3M_Audio

Welcome!

Welcome Rick. I haven't worked with an MXR-130 so can't give you any specific input on that volume control, but the service manual & parts list can be found here by clicking on the 'Manuals and Specsheets' link at the top of any page. And a search here might also get you some good info. The MXR-130s are pretty popular units and serviceable. And there are a couple of Carver-specialty service outfits you can also contact: Nelion Audio Repair Carver Audio Repair

Understand. Sounds like your home project load is similar to mine, lol.

Welcome @TKM! Nice backstory on your MXR 130. There's plenty of info here on all the Carver receivers. Service & Owners manuals are in the 'Manuals and Specsheets' link at the top of any page. And the search function will get you some good threads on the MXR 130. I would say that given the number of failures you've had with the unit, I'd suspect that there's something else going on other than really loud music . It could very well be one of those situations where a contributing cause of failure isn't being identified and corrected, and this is leading to subsequent failures. At this point are you looking for a good repair source or are you planning to work on it yourself again?

Welcome! Tons of threads here on both the TFM 15 and the C1. And if you haven't already found them, the service and owners manuals are available for download from the 'Manuals and Specsheets' link at the top of any page.

I'll echo @Yamacarver that your BT receiver can connect right to your AUX input. However, you did mention that your current input switcher was a bit 'dirty', so you may want to think about investing in a new switcher. For an inexpensive unit, I have been impressed by the switchers from Douk Audio. They have completely passive units but also some active units that have BT receivers built in along with clocks, spectrum analyzers, level controls, remotes, etc.

Finished and sounds pretty nice. Beautiful cabinets - real walnut veneer even behind the grill cloth. I think if these were mine, I'd leave the grills off and remove the velcro. I'll shoot some video of the second speakers to share. Owner has me doing one at a time so he can still listen to something

Bing!

For any of you following along. My friend decided to have me replace the (3) caps in the crossover so that's done: And the new surround is glued into place. Most of the work is scraping off the old adhesive on the basket frame - it has to be perfectly clean. I find that with most of these speakers from the late 70s and onward, the spider holds the voice coil into proper position with only very minor positioning required, so shimming isn't necessary.

Welcome @LSD! I just picked up a well-worn M400 myself to restore - a neat piece of engineering.

Welcome @the_n3rd! You came to a great place for learning about audio. There are many very skilled people on this site who are generous with sharing their knowledge and I've learned a lot since I've been here. And there are great threads on almost every Carver topic that a quick search will locate.

It's surprising how many speaker owners never remove the grills from their speakers. The guy that owns these bought them new in 1979 and he never was curious enough to take a look. These are fun to do although to do it right, all the old adhesive needs to be removed from the basket before installing the new surround. These use an inverted foam surround. Quality replacements and adhesives are available from Springfield Speaker - a good small company. My friend was interested in the process, so I'm planning to shoot a video of this one. I'll post a link here once finished.

Had a good friend from our church that knows I run a speaker manufacturing business, so he asked me to help him with his stereo system which he described as 'sounding thin'. He had a nice silver-faced Onkyo receiver and some beautiful Ohm C2 speakers. The C2s are a 10" ported design and were marketed by Ohm as a bookshelf speaker. After about 2 seconds of listening, I told him what the problem was. I'll probably service the crossover at the same time I have the woofer out. Should be a fun project. I have listened to these before and they have a nice, warm sound. Not the best imaging, but OK. They need lots of power.

Welcome!

Welcome Bruce!

Well, a formal welcome! And it sounds like your shop has some seriously good sound. Post a picture or two if you have a chance. And I bet restoring those vintage pinball machines is a lot of fun. I just love all the analog circuitry that makes those older machine work - fantastic stuff! I've had the opportunity to acquire a couple machines to work on over the years, but I'd need some serious space to work on something of that size.

Very cool idea on the phone app - I'll be looking forward to learning more about that.

Hi Rick and welcome! The MXR is a very nice receiver, although it sounds to me like $550 is probably getting close to full retail. These decisions are always a bit subjective and would vary based on your risk tolerance for vintage equipment and budget, but if it is local and you can demo it and are happy, then go for it. If it were me, I'd want to ask the seller who did the service. If it were a Carver specialty shop like Nelion or Carver Audio Repair and I could see the paperwork, I'd be perfectly happy going ahead with the purchase. if it were a local repair, I'd want to see the paperwork including the post-service test results showing that the system at least meets the original specs for inputs, tuner, & power output. It's easy to say something is 'recapped' but that in and of itself doesn't mean anything in terms of audio performance. Anyway, hope this might help a bit. Good luck with it!

Welcome @doug74x! Nice score on the M-400a. Pretty hard to go too far wrong for $15. If you haven't already found them, the owners & service manuals for most Carver gear are in the 'Manuals and Specsheets' link at the top of any page. There are also some good threads here on servicing the M400s that a search should connect you to.

Welcome @Mr T. You've come to the right place for Carver info and discussion. What are your questions on your new-to-you TFM-15CB? BTW, in case you haven't found them yet, the owners/service manuals the TCS has are in the 'Manuals and Specsheets' link at the top of any page.

Hi Shelby and welcome! Random is always frustrating. A couple of questions... Was the amp doing this before the recap and any other service work, as well? Is there any audio effect accompanying that LED flash or just the flashing? And have you verified all the voltages in the unit are stable & to spec?

Hello Adam and welcome. Click on the 'Manuals and Specsheets' link at the top of any page and you find all the manuals collected by TCS.

Hello and welcome, Eric!

Welcome! You've got a couple nice pieces there. What are you using for speakers right now?

Welcome Paul, As you pointed out, 30+ years is a long time for a piece of audio gear. Components do wear out and even if there aren't outright failures in those same components, normal degradation may adversely affect audio quality. But the good news is that almost all these pieces of Carver gear can be serviced & restored and brought to good-as-new or better-than-new condition. So in your particular case, it seems to me that the pluses are you can demo the unit and if it's all working, you can just drop it in your rack and start enjoying it. And if something dies down the road, you can ship it for repair. The downside is that if it dies in a relatively short period of time, you can end up with a total cost (initial + repair) way beyond the market value. But that's the risk for using any piece of unrestored vintage audio gear. That price on the one you're looking at does seem to be full retail. For context, here's one in Canada on eBay for $299 C. They do come up for sale with some regularity if you feel like waiting. But if you're OK with the idea of some risk of using an unrestored vintage piece of audio gear, it's the model you want, it's in great condition, and the pickup logistics work for you, then it sounds like you should jump on it. Good luck!