AndrewJohn

I'm guessing some of you are my contemporaries, and know about the EPI speaker line. They defined what was known as "The East Coast Speaker Sound"..., not sure what that is, I like what I hear when I play them. OK, so how do you repair Epi speakers? There is a former employee of the EPI company, in Newberryport, MA, his name is Huw Powell. He has a website called www.HumanSpeakers.com and has been providing replacement parts and services on old parts (like rebuilding the inverted dome tweeters) for years. Super nice guy, I like talking to him on the phone. If you have ever seen the original product catalog, I imagine he was one of the early "hippies" that worked there, making speakers. Did I mention that EPI originally occupied an old mill building in Newberryport (now it's apartments) that prior to being a speaker factory, it was for decades, a "coffin" factory..., which might have contributed to the design of the large towers... LoL True story, not about the M602's, but about me "sneaking into the back door" a pair of the M1000 towers..., my wife drove up, at the precise moment, and I was busted..., without knowing the folklore, she said..., "well, at least you can be buried in them." Back to the M602 project... So, after contacting Huw at Human Speakers, I decided I'd refurbish these in phases. He had a full "kit" (which he "makes" each time, he doesn't inventory much) that included 6 new drivers, 6 new tweeters, and 2 new crossovers. His drivers are better than the originals, obviously, as well as his new tweeters. And he also modified the crossover. I opted to replace the drivers only, in phase 1 of my refurbish/restore project. Well, the new drivers arrived today! Yay!

OK, so what I have are these..., You can see in the speaker on the bottom, that someone has replaced (two - the other one is on the other side) of the drivers with non-standard (junk) Pyle speakers. These are both 8ohm impedance, and the foam has dried out. Junk. These speakers I found in an antique thrift shop, with several dozen "vendor booths" that I came across in Wisconsin, while picking up a Denon Turntable..., they were lying among a bunch of junk (not audio stuff). I made an offer, hoping it would be refused, but upon the person at the counter (these were unmanned antique booths) calling the booth vendor, they took my offer..., That was likely 4-5 years ago, and I'm finally getting around to working on them. Hard to tell in the pictures, but the white crumbs at the bottom of the upper speaker is just dust dirt or maybe white styrofoam crumbs. The cabinets and grills are in mint condition. The upper speaker has a correct driver, the lower speaker has the Pyle junk speakers mounted in them - one you can see, the other is on the back..., I'll get some better pictures when I pull these out.

Some know I have had an affinity for EPI speakers. I've owned every one of the Burhoe-designed first line coming out in the 70's. Some say that EPI (Epicure) sold more speakers than any other speaker manufacturer ever. Thier initial line is in this picture. Excepting for the simpler designs, all Burhoe's designs (he's still designing speakers) have reflective driver positioning which accounts for the soundstage they produce. He also used a common driver and tweeter design, changing the models by changing cabinets. One model, the M602, was designed in a shape similar to Bose 901's, but with fewer drivers. It was unique, as it was the only one of the original line to use unique drivers with the same physical dimensions, but different impedance (2ohm, vs 8ohm) Here's Burhoe's original line - and yes, I have a pair of the "coffin" sized towers - and they are glorious. The only model I have not (yet) heard is the M602, front and center in the picture below. I have high hopes, and am excited, as they are the third-most rare to find model.

From threads on other forums, namely Roon's forums..., this is a function of a few things..., first, simplification. Second, MQA..., the promise is not delivering..., value is diminished..., and third market economics and competition. The competition item, we don't see much.., but globally, there are dozens of services like this that we are blind to, that have genres that we don't generally experience..., the US and "the west" is a smallish fraction of the world's global music when considering how big other countries in Africa, Asia (China/Siberia), Latin America, and the Middle East in aggregate make up. It's big-market thinking, and that helps lower costs for everyone. To grow, these services have to expand, and consider a much bigger picture than what we typically imagine - very smart thinking - and we benefit. No conspiracy theories - just good business.

Welcome @Heat sink. Glad you found us. I think you need a picture for your avatar, that represents your handle "heat Sink"... 😉 When you get a chance, be sure to post some pictures of your Carver gear..., and any projects you might have, put in your project threads to share! Glad you joined, welcome!

I don't recall the limit, @wrf may know. I do know that HUGE high rez photos fill our servers up quickly, and in general it's best to reduce them, since massive files won't display any better on a normal pc screen or phone anyway, with all the unnecessary resolution. I always reduce images to generallized average visible resolution - sometimes I forget, but have not bumped into a limit myself. Oh, Also, an iPhone will limit what it can "export" to other applications, too. There's a whole lot of behind-the-scenes logic that Apple does..., that may also be limiting. For me, I never post pictures from my iphone to TCS - I always mail them to myself, then from my PC post them to TCS running in my browser on the PC. That may be why I've never encountered an issue.

Welcome, @Tom Charles, glad you found us. Don't forget to post a picture of your gear! Brag a little visually 😉

Welcome, @JMichael, glad you found us. That is very capable gear, for sure! Post a picture. What speakers are you driving with the M4.0t?

Assuming you fixed it, initially/primarily, to use it, I say, enjoy it, until you are ready to upgrade..., if ever. Me? I love the C-2, and it's the preamp in my office system. Been doing duty there for years, and will continue as it matches the rest of the gear of that line, in the office stack. TX-2 tuner, m200t amp, and DTL-50 CD player. I cannot complain, at all. I also have another C-2 I use for testing gear on the bench..., small, capable, useful little preamp.

Welcome, @StanWit, do glad you found us. Can't wait to see a picture of that nice setup you have.

Using a Tube Tester Getter Flasher. Why tubes are mirrored, Fran Labs. Great content producer!

Welcome to the site, @caophan. You use the King's English with the word "joint" for us American English word "Joined"... Where are you located? Lots of info on the site, and thank you for posting a picture of your rig! I have similar..., both the Amazings and ALIII+ speakers.

Welcome to the site, @SWBoss, glad you found us. this is the place with lots of information. I had a TFM-35x as one of my first amps. Great little amp. Did you check the Manuals Library for the service manual? Check out the menu at the top of the home page, click on manuals, and you should find it there.

Sounds like a good follow-up question? 😉 hell, why not see how low he'll go on the price, offer him a low-ball ... , indicating "since these are not really Bob Carver Amps..., and no 10 year warranty..., how about $950?

Great idea. some simple percale, flannel, or even terry or light material (like what bed sheets are made of, for the top, sides, and back of the cover. The front might be something more interesting like quilted or? to dress up the background of the Bob Carver logo. ...in thinking about this - the back needs some flexibility stretch or elasticity, to deal with all the cabling and rats-nests we have acrued over the years.

What about if the approach is "by platform"..., meaning, the footprint of these amps is close, right? (I'm not going and measuring mine at the moment..., but if the length and width is fairly standard, and the height, perhaps, for manufacturing simplicity, the design is 1x, 2x, or 3x height? Yes, I know the m500 is a tad taller, but may be close enough? What I'm thinking, @Ar9Jim, is if you made a standard cover option for SS gear, and sell it for 1-component, 2-component, or 3-component heights. Then put the Carver logo on the front, centered. Let buyers choose based on how tall their stack is in terms of the number of components high, they have in their stack. Just in general, though, for me, my rack is pretty tight, I couldn't slip them off and on easily. However, for anyone that has their stack on top of a piece of furniture, like, say a sideboard or table or?, they could easily cover and uncover their stack. ...just a thought, on how to make this simple, so you don't have to create a cover unique to each SS amp made. ...the issues? I see: 1. the m500 is slightly taller, as noted above. 2. the m500 has optional handles, changing the width - I would ignore this... 3. Some of the TFM amps (the 55 and 35, have optional handles affecting width. 4. Some components, like the SD/A 390t also have optional handles. 5. Some of the black faced components are taller than amps, e.g., a Tape Deck, 6. Some components have different depths, e.g., the SD/A 490t - easily hidden, so not really an issue. If volume (clarifying: the number of units!, not the audio volume LoL) is low, none of these would prevent a standardized amp cover from meeting the needs of a lot of amp owners. Worthless information, I'm sure - just a few thoughts worth absolutely nothing.

Seems like in plain English, that's an admission that they are "counterfeit"..., and, well, who knows what is actually under the hood in the chassis. Could be left over parts for Bob's design..., might be Wyred4Sound's amp design..., or an abomination. Most buyers would not have a clue. Jim might have to change his phone number LoL!

It's been an exceptional experience and pleasure to have had Barry as part of this community. Spending time on the phone with him during the final weeks, for me, is only exceeded by meeting first Melissa @Eliothei, and now you, @RebeccaB It's interesting to see his legacy and connections continue. And you both are welcome here, anytime to share memories and/or grieve as a part of the community. Barry knew, and spoke with Bob Carver himself, as he had that relationship. Bob called him in the hospital as coordinated with @Ar9Jim at the time. While Bob is not a member of this site as he is too busy - know that the connection Barry had with Bob Carver and this community rand very very deep. He's missed. As for your question, Yes, the FS/WTB forum is the right place. Typically, when selling a list of gear, and this is my suggestion, to simplify it for you and Melissa, Please inventory a list of the gear, Carver and non-carver that you want to list here. Put that list in one thread, title it appropriately as Barry's Estate Sale or ? We have a method for sending Private Messages on the forum. Invite people to send you PM's (see the little "letter mail" icon at the top right of the screen) In your thread, invite people to show interest in some pieces by private message. Private messages can be sent to both you and Melissa, if you like - in the To field, two addresses can be added. Then, as you sell an item, I suggest you post an updated list periodically maybe daily, as things sell, annotating the items that you sold. by putting SOLD after the line item in the list. Please just ask if I'm not clear above. I think this is the best way to avoid confusion (PM's will reduce super long threads) and effort to post separate items in separate threads. It is how others have done this in the past, as well (e.g., @Rob is moving soon, and liquidated much gear this way. You can also "bump" a post if activity declines (we'll watch for that too, to keep it active). Great to hear from Barry's family, you are part of this Carver community now, too. Just ask, if I can help..., I may be interested in some items Barry told me about in the back of his closet. And, as Melissa knows, I have a Turntable from his collection that I enjoy. 😉 One last thing, if you need ideas on pricing, please just ask - it is subjective, of course, and dependent on condition. Most here are fair people - and would want to help Melissa and her family.

Welcome, @SBrekken, so glad you found us. @4krow is the resident expert on C-9 sonic holography generators, and DIY questions. And, if you are not a DIY'er, I do believe that Nelion Audio also does C-9's for full refresh. Check out: https://nelionaudio.com/index.php?/services.html/carver/carverpreamps/carver-c-9-restore-r6/

Welcome @Olskool, we love pictures! Glad you found us. looking forward to learning more about your Carver Journey...

Welcome @Dementia5, glad you found us. Give us an update! Pictures? Love to see how you come out on this one.

Welcome @miccheck, glad you found us. Can't wait to see some pictures of your Carver gear!

Jim has a point, and a very good one. Check out Audio Karma, and do a search on "fraud"..., and you might come up with a number of the "usual suspects." Seriously, I did. Then, do the google search on their name, and see precisely what Jim is talking about. A very sad state when you consider all the names of note and notoriety, and ultimately, "infamy." When one goes to AXPONA, and sees these characters, walking around - pompous - and with an entourage of followers taken in by their con game..., one has to shake their head at the corruption. I've actually had to turn around and walk away from more than one of these guys, at an audio event where they keep getting invited to "speak" like they are worthy. ...felt like that one night I had, back in college..., followed by preventative penicillin. Yet, people are seduced by them.

Welcome, @Atomic Trent, glad you found The Carver Site. Lots of "knowledge" to be had on this site! 😉

Welcoem to the site, @Vitums Sound Labs. Tell us some more about your journey, and current gear. Pictures? We love pictures. 😉