Kurt

Welcome to the Carver Site!

Welcome to the Carver Site!

Welcome to the Carver site! I have C1, C4000, and CT-7 preamps. The C1 has the BIllD mods and it is dead quiet. It's like it's not even there. Amazing really. I use it in my main rig, with 2 m1.5t's and Infinity Kappa 8 speakers. The C4000 has been refurbished though it still has some nascent "leakage" into the left channel at zero volume, but sounds great with volume up. It has a Gundry filter installed as part of the Sonic Holography, which I like better than the straight up Sonic Holography. I use it with my RAM285 tube amp and, really, it's my best sounding system overall. I also have a CT-7 which has not been refurbished at all. It sounds great and is convenient with the remote that comes with it. I use it in my garage setup, as I have it up high and somewhat inconvenient to reach. For some reason, I don't like the phono stage on it as much as the other two.....again, it could just be in need of refurbishment.

Welcome to the Carver SIte! I have several m1.5t's and a C4000 myself.... all of them have been updated/upgraded by Nelion. My C4000 needed the work... had some static, and other issues. The m1.5t's... well, like you, I just wanted to make sure they would last and were operating at peak performance. They came back with more power and cleaner sound. So, I'd recommend the updates.

Seemed appropriate given today is the winter solstice.

Yes, I was being kind of flippant with my comment.... I realize there's years of development that went into the design.... my point was, that speaker designers are not designing to a target impedence level.... rather, they are designing for the best sound, and letting the impedance be an outcome.... or maybe just a constraint (like cost or manufacturability).

Thanks, guys, I think I get it now. So when Arnie Nudell designed my Infinity Kappa 8's back in the '80's, the impedance curve he ended up with was just that... what he ended up with. And, he made the decision that the excursions into fairly low impedance ranges would be ok as a trade off for everything else he was getting. He was betting that his primary customers would be ok needing fairly sturdy amps to handle the speakers.

That all makes sense. But, why design a speaker that has overall low impedance, or very low impedance at certain frequencies? Does that help with being able to replicate those frequencies perhaps?... if my speaker impedance dips to 1 Ohm at 75 hz, let's say, does that mean my speaker is better able to replicate a 75 hz frequency sound than a speaker that runs at 4 Ohms impedance at 75hz? Is there a benefit to the sound because the low impedance speaker is drawing more current at a given frequency? (side note.... thank you all for the physics/electrical engineering 101 lessons you are providing :). My naturally curious mind can't help but continue to ask questions... feel free to tell me if I'm annoying and to 'go away', lol).

Ok...so, i've heard all this before. And, I think I understand the physics. Being the proud owner of some vintage Infinity speakers, I know that low impedance, or "dipping into" low impedance at certain frequencies is harder on amp and why that is. But, here's what I don't know.... why would any speaker manufacturer design a speaker that that dips into low impedance? What advantage does that provide in the process of making music out of the system? ie, why wouldn't everyone just design 8 ohm speakers?.... Is it just about getting more power out of the same amp? Or does a low impedance speaker offer some other advantage in making good sounding music?

Welcome back. Your system is incredible! You should sell popcorn outside and have people pay admission to come over and watch movies. . I'm building AV setup, too....but, nothing like what you have. I'm excited to see your pictures!

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I just love Stevie. When I was 18, she was 35. At the time there was this popular saying.... (likely mis-information- even before the internet age, imagine that) that women reached their sexual peak at 35, men at 18.... so... naturally, I had fantasies that Stevie would realize one day she needed to get with a poor college student like me. Never happened, lol I did meet her once- well, shook her hand anyway at one of her concerts. Alas, the handshake did not elicit any spark in her eyes.... And, my dream has so far been unrealized :). We still have time, Stevie!!!!!!!!!

Nice looking system!... I'll bet it sounds terrific!

Welcome to the Carver Site! Amazing that you have had your Carver gear since 1987. I couldn't afford Carver gear back then (Poor college student).. but, always wanted it. Now, I can't get enough (you'll read about OCCD "obsessive Carver collecting disorder" here on this site. I am afflicted. ). You'll find lots of like-minded and helpful folks on this site.

Welcome to the Carver Site! Lots of help, here, for your service work. And lots of shared love for vintage audio and Carver gear.

I had some Klipsch Heresies. They weren't my favorite. Lacked bass....and, well, I think the horns are really an acquired taste....they kinda put the treble right in your face. If you're looking for Vintage speakers, I love the 1980's Infinity speakers- RS Kappa Series (8 or 9's....and don't let them scare you the whole "amp killer" thing.... Carver amps can handle them. I'm partial to the original line, not the x.1 's). Or their predecessors, the RS series, RS III, RS II, or even RS I if you have a lot of $ and space. I have a pair of RS IIIb's that I swear are the best ever. If you're looking to buy new, I'm partial to Bowers and Wilkins. I don't own any, but every pair I've ever heard is fantastic.

"Comparison is the thief of joy". - T. Roosevelt (though.... origination of this quote is debated).

Welcome to the Carver Site!

Welcome to the Carver Site!

This is an interesting discussion. I have always bi-amped horizontally. But, I've never really looked at vertical. I wonder what the advantages are for each? I know for horizontal bi-amping you can use different amps for the high part of the speakers vs. low. I have done it with identical amps, too. I guess it just seemed more intuitive to me to set it up this way.... almost like treating the low side like a powered subwoofer in a conventional system. What's the advantage of vertical biamping?.... I guess you could physically arrange the amps closer to the speakers, since each amp is only going to one speaker. So, you'd have less high side wiring length to deal with. Is that a big benefit? What other advantages are there?

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On Vinyl. "All this machinery making modern music can still be open hearted"

Welcome to the Carver site!

Welcome to the Carver site!

Welcome to the Carver site! You will find a lot of advice and camaraderie here, especially on the Carver products.