goes below 20Hz. My designs will drive difficult loudspeaker loads, playing music far better than the specifications listed, without clipping, and with lots of headroom available. These long held design targets have served the industry well. The designs have delivered excellent performing, highly musical products that more people could afford, without sacrificing the powerful and musical performance when powering loudspeakers. Stay tuned for more of my very latest designs and the on-line store coming soon.

Thank you for accepting my application! I have been meaning to come here for several months now, as I was sent here by another member to read-up on the Carver C1, and a modification called the Bill D. Early last winter, I was selling a subwoofer on the local classifieds. I received a call within a few hours from a guy saying he was interested, but was about 45 minutes away, and couldn’t make it out for 2 days (Toole is about 1/2 hour from Salt Lake). I agreed to hold it for him, and he came out as promised 2 days later. When he got here, I had the sub hooked up to demonstrate, and we listened for a couple minutes to a disc set he brought that is actually from this very site. I was blown away by the tracks he played, and said as much. He insisted that I keep the CD set, as he said he had another. I love the set, and use it a lot. When we went to get the box for the sub, he saw my Polk SDA 2 speakers, and asked if they were for sale. When I said no, he asked why I wasn’t using them. I showed him that 2 of the speaker wire nuts were broken, and that I didn’t have the cable connecting the 2 speakers together any more. At his insistence, we removed the plates that hold the speaker nuts, and he methodically marked and removed all the wires. He said he could fix me up, and get my Polks back up and running, so I trusted him to take the plates. 2 weeks later, he was back at my house. He had replaced ALL or the speaker wire nuts with beautiful gold ones, AND made a new cable to connect the speakers together! He installed all of this, and helped me move the speakers into position. We (mostly him, as I am not up to too much of that any more) got everything hooked up, and I was speechless. That wonderful Polk sound I remembered was back! I have listened to them almost every day since. And on top of all that, he wouldn’t let me pay him for any of it - he said he already had all the parts, and it was an easy job. We talked a little bit about the Polk sound, and he said what if I told you there was an even greater audio genius than Mr Polk? That of course Mr Carver. He told me that Carver made the Polk SDA sound into his preamps instead of the speaker, so the effect could be used on many other speakers. So here I am, looking at the C1. I have a feeling this is going to be a fun place to visit, and I thank you again for accepting me. Brian

my complete system with photos of my "re-bulbed" M500T and my recently restored Thorens TD-165 Turntable with custom plinth and upgraded TP16 MK I tonearm

Good plan. Fuses are cheaper than drivers... For fuse sizing I start by contacting the speaker manufacturer for a recommendation. If that's not possible, or the OEM won't help, you can estimate the size using this chart: As to whether to use a time delay or fast acting fuse, that depends on the application. If the expected failure mode is due to excessive cone excursion I use fast acting. If the concern is overheating the voice coil a time delay fuse is more appropriate. In either case I start with a fuse smaller than what is recommended and work my way up.

Let's christen this thread with some Rush!

Something a little different than "What are you listening to" for those of us into jazz. Not reissues, but newly released albums. Please introduce the artist/group and a little info about the album. A link to an album cover is cool, videos are not necessary. I'll go first Latest discovery: Thicker than Water by Brian Bromberg. Brian is an accomplished bass player both electric & acoustic. The album was released in July of 2018

I have been meaning to join for years. Another life goal accomplished. I have some of Bob's gear. A Cinema Grand II signature and a M-4.0t. As good as I will ever need I think.

Greetings from far left corner of the map. I found this site searching for information on the DTL 200mk2. I've been an audio enthusiast for as long as I remember, starting with my dad’s Silvertone Hi-fi. My first introduction to Carver was from a Stereo Review advertisement of Bob Carver's magnetic field amplifier challenge with Stereophile Magazine. I thought, if he can do this in a hotel room the equipment from the factory must something to have. Over the years I have acquired several items, (no speakers), that get pressed into service. Looking forward to sharing and exchanging with likeminded aficionados.

Hello Everyone, I recently retired, have many hobbies, and enjoy electronics in the winter. Over the last couple of months, I restored a few vintage power amplifiers from the 70's. I created an account on this site because I own a Sunfire subwoofer since the late 90's which is still working today, just purchased a dead one, and since I've been able to get it working, I will be doing a full restoration. I figured that it is time for me to share any knowledge or info that may be helpful for others and have just started doing so on other forums. Thanks, Bob

Ready to ship out:

I went and saw this yesterday, and it was fabulous. It was courageously honest in its portrayal of the life of Freddy and his struggles, but it was done in a very considerate and respectful manner. It had some incredibly humorous moments, and some very touching moments. The portrayal of the Live-Aide concert was pure goose-bump material. Great cast too. I cannot recommend this film highly enough. If you are even a passing Queen fan, go see it.

I promised this a while back, and actually completed it in October with my audio buddy Travis. The initial question - What sounds better, SACD or DVD Audio? I happen to have three (3) different albums in both formats, AND I have all three on CD (FLAC) as well. I will start by saying that this sounds like a fun challenge, but I assure you, it was anything but. I found it difficult, annoying, and frustrating AND it had the added bonus of pretty much burning me out on these albums. In fact, I was so annoyed with the whole challenge that I neglected to even write it up here. Then a couple days ago, @MLB111 kindly inquires about the results. Shit. I suppose I should publish them, if for no other reason that to dissuade anyone else from venturing down this path. To make matters worse, I cannot locate my original notes - but I can remember a lot of it, so I enlisted my son’s help (he’s just getting in to the hobby, and starting to learn the ins and outs of high quality audio). I’m going to break it up into 3 parts - one for each album, mainly because it’s tedious and exhausting, as you’ll soon see. The system - Oppo 105 to BillD C1 to Silver 9t pair, to NHT 2.9 speakers. Kimber and MIT ICs, and MIT Terminator 4 speaker cables. The album - The Nightfly, by Donald Fagen - SACD, DVDA, FLAC. Whenever I do something like this, with media OR gear, I tend to listen to the overall presentation of course, but for the real substantive measures, I tend to focus in on the smallest, most subtle details I can find in the recording, and compare those details - wether it be between speakers, amps, or in this case, SACD and DVDA. * I cannot stress this point enough before I continue - the differences between these discs (SACD & DVDA) are so subtle and so slight that even identifying them was exceedingly painstaking. Further, these differences would most likely NEVER manifest in normal listening and comparison * For Nightfly, I found the most differences in two tracks: Track #1, I.G.Y., and track #5, New Frontier. #1, I.G.Y. = at the 52 second mark, right as the intro ends, and the trumpet fades and the vocals start, there is a very slight cymbal that is completely different that the prior cymbal cadence. It’s one strike, slightly left of center and a couple feet behind the speaker plane. The same cymbal strike happens again at 1:25, 2:10, and a few more times later in the track (sorry, I didn’t feel like listing them all). This cymbal is more prominent in the DVDA. It is a bit more “buried” in the SACD version, and not as defined. At the 2:08 mark, there is a snappy bass “flurry”. The SACD presents this with a tiny bit more “pop”, and a better “edge” the the string plucks. As I listened to this track for perhaps the 20th time in this sitting (ugh), I turned to my son half way through and said “is that a tambourine ?” I have listened to this track many times in the past, and I don’t EVER remember a tambourine. Back to the start of the track, and sure enough, no tambourine. It actually comes in at the 1:28 mark. It’s subtle, and EASILY mistaken for a cymbal. The DVDA does a better (slightly) job of defining the individual cymbal-ettes (?) around the circumference of the tambourine than does the SACD. #5, New Frontier = At 1:30 (and again at 2:40) there is a distinctly different guitar sound solid.y in the left channel. It’s tone is so different that it is almost distracting. The SACD did a better job of blending this into the overall presentation - However I’m not positive that’s a good thing, so take it for what it’s worth. In the intro, there is a cowbell in the percussion. On the DVDA, it sounds more like a cowbell - on the SACD, it lacks some of the “metallic” overtones, rendering it almost more like a wood block, than a cowbell. There is also a harmonica solidly in the right channel in the intro. On the DVDA, this harmonica is considerably more forward and distinguishable. On the SACD, it is markedly buried in the mix of other sounds in the right side of the soundstage - THIS is the most significant difference in the two discs. Overall, the edge here goes to the DVDA - the subtleties noted above, and a very slight edge in overall clarity and separation of the many instruments is the reason I feel the SACD comes up ever so slightly short. Again, I cannot stress the small measures here - it literally took hours to determine the differences. As for CD and/or FLAC, the differences there are significant - width of sound stage, detail in the specifics listed above, and overall dynamics give a clear edge the either of the high res formats over CD or FLAC.

About 20 years or so I purchased Sunfire equipment. The Sunfire tubed pre-amp and 2 channel amp. Nice rookie purchase. Paired them with Kirksaeter speakers. Wow, did that match work. in a bad move,i sold the Pre-amp 2015. The Kirksaeters are also gone. I’ve now paired the Sunfire amp with an Audiolab integrated amp and Klipsch Forte speakers. Sounds good. Not like the Sunfire system. Gonna be chasing that ghost forever. Cheers to Bob and the Sunfire squad.

Hi Folks, I'm simply trying to replace some of my vintage gear lost through divorce... I live in Northern Indiana (Warsaw, between South Bend and Fort Wayne) and am hoping to find someone who can do the Bill D upgrade for me when I buy another C-1 off of eBay or Facebook. I don't mind driving a couple hundred miles to deliver it and then pick it up. Of course it would be be really nice to find one for sale that already has the Bill D upgrade, but chances of that are slim! If anyone knows of someone within driving distance (or someone that I can ship it to) that can do the upgrade for me I would be most grateful. Thanks so much, Tom

track 1 Introduction track 2 Loudspeaker phasing track 3 Absolute phase track 4 Frequency response 1KHz, 15KHz, 10KHz, 5KHz, 100Hz, 50Hz track 5 Frequency response 1KHz, 24Hz, 16Hz track 6 Log sweep track 7 Electrical Balance track 8 Autocorrelator adjustment track 9 Peak unlimiter adjustment track 10 Time delay and echo density track 11 Introduction to tracks 12, 13 and 14 track 12 Noise bursts track 13 Music track 14 Holographically encoded music track 15 Stereo pink noise

Thanks for the addition into the group. My first pieces of Carver equipment came by way of accident. I worked in Woodenville, Washington making custom furniture for a shop called "Regency Oak". Next door was Bob Carver's building. We traded a custom made cabinet to Bob and received a M-0.5 Amplifier and a CT-7 Tuner. I still have both pieces today. About two years ago, I decided to get an audio room together and met Greg and Jenny. So far I've added a pair of AL-III Oak trimmed speakers, a C-11 Preamp with the BillD mod, and two black faced M-500t MKII Amps. Right after getting these items my audio room (in the basement) flooded but I managed to save all the gear. The room has been rebuilt now and I can't thank Greg and Jenny enough for helping me along with this hobby. Electronics are "some kind of sorcery" to me so will be asking a lot of questions. The one thing we will all have in common is a love and appreciation of music. Thanks again, Terry

I really should say hello to everyone since I Am a newb to this forum. I joined this forum after lurking on it for awhile and realized there are quite a few people very versed in electronics here. Way beyond my level. My music equipment voyage started in the early 70’s with the baddest radio shack speakers and zenith stereo,just a smokin! Then jumped into SAE amp and equalizer.Nice stuff. From there two different carver receivers and then ct23 and tfm35x, which I jam to now in my shop, to the likes of Robin Trower, Stevie Ray, jimmy lane,Melvin Taylor,etc. Still crank the tunes at concert levels at 60 yrs young in my man cave and build hot rods!!

You will notice there is now a feed for the most recent Featured Topics. These are topics of special interest from various categories chosen by the moderators. Enjoy!

To all the good people on our forum - Greg and I have been working to get everyone's medals assigned. As of 11:15 AM ET today (9/16/2018) I believe I have finished going through the original site list. If you feel I have missed one you had previously, please send me a PM so I can look into it. Please be patient because we all have day jobs too. ? Thanks for your patience. Brian

After almost 25 years of not buying any home audio gear, I have jumped in with both feet. Just purchased a new to me, Carver M500T amp and C2 Preamplifier. They arrived yesterday, Going to swap out the old Denon AVR later today. Im running a great pair of B&W 686 but I plan to get more substantial speakers soon. Looking forward to the forum. Cheers Chris Newfoundland, Canada

Hello all. I recently acquired some carver gear. An M500t amp and a TFM 35 amp. Looking for some direction on the M500. I understand it’s a dual voltage unit using low and high voltages on the rails. My issue is the relay doesn’t close upon power up. I’m leaning toward the op amp or something in that circuit. All the rectifiers check out good but I’m only getting around 30v on the low V side. Not the 40v it’s showing in the manual. The relay is good as I have supplied 24v to the coil to test it. I know these amps are different than most I’ve worked on but I’m ready to tackle this one. Thanks in advance for any input and I look forward to interacting with all of you. Cheers.

Hi everyone who reads this, greetings from the center of Europe - Poland. My name is Łukasz and I have been walking around this world since 97' so relatively recently, the only Carver product I have at home is the Car Audio Carver M-4120 amplifier, I must admit that in the future I would like to rebuild it because it is in poor visual condition, but technically it is efficient. Carver is not the only amplifier I keep at home, unfortunately I got sick with collecting about two years ago and I have about 20 other amplifiers from the 80'-00' era and still growing. I realize that 90% of the people here are people who deal with Home Audio, but I hope that we will get along somehow. Best regards

Hello, We made Bob aware of the controversy, from what will prove to be faulty measurement technics for the 275 on some forums by an individual. WRF (Wayne) having built and tested one of the amps in the original post has been great trying to educate. Bob gave me this letter as a response to post. I'll post it here and then ask Bob to answer any questions The Carver Site members may have first. We can/will repost the answers to your questions to the other sites. Not to sound bitter (because Bobs not) but I don't wish to draw clicks to their site. Better to draw attention here. Bob is busy designing a cool new amp called the 2180. 2x180 watts with 2-KT120 per channel. In most tube amps, the grid voltage is 1/2 the plate voltage. Bob has been working with a different voltage ratio between plate and grid with hand wound transformers. The prototype hand wound transformer made 200 watts driving one channel . The prototype factory production transformer should be ready for Bob and his assistant to test in 2 weeks.. I'll gather the questions on Mondays and give them to Bob for a reply.. Here's the note from Bob and his reply to a couple popular questions I had ask. Crimson/Raven 275 The current 275 is the best amplifier that I’ve ever designed. It is extremely powerful and it has a smooth and sweet musical voice. I have been building and designing amplifiers for approximately 50 years in my lifetime and in those 50 years I’ve been attacked and I’ve been vilified for my designs. My designs have also won many accolades and many awards and I’m very happy about that. Designing amplifiers has been my life’s passion and I cannot imagine doing anything that’s more fun or intellectually challenging or more rewarding. This amplifier has enormous power, an enormously wide frequency response and the best sound that I’ve ever been able to produce in my almost 30 years of amplifier design and building. I can remember walking on the pathways at the University of Washington with Tim De Paravicini and we had beautiful, beautiful talks about amplifiers, loudspeakers but mostly about amplifiers. Amplifiers were our passion. My amplifier knowledge today, when I compare it to my early knowledge, I find that my early knowledge was as scarce and meager kind. But no longer. This new amplifier design is my very best work. I have given it a voice that is large and a voice that has detailed imaging within the larger voice and it’s what I’ve always strived for. For now this is Bob Carver signing off. Thank you I invite any and all questions. So if anybody has a question or several questions, please just ask and I will answer. QUESTION: Bob, how can a 75 watt tube amp use such small output transformers and be lightweight ? ANSWER: I've always designed amplifiers that had lots of power and lighter weight than others designs. The transformer size can be made smaller by using fine wire and specified materials. There is no magic, because it adds inefficiencies in other ways like power, but the design has more than enough power. QUESTION: Bob, A guy is claiming a 275 makes 17 watts with strange distortion numbers any thoughts? ANSWER: Thats ridiculous, a 75 watt amp.. Isn't it obvious? It is being test wrong or its damaged.. My amps can be difficult to test, difficult to get the grounding correct. I've been dealing with people testing my designs wrong and getting grounding errors effecting measurements, most of my life. QUESTION: Bob is it fair to say that you design amplifiers for reproducing music into dynamic loudspeaker loads, more so than focusing on reproducing sine waves into load resistors? ANSWER: There is some truth to that. My amps can perform way above there power rating for a time, a time being several seconds. MORE QUESTIONS, ASK HERE.. The Carver Site is the place for answers. Have fun. Enjoy! Sincerely, Jim Clark.

Hello all! I hope you're enjoying the Carversite! and all it has to offer. The current Administrators are: wrf - Lead Administrator Nahash5150 - Tech Staff AndrewJohn - Community Administrator The current Moderators are: Sk1bum - Chief Global Moderator An Administrator's job is to protect the community. Admins also assign medals/badges, approve new arrivals, organize the boards, moderate threads, assign roles, maintain the database, enforce the rules, and manage complaints. They also present ideas to the leadership for possible implementation. The Lead Administrator sets the agenda and the rules and manages all the Member Groups. The Community Administrator keeps the information organized, performs regular tasks, and manages the Moderators. Moderators keep the boards safe and fun. Moderators are not here to stifle free-speech, arm-twist or intimidate participants. They ensure that threads are kept organized and remain on-topic, and as active participants themselves, preserve the spirit of the community. Moderators, like the Admins, are here for you so that you feel welcome to share and participate without the worry of being harassed or flamed for it. If you have just signed up, then you are Inbound rank. You have limited access and you can't upload files yet. In order to advance to basic membership, you need over 6 positive reputation points. Reactions, such as 'thank you' to your content increase your positive reputation. There are three basic member Roles: Novice Member Resident A Novice is new to the forum. They have limited access but can participate in the most popular forums such as Way Offscale and The Chain. In order to advance to Member, we expect a certain amount of activity to evaluate their willingness to be a part of the community. The post count required to advance to Member is 20. A Member is considered an active participant. They have nearly full access to the site and its resources, and can progress in rank and earn medals by sharing their experiences in the audio world with the Site. As time goes on, a Member can eventually become a Resident or play a role as part of the Administration. A Resident is a highly active member who calls this place 'home' and acts as a council member with the Administration. Residents are participants who are willing to take on the challenge of discussing site policies and provide the site with valuable resources - such as funds, time and talents. Greatly concerned for the site's well-being, Residents work hard to welcome new 'inbounds', encourage participation by starting topics of interest - and offer Karmas, skills and knowledge to all who visit. There are two consequential Roles: Retired Sandbox A Retired Member is a participant who has either shown a disinterest in the community but has not violated the rules, or one who has 'moved on' and no longer wishes to be an active member. This is not a disdained Role, but a Role for members who for one reason or another, do not wish to be part of the community's growth (for example). Retirement is a friendly, mutual agreement between the administration and the member. Retired members have limited access. When a participant is Sandboxed, they have violated the forums rules. A warning is always issued before a participant is Sandboxed. If the warning is ignored, and participant continues to break rules or cause trouble - an Administrator, with the consent of the Moderators, will curtail their activity for an indefinite amount of time. Removal of the Sandbox status can only be done by the Site Owner or Administrator. This forum has a lot of options for you to find information, participate, and organize how you read and keep up with activity. Remember that you can do the following: - Follow a Topic (so that if anyone posts to it, you are notified) - Follow a Member (so that you are notified of Status Updates and more) - Post a Status Update (a personal message for your friends that is public access) - Send Private messages - View Activity according to date, member, or topic (check 'Activity' in the top menu) - Post pictures and even create a gallery (Novice or above rank) - Share links, videos and files - Browse technical Manuals, white papers and spec sheets And so much more! Our goal is to maintain a site that is welcoming, helpful, courteous and fun. With audio and Carver as our common ground, we wish to stay focused on the music, and all the creativity that results. Have a great day! Hashy

I have been busy and have been doing some trading with other people I know that are into this. 1st trade was for some Snell C7 speakers, These are big and heavy but they do sound really good still evaluating but so far seem to blend with my system more than the Quad Z-4's. They have two 4 1/2" and a 1" silk dome tweeter in a "D Appolito" array actually designed by Joseph D Appolito. Two 8" opposed side firing woofers and another 1" rear firing silk dome tweeter. All drivers are from Seas and they have anodized aluminum tops and highlights. Bass extends down into the low 30's and they almost do not need a sub. These were a little tricky for setup but managed to find their sweet spot. I am really impressed with these so far though. So in the mists of all of that I had a chance to get some Martin Logan Theos. Martin Logan has always been on my list but has always alluded to me. So far I am utterly impressed with them, makes me wish that I would have tried them out earlier. I am hearing new stuff in music that I have listened to hundreds of times. The sweet spot seems to be narrower though. Still trying to take it all in and will do some more evaluating this weekend. I also picked up a Paradigm Reference sub 12, not sure where it's going to fit into the grand scheme of things but too good of a deal to pass up. It's been serviced and the caps replaced, it's an 88 lb absolute best of a sub. The SVS SB 3000's have broken in nicely and sound excellent, I would highly recommend them. So I will be busy for a while evaluating and doing some listening, I have also got a bunch of new to me Cd's as well, yes I still do Cd's, lol.

Hello Everyone - I just recently retired and am in the process of getting back to my favorite hobby - audio gear restoration! I have a few Carver units of my own that i plan to rebuild, and while searching for information came across this site. Looks like there are more vintage audio people out there than i thought! So for now - just signed up and posted to say hello and hope to participate in the future. 3P I

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.

Hi Carver-fans! It's amazing to see such a devoted group of followers. I picked up a used M500t off of C/L back in 2015 or so and have been enjoying it since. I have it running a warmed up pair of Polk 10Bs. It is currently fed by an Adcom GFP-565 Pre. I have a C-2 but it will needs a thorough cleaning. Anyway, within the last 30 minutes, my M500t was delivered to Greg for the mkII upgrade! I always felt like the left channel was louder than the right, and upon power up, there has always been this short "bungggg..." sound from the chassis. I felt it was time to get this done! I'm excited! It's good to be here, Thanks, Dan

Hi, I've been visiting intermittently for a number of years - but only recently created an account because... I acquired a set of Carver Amazing's Platinum Edition (Oak). I am quite certain this is the used audio acquisition of a lifetime. Fun story how I obtained these. Last year my wife said she saw a set of large speakers for FREE on a Facebook list called "free things for local pickup". I was floored that she even brought my attention to such large speakers. Boy am I glad I married the right girl! Several hours later I am the owner of a working set of Carver Platinum's. The owner, a woman, had passed away some years ago - she was a musician and audiophile. Her son had many of her things in offsite storage. Two trips in the largest SUV I could borrow and I was in business. In a word - they are amazing However, I noticed the bass is lacking. I dove in and found all 8 woofers surrounds are completely disintegrated. Last weekend I finished refoaming the surrounds. I've previously completely restored JBL L100s. So I'm looking at the crossovers and finish and considering further improvements. If you hit like and get me to "Novice" I'll post photos! John McTurnan

Hi. I'm a little crazy man from Sweden, as my father is a musician playing the banjo I have been interested i music all my life. Started my quest for good sound with a 2x2W Philips tube amp. Have gradually climbed the ladder against the sound nirvana. About 8 years ago I stumbled over a nice set of B&W800 series 80. They sounded nice but thin with my Pioneer M73. I upgraded with NAD318, it became better, then I was offered a pair of Carver PM1.5a and 2x450W made a difference but still I felt that they had more to offer. Bridged the Carvers and WOW I was blown away by the sound origin from the eighties. The bass shaked my walls and neighbours in the next villa complained about bass. Lived happy with this until january this year when I found a couple of B&W800D within my budget. (sold the old B&W800 for more than they cost me) They did better with the Carvers in Bi-amping and now I wait for a PM1200 coming om friday. It will replaced the PM1.5 driving middle/high on B&W. I bought two Marantz Ma-9s1 monoblock to replace my carver amps but they are for sale again, the old Carvers are far better then Marantz hi priced heawy monoblock. As I am in a wheelshair since eight years after an accident and quit work I have lot of time to experiment with my gear and enjoy music and movies with great sound and picture. It's a great hobby. One more thing, I have a PM1.5 driving a Dayton Titanic12 inch DIY sub and it is perfect on both music and movies.

Hello to you all! I was referred here by Paul. After listening to his Carver setup of amps, pre-amps, processors, and most significantly his Amazing Silver's, I was so bowled over with the real life listening experience, I had to purchase a set of pristine ALS Platinum MkIV's in oak that were available for local pickup. The good man that Paul is, he went with me, in HIS Suburban, to inspect, pickup, load, and then setup at my house. What a DUDE! I spent four hours adjusting positioning of speakers and listening couch. When I finally did the right toe-in just right, the stage snapped into focus but also expanded in width and depth. I've been enjoying listening sessions, morning and night, but also notice the sound is great throughout the whole house. It's natural, smooth and un-strained. Piano and strings are sooo lifelike! I'll post a couple pics soon, but wanted to make and introductions and also send thanks to Paul Regards and Happy Listening, Albikes

MERRY CHRISTMAS....remember the reason for the season!

A group of members that all seem to log on in the mornings about coffee time, were chatting this morning and having a good time enjoying each others company, like we do most mornings. One of the members commented on how nice it is to have the site back up and reliable again, and suggested that we thank Greg for his service to the site we all enjoy so much. Couldn't agree more!! Here's to you Nahash5150 our friend ! Thanks for driving this bus through the storm and high winds and keeping it on the road and safe.. We enjoy it very much, and thank you kindly for your service to the rest of us.. Here's to Greg Garska! Who had big shoes to fill after the great RichP, a man who was nothing short of genius.. Great job Greg! Give a shout out to this man if you enjoy Carversite..

I always loved this song so I found this very interesting....