Kurt

Welcome to the Carver Site!

Welcome to the Carver Site!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Carver site!

Welcome to the Carver Site! Carver receivers are under-appreciated in my opinion. I have one and it's awesome. 35 years old, no updates or refurbs, sounds great!

Welcome to the carver site!

Welcome to the site! You'll find interest here, potentially in what you are selling. Lot's of OCCD here (Obsessive Carver Collecting Disorder).

welcome to the Carver Site! You have a great list of gear there... Did you have to do any refurb on the reel to reel deck? I'm working on an old TEAC right now.

Welcome to the Carver Site from a fellow GenX er! My advice for shopping for Carver gear (or any used audio gear ). I've done a lot of this... I have what we call on this site: "OCCD" Obsessive Carver Collecting Disorder. -Get familiar with current prices on ebay/US audiomart, etc.... all the bigger resale sites. There is some variability, but you can get a sense for what a Carver unit will go for. Make sure to differentiate from units that are being sold as "parts only", or "turns on/working", or "refurbished". And, don't forget to include shipping costs. At the end of the day, what can look like a deal turns out to be something that may need lots of work, or maybe has an excessive shipping cost. -Get familiar with refurbishment costs (unless you plan to DIY). As many have mentioned, Nelion is a great place to have your gear refurbished, but that will add to your investment. -Then, if you can be patient, look for person to person local deals, FB marketplace, Craigslist, Garage/Estate sales, thrift stores, etc. I have bought almost all of my gear locally, over time. The advantages: No shipping cost, you can physically try out the gear, touch it/see it, before buying. And, for whatever reason, people who sell locally seem more inclined to lower prices- vs those who are "flipping" units on ebay for example. -Lastly, watch this site for gear sales or even "Karma" opportunities. (Some members will actually give away gear here on this site from time to time). The people on this site will not steer you wrong or take advantage of you and most on this site have the technical expertise to tell you exactly how well the unit is functioning, what's been done to it, etc. Good luck!

Welcome to the Carver Site. Great cache of gear you have there!

AJ, I have a Kappa 8's and RSIIIb's. I really like them both...but, I've always been an Infinity fan. I would actually be torn if I had to part with either pair. They both have pluses and minuses. The Kappa's can be bi-amped, which works well for us Carver amp hoarders... and is nice because, in single amp mode, the impedance can dip pretty low making them tough to drive with just one amp (though the first m1.5t mkII from Nelion I had, handled them ok as a single amp). I think the Kappa's are more transparent... more honest. You hear what you put in. And, they are a bigger speaker overall, so they play better at louder volumes and in bigger rooms. My RSIIIb's have a sweetness to them I can't explain... they're less fatiguing and tame. Probably due to less EMIT's than the Kappas. Coupled with my Carver tube amp, they are really wonderful sounding, I feel. But, they're smaller than my Kappa's and would strain a bit at very high volumes/large room environment. I've thought about modifying the crossovers to bi-amp... but, honestly, haven't wanted to mess with a good thing. I love the look of both speakers with the tall thin design and fluted sides, solid oak construction. I think you can pick up RSIII's, if you look hard enough, for $400-$500, though as I said earlier, I don't see them as often for sale. The Kappa 8's are usually $600-$1000 and Kappa 9's will run you $2000 plus, in good shape. One persistent problem with the Kappa's is the wear out of the midrange dome driver covers. If you buy a pair, make sure that those have been replaced, or plan on $200 or so more to get them fixed. I paid $600 for my Kappa 8's, but then had to refurb those drivers, which cost me $250 (I went with Miller Sound out of Pennsylvania). Value for the money, I'd go with the RSIII's....unless you're trying to fill a concert hall of a room... then you'd need the bigger Kappa's, bi-amping, etc. Your results may vary of course. But, this has been my experience.

Ha ha! I think more than a few of us suffer from similar degradation. I worked in a factory for several years and shoulda been better at wearing my ear plugs. And, of course, there's now this persistent age related roar of tinnitus I deal with. I'm sure someone with better ears would listen to my system and wonder what the hell I'm hearing!

Curious how much you were able to garner in the sale, if you don't mind telling us. I have a pair of Infinity RS 3b's and don't see them for sale often. Just looking for a data point. I love the 3b's, btw... What would you say were your main like/dislikes of the 3a's?

Welcome to the Carver Site! I have one of those receivers, too. They're really nice and, in my opinion, under-appreciated. Carver made some very good receivers back during this time.

Welcome!

welcome to the Carver Site. Many of us, here, are collectors, too. In fact, you'll see us refer to "OCCD"- a condition some of us have: Compulsive Carver Collecting Disorder.

Agreed. That's what attracted me to this compilation.... none of that pop stuff.

Meh...not sure if it's the pressing or the master recording. Seems a little thin, or to lack punch. Horns and voice ok, bottom end lacks. I'm gonna compare it to digital tomorrow. See if maybe that's just the way it was recorded. This is the first Chicago recording I've ever had. It's all their early '70's stuff. "Saturday in the Park", "25 or 6 to 4", etc. The record is a German pressing by Rhino records. Got it used... Took a rare trip to the record store on a Wednesday (I can do that now that i'm semi-retired). Crazy that my record store was packed at 1 pm on a normal Wednesday.

Picked up a nice Chicago greatest hits compilation on colored vinyl.

I've generated a somewhat simpler image for a T-shirt see below. I think we could make this work.

Welcome to the Carver Site! I'm not a guru like many of the folks on this site. And, I don't know much about the Sunfire amps. But, I have several Carver amps. I'd think most any Carver amp would be robust under the conditions you mention. But, to your point, some are getting older. I've had my gear updated and upgraded by Nelion (you can find them on this site). My m1.5t mkII's put out nearly 500 WPC now and have all update components. I'd think they could handle your woofers. I use mine on Infinity Kappa speakers that can dip down to 1 Ohm in some circumstances. Never had a bit of trouble. And, under normal to moderately loud listening conditions the m1.5t's barely get warm.

Something like this @AndrewJohn ??

AJ, I thought about that, too. A more "mature" shirt of some kind. I'll leave it up to the gang. Maybe I can run a poll here on the site to get the design input. I'll put something together. As an aside, Jim had made some t-shirts back when he was still running the Carver business. I bought a couple and wore one to Carverfest 2 years ago and one to Axpona. Nice shirts. Lots of people wondered where I got them. I think there'd be a demand for Carver t-shirts even outside of Carverfest- here on this site and the FB site. Not a huge demand. And, I'm not really wanting to get into the t-shirt making business. But, maybe we could make up a batch and sell them at a little profit which would help finance the site? Just an idea.

Welcome to the Carver Site!

Understood and agreed, Ed. I can make simpler versions. And, if you want, I can be in charge of the overall T-shirt coordination, too. I have some time available this summer and can easily manage it. I would need to get more input on the design, though. I certainly don't have the history that you all have. I'd want to make sure the Carverfest founders and usual attendees can relate to the design.