Ar9Jim

There are many reasons people enjoy this hobby. It is many things to many people really. You have the music in common in each case, but the reasons are many and no one is wrong in pursuing whatever aspects they enjoy.. Some collectors get a thrill out of 78s on a Edison machine do to the collector appeal, over the quality of the reproduction. Personally, I don't care to listen to one but some do. They like the cool mechanics and whatever and thats cool. Some collect based on designers thats product just sounds right to them like Carver, Pass, Johnson, Levingson and on and on. No one is correct in saying they are the best, because we are different animals. I have been to a guys house thats system had glare and brightness that was nearly painful and he thought it was great. Many old school guys stayed away from EQs and claimed they caused phase shifts and a collapse of the soundstage depth and or width. In the 1980s that was often the case in my experience. Some love digital, some are analog only and have no use for digital audio at all. Some enjoy the tweaking. Just like cars, bikes or any hobby and some spend big on small differences. If they enjoy that and have disposable income then that is good. I have done a bit of tweaking trying some NOS tubes and things because I like to tweak things and hear different brands and construction of tubes. They do have differences, better or not is opinion. I don't spend heavy on cables because I can't justify the cost vs the difference I hear between a $50 cable and a $500 cable. The $450 difference is better off kept in my pocket, but thats just me and my personal economics. Some spend more on a cable, than I spend on a car and enjoy it I suppose, or they wouldn't do it. It a great hobby, so many people enjoy so many aspects of it. We all listen, but some record, do mods and repairs, some tweak solid state, some tweak tubes and on and on and on. What ever people enjoy about the audio hobby its all good. Seen a lot of really cool stuff and systems here in the members systems sections.. I'm just glad to have missed that one with the "swinging dick"..

Interesting thread.. One time decades ago, 2 guys in a white van said, "hey were from Chicago making deliveries and we are done for the day". "We have an extra pair of speakers by mistake and would sell them cheap".. We were at a Burger King parking lot. Didn't buy any, but read lots of White Van stories since then.. You would think they would change the color of the vans by now.. Lol.

Welcome Sir. Great to have you here.. If the site crashes, please be patient.. It is being updated and the crashes are only temporary..

Congrats on a great score Wayne .. There's a youtube video.. I couldn't post the link.. It's inside the Martin Logan plant.. Youtube search- electrostatic speakers, How its made.. Pretty amazing.

Welcome to CS.. Please excuse the site crashes, its under update..

Thanks Dom.. Watching this and enjoying.. The high end parts make this build a work of art to me.. Pretty.. Those speakers were a dream of mine and still are..

Welcome to CS.. Wonderful system you have.. OCCD and Polk fever, your among friends..

If you still have your NTH speakers then you already have some great speakers.. Congrats on the new home.. Cheers

I brought home a bunch of CDs from work that had been exposed to a machine shop environment for years. Many of them won't play and should likely be thrown away.. One time last summer I bought some used CDs at a second hand disc store. They had a heavy duty looking machine behind the counter, and the salesman looked at each CD as he rang up the total.. He noticed some scratches and ran a couple of the disc through his machine. It took about 5 minutes each so I looked around the store some more.. The disc looked like new when the machine was done with them. I noticed a bunch of consumer type machines for this purpose. Anyone tried these and found one that works well? Thanks.

Those "try it in your own home" offers than Magnepan has, tempted me at times... Wretched place? Loveland, Co.. When you live in northern IL, Loveland is called vacation.. Lol.. Trade ya houses..

I see the ones your looking at now... Its the aluminum flat driver that is out of stock forever... Someone here has likely tried the cone "upgrade" because of the availability .. Maybe Uncle Meat or Pmat would know.. Anyway, welcome..

Things may have changed by now.. I had heard they are still listed on the site, but have shown out of stock forever.. In stock again?

I enjoy listening to jazz and ran into recordings on the label, Heads Up.. A couple great artist on this label imho are Walter Beasley and Marion Meadows... The recordings I have heard by this label have been terrific.. Anybody else here enjoy the jazz on this label?

Agree.. Humidity causing a change in the frame seems to be the issue in either case.. Sealing wood products against moisture offers some control and protection from those forces of nature.. If they vary enough to fail at 60 % humidity as measured, than they are likely not sealed well and would likely get worse with time and age.. A coat of something thin like Thompsons water seal might control the variable. If I ever have one apart I'll try it..

Congrats Jack. Happy to know you.

Seems to be common with Carver ribbons to start buzzing and are effected by humidity changes.. Sea (Ed) has data on this and can predict issues based on conditions reliably.. The question is this, why when the frame swells slightly is the ribbon tension reduced and the buzz occurs? If it swells should it not get an increase in tension? I have seen a similar situation when making some aircraft parts from thick wall aluminum tubing (temp related but still similar). I think I can explain and maybe we can cure the issue.. While the frame is expanding as it absorbs humidity (HDF,MDF or whatever) and becoming larger overall, it is really expanding in cross section.. While the outside will grow, it is possible for the inside to shrink at the same time because of the material change in cross section... I have seen thick wall tubing grow from warming on the OD while the ID lost diameter at the same time.. The humidity is doing this to our porous material. Sea, Can you dry these in a room with an electric heater and seal the frames with lacquer or maybe some kind of green product?. Should help stabilize these for a more consistent performance.. If they could be in a room with low humidity and then sealed it could help alot.. Maybe you could offer it as an option on your rebuilds?

Welcome Brian.. Enjoy Carversite.. The site is under repair.. If it crashes, know that it will get better..

Welcome to CS.. Enjoy.

Welcome Steve! I spent many hours at "Crazy Lenny's" as a 16 yr old with a drivers license... Driving from Elm Grove to Madison. I went on a Mac and Cheese diet and sold my meal tickets at UW so I could buy a Hafler Amp kit there. Itch Crazy Lenny from America of Madison.. Was there many times... Remember when you could spend a couple hundred bucks and get a free 10 speed bike!!!! Ended up the largest bike dealer in the US for awhile.. Ya know itch your pretty old if you remember that...?

Welcome Steve. Enjoy the ride!

Knob sent.. Hey LT, Charlie sent a bag of extra C2 knobs along with the karma preamps he was so kind to offer.. With your permission I will sent a knob to Jim. They are not a perfect match but fit well and could be painted black, no charge to him.

Welcome to CS Jim. Glad you found us. Many of us have similar experiences to yours and can relate entirely.. If the cleaning doesn't resolve the issue or if you want to recap or upgrade your C1 or amp, I can help you.. Because we are both near Chicago I can give you loaner gear to use so you can keep the music going during repairs..This could be a chance to sample other Carver gear as well.. Regardless, we got you covered and your gear will sing again..

I'll be near Chicago on Thursday. I have a knob as well. Pm sent.

Thanks for the info. Russ.. Wasn't sure of their construction but they do sound different from the standard Illinois film caps I use, so I felt sure they were different in construction but wasn't sure of the type.. Do you notice one being better than the other or just a bit different flavor? Electrically they do the same job and many engineers say a cap is a cap regardless... I hear a difference but can't really say one is better or worse than the other, just different flavor so to speak.

Used Dayton 1% tolerance in AR90s and Solens in AR9s.. They seem about the same.. Used the 1% tolerance to achieve a closer match between L and R speakers. It is said that cap matching is a benefit to imaging. Use quality parts from a trusted source to avoid fake junk.. Anything with such a huge price spread is likely to be counterfeited.. Like most things you reach a point of diminishing returns.. A point the cost increases a lot, and gains are difficult to identify.. Different construction can sound different like Russ (Uncle meat) mentioned.. I have some similar tube amps. One has poly caps and another has Jupiter Vintage tone caps.. There is a difference but which one is better would be a matter of personal taste imho..