4krow

Hmm, that does happen from time to time. Just packed up the other C-9 today for shipment to Texas. I believe that I have just enough stuff to do another.

Welcome Ben, Always good to hear a story like that. What might help is for you to pop the top and show some good photos. That isn't automatically part of troubleshooting, but you are going to be headed there any way. I can't be certain, but we have a fairly extensive set of service manuals at this site and so that is a good place to start. You will meet some folks here that know a thing or two about this gear.

Looked on eBay for the hell of it. This may not be real glass, but I saw chip in it and then wondered if it might be. WTH is poly glass? Look at 1/4" Thick Tinted Rectangle Poly Glass Window It is for a boat. It costs $29+$9 for shipping. It is a pair. Sorry that I cannot be of help for links and crap like that.

This went deeper than I had anticipated. You found these in unlikely place for an unlikely price. Glass tops may fall into your lap. Don't go out for quotes, go hunting instead. I am not that big into trying to find what I need just anywhere, but then sometimes I end up at this recycling type store with OMG results. You have done this much on a chance. Either local or some weird little place you wouldn't normally think of.

I'll be dammed. It was Montgomery Ward 'Airline'. I don't remember it.

Sears Silvertone, Montgomery wards *****, I forget, and RCA Victor's Golden Throat. We had a Magnavox.

Welcome. Yes, the Stereophile/Carver challenge was a head turner for a lot of us. Not that there weren't really cool products, but more than a few were not going to be owned us anytime soon. I owned some the others and I have owned some of the Carver. I am still stricken by what I have heard from the one Carver A220 that I owned. It wasn't Carver's top model or anything, yet there was an undeniable clarity that, if I hadn't already committed to a year long amp project, I still would have the Carver without a second thought.

Thanks for finding us. And you know, pop the top of that unit and take some in focus photos. We have a library of service manuals that may be of great help. What level of electronics experience do you have?

Who among us doesn't have amps issues? Welcome.

Well that does it, I'm screwed. I totally get the connection, but the math thing is my curse in life.

Maybe it is better to know what frequencies that rubber vs cork attenuate/control. What comes to mind for me is a rolled-on coating that can be built up by coats on two different opposing surfaces giving you constrained layering (the same idea as cork or rubber). I would venture a guess that the two slabs being used for this be of two different thicknesses. This is a subject that has always been of interest to me.

It's a good question. Personally, I have never had any objections to the C-9 to begin with, hence my love affair with it for decades. Let's go this way--- buy one get one keep one, or return one for your money back. That has been my policy from the beginning and if I haven't misspoken, it is the Carver way as well. You be the judge, you decide. >>> So as I queried before, can these be preordered?<<<

I was able to buy machinists' 2" thick marble slabs for much less than I thought they would be. I think that they were 11" X 14" which was just right for the small mono blocks that I was using. Not that it matters but they were machined to one ten thousandth of an inch. I have to ask, if you are concerned with vibration migrating into the tubes, just how loud are you going to be playing music? And what are you using for bass? If it is a sub, then perhaps there is reason for this thinking, but in normal terms, I don't think that you will be able to hear any effect of the airborne or otherwise vibration that the tubes have to endure. I would say otherwise with a tube that is high in microphonics such as the miniature 3S4.

I do appreciate this explanation. Specs and numbers get regularly fouled up by sales staff among others as well. You know, if you say something with enough conviction it assures the listener that your opinion has merit. Again, there is nothing like an in home test for this. Dam all the specs. What does it sound like in your environment? Even then, you better give your opinion some time to settle in.

I remember the first review that I read in Stereophile when it was still a small format Readers digest sort of looking thing. The review was for a set of Altec Lansing speakers that cost $13,000. IIRC, they were 3 way active speakers and very large. Back in that day, I wasn't aware of any company charging that amount for any given speaker, but I was still new to high end audio. J. Gorden Holt tore them a new hole with his review. I don't think that he appreciated any aspect of the speakers and I was taken back by the review in general. I get that you don't care for a design, but to nearly condemn the product from top to bottom almost seemed suspicious to me. Of course I appreciate the honesty that can be given, but at least a bit of diplomacy alongside it would raise my opinion of the reviewer. Another important fact that I try to live by is to consider the source. The source in this case seemed to be a nasty old man who didn't care what other people thought. If you could read past that impression and still try to get some kind of feeling from the reviewer besides being a total ass, it still might have merit. Those like Julian Hirsch however ride the other side of the fence, and I get more from the review but not enough. One of the worst case scenarios were reviews from Consumer Reports, who really should have stuck to washing machine reviews. Lastly, I also do not put a huge amount of weight behind customer reviews because of a sort of expectation bias, lack of knowledge in some cases, and not knowing the total impact of a system (including room) for their listening environment. I completely agree with the in home listening trial if it is allowed by the seller. >>> I have always been a big fan of the Carver challenge. Let's test the listeners as well as the equipment! <<<

It's something how a balance control can be a thread in its own right. I wasn't aware of the issues until I decided to put a balance control in one of my units. In my next build I am going with the stacked volume pots (well, not physically stacked, but you get my meaning), as that solves the balance control issue in an elegant way.

I just ordered a bunch of those pushbutton switches. They look to be neatly placed on the front of those components. How do you like the spring action of these switches? looking closer at the circuit board, I see only 3 leads going to the balance control instead of 6. How does that work? I am happy that you made a unit that has remote SH. A very useful idea. Someday, I will be able to discover how I might be able to place a volume type control in place of the SH IN/OUT switch. Hafler did it to his iteration of SH and it was very useful. Some recordings didn't require as much manipulation as others.

Could it be preordered?

I would like to add an observation about a policy that I try to follow. It is pretty general. When asked, you can comment diplomatically and still make the point. Moreover, it makes less sense to criticize that which cannot be changed, such as a person's height. The clothes that they choose to wear gives latitude however. Yes, this applies elsewhere, especially when asked. "How would you like your amp sir?" "Bottles or sand?" Jim, I have a former friend who had good intention but a poor way of expressing himself. Or was he just playing a game? You see, he could be diplomatic, but he also was the master of left-handed compliments. Sorry, I must make clear that I am not referring to what has been said in this thread (so why post here? It hit a nerve). In my former friend's case, he seemed to think that I didn't know the difference. I am the first to admit that I am way too sensitive, and it is my loss more often than one might think. Especially when you make a product and then put it out there for all to see. You will hear BS both ways. Some will cheer it on like high school cheerleaders. Others will throw stones as if it were to be a poor attempt just because it is different (genius). Still others may give their honest opinion diplomatically.

>>>TP&PM<<< Just got Tom Petty's Dam the Torpedoes in today. Warming up the phono pre now.. Didn't ever own this one before. Also, Paul McCartney's Venus and Mars.

I am in an unspoken group. My extent of Carver gear has been lean. The C-9, H9-AV, Time Lens, C1, an A220 power amp, and one of the CD players, maybe the 390T. Of those units, two stood out. The A220 and the C-9. The H9-AV was a close second though. Firstly, I realize that the rest of the system either likes these units or doesn't for whatever mismatch, match or whatever. Depending on the Carver model that we are discussing, the quality of the older Carver units ranges quite a bit more than I would like. Reminds me of the later Marantz stuff (1980's) that I wouldn't own. Funny to admit, but in between and here and there, I have owned some Chinese or other low quality builds. I can't figure it out but every now and then one of them would sound great. In fact, if they offered it in quality build, it would probably be in my system now. But I cannot or will not own junk even if I like the sound. I am not happy if something is little, light, and has bunch of crap jammed into it. Because of that thinking, I would be happier with the heavier 285 Carver power amp, and that is assuming all things being equal. Jim, I am with you about social media here. There are plenty of forums or websites that I avoid because of how things and topics are handled. It frustrates me and that makes no sense to me, so I leave. If I were in your position I would be beyond frustration. But from my perspective I don't really have to sell anyone on the type of oil in my car, the certain way that my attic is insulated, the gun that I like to own and so much more. If I had to put any of that out there, the instant shit show would occur. Last year was it? When the raffle was going on for that Carver power amp, I actually did hope to win it, but the reason for the raffle was well worth it to me too. I wanted to hear what people were talking about. But you know, I would just as soon buy a different set of drivers for my speaker cabinets just to acoustically match the cabinets a bit better. Yup, I am all over the map. I am too old to be a cheerleader for any one brand.... Just a few that still know how to make quality equipment.

IME, passives are called 'passive' for a reason. When I suggested adding a buffer to a passive that he built for me 30 years ago, at that time he shrugged his shoulders. Then he did it and was very impressed with the result. For whatever reason in that case expecting a good result directly from a CD player to Forte' 3 power amp was as mentioned above, lifeless. I am sure that not all buffers are the same. The least impressive was one that I built years ago using a 6SN7 tube. Suffice it to say that I suspect that it had far more to do with circuit design than choice of tubes used.

Steve, There is always more to do out there, right? I am glad to hear that some of us are still around with the curiosity and knowledge to attempt recovery of an older piece of gear. You are most welcome here, and it is always good to get good quality photos of your present projects.

I really thought that I had something cool when I found a PS Audio preamp from the beginning of time. I forget the model, and even tried to work past the kind of circuit board that Jim posted about. To sum up it ended up in the trash, and I put a different circuit in instead. It turned out 'ok' but nothing that I would brag about. Even worse, it had survived a fire, but probably not as well as it looked. The rubber feet were melted. That ought to tell a story right there. After that I mostly stick to kits/designs that I know to trust.