My tower of "anthracite"

[Kurt 841]

I guess I haven't really ever posted pics of my gear... so, here goes.  This is my main listening room gear.  As I've mentioned in other posts... I love the Carver anthracite look and try to get all my Carver gear to match.  The C1 and the amps in the pic have all been refurbished by Nelion.  I rebuilt the CD player myself, and the other 2 carver pieces are original, as far as I know.  The turntable is a Technics SL-D2 which has been refurbished.  And, my Mac Mini/Schiit DAC streamer are the boxes sitting on top of the C1 and are the only devices in my setup not made in the 1980's. 

 

 

The other pic shows my entire room.  I'm in need of some better furniture, for sure.  I am currently building a theater type concept in another room of my house, and this will all be moving in there at some point. This room still has relics of the very first attempt I made at a theater setup 20 years ago with in-wall surround speakers and a cheap sub, etc.  The new theater will all be Carver powered...and better surround speakers.

 

 The Gear on the left is stuff that's mostly "in transition".... on it's way In or out, or I can't figure out what to do with it, yet.

 

My main speakers are Infinity Kappa 8's, which I refurbished myself mostly- had a little help from Miller Sound in PA on the mid range drivers.  They sound great being driven by two M1.5t mkII's. 

[AndrewJohn 7,223]

7 hours ago, Kurt said:

are the only devices in my setup not made in the 1980's. 

 

Outstanding!   Nothing better looking than a functioning, and matching setup like that.  It's just so impressive to see, and everyone here knows how long and the effort required, as well as the investment, to find such a nice system! 

 

BTW, Is that a 1980's Panamax on the bottom?  LoL?  Could be, I have a very old panamax..., not sure when I picked it up. 😉 

 

As for the extra stuff on the left, I'm putting spare amps to use, by driving them with a Roon endpoint (through another preamp) for additional zones, to be able to play everything, everywhere, all at once - as in, the same music simultaneously in the man-cave, as in the kitchen/den, out on the back deck, and out by the patio and pool in the back - and a few other places!  No wires, using my network-wifi and some wired ethernet...  It's an outstanding way to get whole-house music, controlled by your own playlists on Roon, through out all the rooms, with all your extra amplifiers..., and change/control the song or playlist playing, from your smartphone or tablet.

 

In the end, you can't have "too much" Carver Gear!  😉 

[Kurt 841]

3 hours ago, AndrewJohn said:

 

BTW, Is that a 1980's Panamax on the bottom?  LoL?  Could be, I have a very old panamax..., not sure when I picked it up. 😉 

 

 

No, it's a Furman power conditioner and sequencer... and, it's not from the '80's... LOL. I guess I don't count that as part of my gear, but I should.  I've been meaning to ask all you experts about the best ways to power a system with multiple amps.  I know some have said to use a separate outlet for each amp.  I'm running them all through the Furman.  I don't seem to have any issues with my current setup.  I primarily use the sequencer function to turn amps and ancillary devices off/on in the correct order to avoid annoying power on/off thumps and whatnot.

[BobTFM35 910]

Very nice setup!!

 

Good question on powering up the amps and for that matter the entire system. I usually use my right index finger and do my 35's first followed by the three 15's. Can't say how long between each button push I wait but its enough time. The 5 TFM's are on Furman power strips with the 275's on a separate Emotiva power strip.

 

I fire up the Marantz first.

 

If I am running the 275's along with the three 15's in my HT setup I usually fire up the 275's first then follow with the three 15's.

 

It seems to work for me.

[Kurt 841]

1 hour ago, BobTFM35 said:

Very nice setup!!

 

Good question on powering up the amps and for that matter the entire system. I usually use my right index finger and do my 35's first followed by the three 15's. Can't say how long between each button push I wait but its enough time. The 5 TFM's are on Furman power strips with the 275's on a separate Emotiva power strip.

 

I fire up the Marantz first.

 

If I am running the 275's along with the three 15's in my HT setup I usually fire up the 275's first then follow with the three 15's.

 

It seems to work for me.

Thanks.  I use the Furman basically to do what you are doing with your index finger :).  It provides a delay between turning on power between devices.  It works great for that purpose. (Also, my M1.5t's have no power switch....so, the Furman gives me that control, too).   My concern is whether having my amps plugged into one device, which is then plugged into one wall outlet, causes any issues with performance of the amps.  Is it better to have each amp plugged into a separate outlet?....I've seen others do that.   Is there concern about the Furman limiting the capabilities of the amp in some way?  Again, I'm happy with it's functionality and I haven't noticed any problems....and, I love the sound of my system.  But, I guess I'm a paranoid audiophile, lol, always wondering if there's more I can get out of the system, or if I'm doing something to hinder performance.

[Dadvw 2,679]

Nice looking setup!  If it sounds as good as it looks........grin

[Kurt 841]

Update:  My tower of Carver power continues to grow.  I've got 5 amps now (not counting the ones I've strategically placed in my kid's apartments).  Four m1.5t mkII, and one m1.0t mkII op2.  All 5 have been updated and upgraded by Nelion.  Here's a pic of my current Carver stack, with a couple PL pieces I'm playing with, too.   

I'm still bi-amping my Kappa 8's for 2 channel music.  But, plan to use the cache of amps in an AV setup.  Looking for recommendations on a good AV preamp/processor to feed them all. 

[itchitch 3,620]

11 hours ago, Kurt said:

(not counting the ones I've strategically placed in my kid's apartments).

 

I love this - both of my kids have full Carver systems in their apartments and thier bedrooms at home!

[timmyjim 185]

11 hours ago, Kurt said:

Four m1.5t mkII

what's a m1.5t mkII?

[AndrewJohn 7,223]

1 hour ago, timmyjim said:

what's a m1.5t mkII?

 

See Nelion's website:  Link here:  Carver M-1.5t mkII, Restore and Upgrade - Carver Amplifiers - Nelion Audio

[Kurt 841]

2 hours ago, itchitch said:

 

I love this - both of my kids have full Carver systems in their apartments and thier bedrooms at home!

Yeah, my kids love that I have built their audio systems and I really enjoy doing that.  Truthfully, though, I've had to use it as a strategy to divest myself of audio component clutter, lol.... My OCCD has overrun the space I have in my home!

[Kurt 841]

1 hour ago, AndrewJohn said:

 

See Nelion's website:  Link here:  Carver M-1.5t mkII, Restore and Upgrade - Carver Amplifiers - Nelion Audio

 

1 hour ago, AndrewJohn said:

 

See Nelion's website:  Link here:  Carver M-1.5t mkII, Restore and Upgrade - Carver Amplifiers - Nelion Audio

 

The upgrade to mkII for the m1.5t's takes them close to 500 WPC.  Similar for the m1.0t.  So, adding up all the power I've got in Carver/Nelion amps, I'm at a total that approaches 5 kilowatts :).  Of course, I'll never hit that kind of output in use, but nice to know I have the headroom.

[BobTFM35 910]

@Kurt I would start my search here https://www.marantz.com/en-us/

 

I would look at both the AV Receivers or the AV Separates. Depending on which one you choose don't forget to look at the rear panel. Most of their models have pre outs for use with external amps bypassing the internal amps. This will allow you to hook up your five amps to lets say two fronts a center and two rear speakers.

 

For example, if you got the Cinema 40 which is a 9.4 channel processor. You hook your 5 Carver amps in the pre out section and maybe use it as a 5.1 system.

 

It also allows for the addition of a set of surround back and 2 sets of Height speakers. The internal amps would be powering these additions.

 

It will allow for your legacy equipment to be added in the audio in section with RCA connections and as you can see it has HDMI and Optical. Old and new blended together in a nice package.

 

Another nice feature is it has two zones that you can play music in.

 

Along with all the other features is the Acoustic / Room Correction feature. I found this to be very helpful in setting up everything. 

 

https://www.marantz.com/en-us/product/av-receivers/cinema40

 

This is just one of several options that they have available.

 

When you want two channel sound, you would just turn on two amps and from the controller or on screen menu Stereo. I usually have the tv on when making this choice.

 

I have the SR5015.

 

Enjoy the search.

 

 

 

[jeffs 2,103]

16 minutes ago, Kurt said:

I'm at a total that approaches 5 kilowatts :). 

Seems like you have a ways to go .... Charlies Death Star exceed 12K Watts! 😃

 

IIRC your tx2 with trim plate used to be in my bench setup? Sold it on ebay several years ago ....

[jeffs 2,103]

14 hours ago, Kurt said:

Looking for recommendations on a good AV preamp/processor to feed them all. 

Emotiva makes a surround processor/preamp.  Most of the others (Marantz, Denon, etc) include amp stages. I use a cheapish Denon 7.2 unit in my home theatre. It's not the latest and greatest, but I have no possibility of wiring in more speakers anyway

[Kurt 841]

7 minutes ago, jeffs said:

Seems like you have a ways to go .... Charlies Death Star exceed 12K Watts! 😃

 

IIRC your tx2 with trim plate used to be in my bench setup? Sold it on ebay several years ago ....

Yes, @Charlie is my hero!  I'm not even half way to his "Death Star" total!    

 

That probably was your TX-2 I bought off Ebay.  There aren't that many TX-2's out there with the extra faceplate and rack handles.   I've always had this goal that my entire stack will be in the anthracite color and have the rack handles.   You can see I'm very close... the PL pieces I've added are not the same color, but they do have the same style faceplate and rack handles.  

[Kurt 841]

22 minutes ago, BobTFM35 said:

@Kurt I would start my search here https://www.marantz.com/en-us/

 

I would look at both the AV Receivers or the AV Separates. Depending on which one you choose don't forget to look at the rear panel. Most of their models have pre outs for use with external amps bypassing the internal amps. This will allow you to hook up your five amps to lets say two fronts a center and two rear speakers.

 

For example, if you got the Cinema 40 which is a 9.4 channel processor. You hook your 5 Carver amps in the pre out section and maybe use it as a 5.1 system.

 

It also allows for the addition of a set of surround back and 2 sets of Height speakers. The internal amps would be powering these additions.

 

It will allow for your legacy equipment to be added in the audio in section with RCA connections and as you can see it has HDMI and Optical. Old and new blended together in a nice package.

 

Another nice feature is it has two zones that you can play music in.

 

Along with all the other features is the Acoustic / Room Correction feature. I found this to be very helpful in setting up everything. 

 

https://www.marantz.com/en-us/product/av-receivers/cinema40

 

This is just one of several options that they have available.

 

When you want two channel sound, you would just turn on two amps and from the controller or on screen menu Stereo. I usually have the tv on when making this choice.

 

I have the SR5015.

 

Enjoy the search.

 

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion!  I will take a look.  I have noticed that Marantz AV receivers are most likely to have the pre-out features allowing usage of external amps.  That's essentially what I need.  I haven't decided whether to go 5.1, 7.1, 9.1, etc.... I have enough speakers for a 7.1 system.  To do that, I might need to use a mix of external/internal amps, as you say.  And, maybe that's not a bad idea.  Thanks again!

[jjptkd 1,155]

2 hours ago, Kurt said:

The upgrade to mkII for the m1.5t's takes them close to 500 WPC. 

 

 The stock 1.5's have always been one of my favorite sounding Carver amps just so smooth on my Klipsch speakers really curious how one of these fully restored MK-II's sound- 

[Kurt 841]

5 minutes ago, jjptkd said:

 

 The stock 1.5's have always been one of my favorite sounding Carver amps just so smooth on my Klipsch speakers really curious how one of these fully restored MK-II's sound- 

Yes, I like the sound of the 1.5t's too.  And, the mkII upgrade doesn't change the sound that much...a bit more low end "Punch" is noticeable, but that may be an artifact of the higher output.   I run Infinity Kappa's which need a lot of amp, and the mkII's definitely handle those speakers better.  For me, getting the Nelion mkII work done was really about certainty that the units are working at peak performance, and will do so for years to come.....

[jeffs 2,103]

3 hours ago, jjptkd said:

The stock 1.5's have always been one of my favorite sounding Carver amps

Agree. I have one driving a pair of JBL4311. By many accounts, the m500t or m4.0t should likely sound better, but they don't. The m1.5t is an excellent fit. Mine has a power switch. The m1.5t has no muting on power-up. Output is instantaneous. Mine is completely silent on power-up and down. I have some of the protection circuits disabled, which gets it up to 450WPC or so.

[denniswilson 174]

Awesome Carver system !! 

Thanks for sharing....Enjoy !!