My story...
after delving into the theater realm back around 2k, my 2-channel system had been collecting dust in the den. Recently decided to get back into 2-channel audio. Well... it's a little more involved than that. The impetus was an old theater receiver (Technics SA-AX7/SH-AC500D) that I had sitting in a closet. Decided to put together a 2 channel system for my office. Picked up a pair of Polk Audio RTi12s at Fry's when they were on sale ($600/pr). Sounded like crap in the store, tho after a little investigating, discovered someone had jacked the treble WAY up on the receiver the were connected to, & one of the speakers was missing it's jumpers, so only mids/highs were functioning on that one. The drama wasn't over once I got them home & unpacked. Cosmetically, the Polks were perfect... but detected a buzz in the mids after firing them up. Of course, the store where I purchased had no more in stock, and I'd had bad luck with the other nearby store... so I contacted Polk directly. They informed me the speakers had a 5 year warranty. Emailed the speaker serial numbers & a copy of the receipt, and a few days later, 2 new mid drivers showed up on my doorstep. Sounded much better, tho the ole Technics wasn't doing them justice... and I had read that the Polks respond well to more power. So... that started me down a slippery slope. Since most of my listening in the office would be digital sources, picked up a Sony TA-E1000ESD digital preamp for $100 (WITH remote!) off of Craigslist. Then picked up a Yamaha M-45 power amp for the mids/highs & a Yamaha M-65 power amp for the bottom end. The difference in sound quality was quite stunning. Since my mid-80s vintage cd player (NAD 5340) had digital/coax out, put that into the system, tho I have to say, my Panasonic dvd player (with HDCD decoding) sounds better via optical/toslink. So... this whole sequence of events got me to thinking I should revive my 2 channel system that has been languishing in the den.
Back in the mid 80s, I bought a Carver M-500t amp & C-1 preamp brand new (Sensuous Sound, Tampa, Florida). I ran them to a pair of Infinity RS-9b bookshelf speakers. My college roommate & I built a homemade subwoofer (dual 10s, in sealed enclosures) & used a Cerwin Vega passive crossover (110 Hz). The NAD 5340 was also added in the mid 80s (Kubans, Sarasota, FL), as was a Yamaha TX-900U tuner and Aiwa AD-F990 cassette deck. I was very happy with that system over the years, and it served me well into the late 90s. While living in Charlotte, NC, I stumbled onto a pair of Carver Amazing Platinums in the local rag (Creative Loafing). If memory serves, I picked them up for $1100 from the original owner, WITH the original boxes. Naturally, the M-500t wasn't quite up to the task, so I bought a second one off of Ebay & horizontally bi-amped them (I know... a mistake). Around 2k2, I had the ribbons rebuilt by Dave Sauter. Shortly thereafter, the 2 channel system was moved to the living room, to make room for the theater system in the family room. As a result, the 2-channel system has seen very little use since.
Setting up the system in the office has re-energized me to revive my BETTER 2 channel system in the den. I have several options at this point. In addition to the C-1 and (2) M-500t's, I also recently acquired a C-4000t and (2) M-1.5t's (sucker for a good deal). Have debated running the M-500t's in mono configuration for the ribbons, and the M-1.5t's in mono configuration for the woofers. Or, I could do the MkII mods to the M-500t's & leave off the M-1.5t's. Or... could sell the M-1.5t's & buy two more M-500t's & have (4) M-500t's all in mono configuration. Geez, the M-500t's are getting hard to find in decent shape, and WITH the rack handles.
Admittedly, the system still will not see a LOT of use... the 7.2 system in the living room gets the bulk of my listening, just because of the location. Nonetheless, it's time to resurrect the Carver system. I have cases of vinyl stored away, & want to use the Carver system to get back into it (once I purchase a new turntable). My last turntable was destroyed by the moving company (broke the counterweight clean off of the tonearm- no big deal, was a cheap Pioneer turntable from the early 80s).
And once I finish this project, it'll likely be time to upgrade the living room theater system to 4K & ATMOS... always something on the horizon! Anyhow, that's my story!
