zumbini

I've been using Furman products since the late 70's and that's a new one on me Joe. Perhaps you have a PS-PRO or PS-PRO II. Does it have a key switch on the front panel?

I usually start with Tricycle by Flim & The BB's (the piano is telling) or Jazz at the Pawnshop (exceptional live recording) For vocals I like Diana Krall Steppin Out, Manhattan Transfer Vocalese or Steve Miller Born 2 B Blue For SPL Steps Ahead (Trains, Beruit), Dave Uhrich (Liquid Glass, Fuzzbuster) and Joe Satriani (Ice 9, Satch Boogie) Other favs: Steeley Dan Gaucho, Dire Straight Brothers In Arms, Queen Bohemian Rhapsody (from Live at the Opera).

Amen brother! That's why sound checks can take longer than shows, and why sound techs are 1st in and last out.

According to the rear panel and owner's manual the PS-8R (II) is rated for 15A. I copied these specifications directly from Furman's website: Current rating: 15 amps Operating Voltage: 90 to 140 VAC Over Voltage Shutdown: 140 VAC typically Spike Protection Modes: Line to neutral, zero ground leakage Spike Clamping Voltage 188 VAC peak @ 3,000 Amps, 133 VAC RMS (tested to UL-1449 and USA / CIDA A-1-1, 6,000 VAC @ 3,000 Amps) Response time: 1 nanosecond Maximum surge current: 6,500 amps Noise attenuation: 10 dB @ 10 kHz, 40 dB @ 100 kHz, 100 dB @ 10 MHz Linear attenuation curve from 0.05 - 100 Ohms line impedance Dimensions: 1.75” H x 19” W x 10.5” D. Weight: 11 lbs. (5 kg.) Construction: Steel chassis, .125” brushed and black anodized aluminum front panel; glass epoxy printed circuit boards Power consumption: 6 watts Safety Agency Listings: CE, NRTL-C

Ashly and Rane both make highly rated crossovers but you can get a Behringer with the same functionality for 1/2 the price. The Behringer is less likely stand up to professional use on the road, but I've found them more than adequate for home use. If you plan to use equalization you should take a look at a digital loudspeaker management system like the Behringer DCX2496. It has 3 ins/6 outs, selectable XO slopes (6-48dB/oct), independantly configurable graphic AND parametric EQs, and lots more.

Yes, your Furman PS-8R has barrier strip connections for a 12 volt trigger. Just keep in mind that it's rated for 15A and Carver amps can draw that much in-rush current (briefly) on start up. If you don't push them too hard you can probably get away with powering 2 amps as long as you delay one of them. (I only use my PS-8R II to power accensories [EQ, XO] and sources [cassette deck, 2 CDPs, TT, tuner].)

When I'm in a hurry I check my local Radio Shack (poor assortment), then Lowes or Home Depot. When I have time I look around but usually wind up ordering from Newark (a Bussman distributor). I recently bought a 50 pack of MDL2-1/4's on ebay for $7.50 shipped. BTW - I'm not adverse to a bulb-type fuse as avguytx suggested but I have no idea how to size one for the application.

I start my preamp 1st, then EQ and XO, then sources, then amps. I reverse that sequence for shutdown.

Another viable option is to vertically bi-amp but reverse L and R on either the tweeters or woofers. (One amp drives the L mids/highs and the R lows; the other drives the R mids/highs and the L lows.)

Yes, accessibility is the main reason I mounted them externally. The chart is just a guide but yes, that sounds about right, and definitely err on the side of caution. I started with MDL3/4 on my tweeters based on the OEM's recommendation of MDL1-1/2. Over the course of 2 years I worked my way up to MDL2 and just recently bumped that to MDL2-1/4. (Turned out that this particular driver was brand new to the OEM and they had under-rated it intentionally.) Again I used the OEM's recommendation (time delay for the tweeters; fast acting for the mids). I suspect that Legacy made the choice based on the predicted failure mode for each driver. As I understand it, tweeters have small voice coils that do not shed heat very efficiently. When driven hard the VC can heat up to the point where the coil wire coating melts and a short occurs. (This can happen to smaller mids too but more often they suffer mechanical failure due to over-extension.) Yes, as long as you adjust fuse size to reflect that the mid/highs only see a portion of the power applied to the speaker. For instance, if the speaker is rated for 250 watts it's likely that the mids/tweeters see only 1/3 to 1/2 of that. (My mains are 2-way speakers with a ribbon tweeter between two 6.5" mids in a D'appolito configuration. There is also a conventional 1" dome tweeter on top that can be adjusted from 0-100 for "ambience". Frequency response is 3dB down at 50 Hz so low bass is supplied by a pair of 12" subs.) It is much less likely that you will damage an 8" or larger diameter woofer in "normal" use. However, all bets are off if the amp fails or you were to accidently short the speaker leads.

That's a nice selection Dennis. ENJOY!

Those big fancy fuse blocks you linked to are normally used in car installations. They are designed to be visually impressive so they are mounted externally. For home speakers I usually install screw cap fuse holders in the jack panels like this: I you prefer not to drill holes in your jack plates, install in-line fuse holders or mount fuse blocks on the inside. Either way the fuses should be installed between the positive speaker terminal and the internal passive crossover. As for sizing, your best bet is to contact the OEM and ask them for their recommendation. If the OEM is defunct or won't cooperate a fuse sizing chart like this can get you close. (I recommend starting with a smaller fuse than the one indicated and working up.)

That's a very stylish room dcl, and your system blends in perfectly.

The effect has been discussed many times, however, the process has not been well defined. As I recall it has something to do with the change in signal path. Rich and BoB P discussed it in a long thread that I can't seem to find. Here are a few random quotes I did find: EDIT: I found this definition in the site "Glossary of Terms": Bridge Tied LoadUsing a stereo amplifier to drive a single channel loudspeaker, by strapping the load across the hot terminals of each channel(one channel is inverted in phase with respect to the other). This results in a higher power output from the amplifier, with some caveats. A standard stereo amplifier is a voltage amplification device, and normally supplies a voltage to two separate 'channels' of amplification. In the illustration below, a stereo amplifier (capable of providing a 45V signal to each channel) will dissipate 250 watts per channel into a nominal 8 ohm load (P=E2/R). Since current is the result of dividing voltage by resistance (I=E/R), the amplifier is able to source 5.5 amps per channel. When a stereo amplifier is bridged, two things happen. First, one of the channels is inverted with respect to the other (the two channels are now 180 degrees out of phase). Second, the 'hot' terminals of each stereo channel are connected to one loudspeaker (the remaining two output terminals are unused). The illustration below presents a bridge tied load configuration of a stereo amplifier. The per-channel output voltage remains the same (45V), and the load remains the same (8 ohms). What has changed, is that each stereo channel's 45V output is both out of phase with the other and tied to the same driver. The result is a 90V differential across the load (double the stereo voltage). Using P=E2/R from the previous example, the power dissipated by the load is now 1012W. Using I=E/R from the previous example, the current required to sustain 1012W is now 11.25A. This seems like a very good situation, and can provide more power to a speaker, provided you follow a simple guideline. The relation I=E/R tells us that as output voltage doubles, so does required current. Also, as driver impedance halves, required current will double. An ideal current source amplifier (often called load invariant) will be able to source the required doubling of current as the load halves (from 8-4-2-1 ohm). Not all amplifiers are load invariant (few are). Using the above formulae for a 4 ohm driver would (ideally) provide 500W into a stereo 4 ohm load (requiring 11.25A per channel), and 2025W when bridging the amp (now requiring 22.5A). The situation becomes harder for the amplifier to tolerate as the load impedance diminishes. At some point, the amplifier can no longer source the current required to provide a doubled voltage level. This is often experienced sonically as a very loud, but 'flabby' sound (especially in the bass). For this reason, most stereo amplifiers that are bridgeable are rated into 8 ohm load drivers only. <pet peeve> It's often repeated that when bridged, each half of the stereo amplifier will 'see' half of the driver load. This is untrue; the load is the load, and hasn't magically sprouted a center tap. What has changed is the current sourcing demand placed on the amplifier due to the doubled output voltage across the load.

Be aware that bridging provides more power but inevitably results in reduced sound stage. Most people (myself included) find the loss of imaging to be an unaceptable trade off. Soundstage is not an issue when driving subs but bridging still has a downside - less defined bass. In my case (2 bridged M-500t's driving a pair of subs crossed at 120Hz) I found the loss to be minimal. In either case there is certainly no harm in trying. Just let your ears be your guide.

Howdy Jeffrey and welcome to the forum. You are gonna LOVE that BillD-modified C-1!

I think you are refering to locking an amp on the high rail. Here are a few quotes about the phenomenon:

Click the INSERT IMAGE icon in the toolbar on top of the POST A REPLY box. Then upload files from your Mac by clicking the UPLOAD button in the INSERT IMAGE applet, or paste a link in the URL box if it's a public file.

Hard to say with any certainty without seeing the passive crossover network or a schematic of it. (My own 2-way Legacy Audio Super Satellites have 2 passive XO's tied together with jumpers.) IIWY I'd use an active crossover between the bass and mids and keep the NHT mid/high passive intact. That way any built-in passive EQ, peak limiting or frequency shelving engineered in by NHT stays intact.

I wasn't familiar with the VT-2 so I read through the OWNER'S MANUAL. Unfortunately NHT doesn't provide detailed driver specs so what follows is a best guess. In general woofers need the most power (by a factor of 2), followed by mids, and then the tweeters. Of course there are exceptions, notably Carver AL's and AL-III's which are closer to 50/50 (ribbons/woofers). I suggest you start with the TFM-35 driving the bass and the TFM-15 driving the mids/highs. I suspect the TFM-15 will run out of gas 1st. If so perhaps a TFM-25 or 2nd 35 will be required. Don't be afraid to try other amp/speaker combinations but be aware that the VT-2's are in the 4-6 ohm range BTW - I use an M-500 for highs, and M-1.0t MKII opt002 for mids, and 2 M-500t's in mono for the subs. I find them pretty well balanced when listening to blues or jazz but I could use more power to the subs for rock.

Howdy Hibernator and welcome to the forum. We are ALL Carver addicts around these parts. Sounds like you have a bad case of OCCD (Obsessive Carver Collecting Disorder). THERE IS NO KNOWN CURE (but it sure is a lot of fun ). We do have at least one member on the left coast who is familiar with MKII mods. I'm sure he'll be along shortly to offer his condolences (and possibly his assistance). edit: Please post some photos of your system for us to drool over. For a "how to" on inserting media go HERE.

I'm pretty sure that I've listened to everything in my collection AT LEAST ONCE. I'm gonna try to make that TWICE before I pass on and bequeath everything to my son. Then my youngest brother has first dibbs on anything my son doesn't want.

Most of my classic jazz LP collection was bequeathed to me by my audio mentor O.J. Berger. It included almost 800 titles from Riverside, Prestige, EmArcy, Fantasy, Blue Note and Verve. I met Ollie in 1968 when we were both involved in a high school production of West Side Story. (I had a minor role and was Technical Director. He provided sound reinforcement and recorded the performances.) After the show we built the rack that now contains his collection and we continued to work together until he died in 1988.

Great special effects, but I was dissappointed with the script.