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New Guy from Idaho


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Wow! A forum just for Carverphiles! Who knew? Glad to find a place to share feedback on things Carver and audio in general. I will soon be retired in a couple weeks and sites like this will provide me with plenty of company while my non-audiophile better half is still working. Looking forward to visiting and reading the posts.

 

Original Carver M-400 Cube (my first Carver gear many years ago when they appeared on the scene). Repaired once and now is in bad shape again.

CT-25.1 AV Preamp (not in use)

TFM-6CB amplifier driving my HSU sub (bridged)

 

I’ve always liked Carver gear and at one point used some Carver amps for pro touring as a sound tech. Well, of to the forum to do some reading!

 

Tim

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@RangerTim Welcome to the site, and glad that you found your new home, and fun place to be for now and after your soon to be retired status.

 

Enjoy browsing the site, and when you get to Novice status you will be able to post pictures of your gear. Everyone here enjoys seeing pictures.

 

Again Welcome!!

 

 

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Hi RangerTim, and welcome to thecarversite.com . We're glad you're hear. ;) 

 

My first Carver piece was an M400t, and well, that blossomed a bit. :D 

 

We all love pics, so once you get to Novice status, consider uploading some pics in the Members Systems area.

 

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Welcome @RangerTim, glad you found us.

 

We love pictures..., show us your gear, when you get a minute.

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It is really pleasant to get so many folks saying hello! I intend to track this forum during my “audio reawakening.” Thank you for your kind words. It is difficult to find an internet site that has members that treat each other with respect. If I ever fail to be charitable or humble please call me out.

 

I’ll post pics of my sort of odd system when I perceive the limits on my account are lifted.

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  • 3 weeks later...

image.jpeg.3e7b89ea96bd5a7e1aa2e05128ed0aa1.jpeg

 

Here is my bizarre system, but it works really well for me. 

  • Carver TFM-6CB driving a Hsu Sub (early STF model). The amp is bridged and run directly to the sub driver. Plate amps are terrible.
  • Adcom GFA-555 driving the Magnepan 1.7i's for fronts.
  • Marantz SR6008 receiver driving a pair of Magnepan MGIIA's (mono in series) for centers. Immediately behind them (not shown) are a pair of MMGW's on the wall that may soon to be repurposed as surround backs. The Marantz also drives another pair of MMGW's for surrounds. The Marantz runs the Adcom and Carver from the pre-outs. I use the Audyssey settings for movies but the "Pure Direct" stereo mode for listening.
  • Pioneer PL-518 turntable with Shure M91ED cartridge.
  • Apple TV 4K feeding a Sony 85" LED and linked to the Marantz via HDMI
  • Some Denon DVD player, not sure of the model, and a speaker selector by Adcom. I sometimes host listening sessions with other speakers and like to A/B them.

I recently bought the MG1.7i's to replace the IIA's but wanted to try the old 1985 era speakers as centers just for grins. Of course they are still wonderful and my wife is even thinking we should keep them instead of selling them off. Yes, I am a Maggie zealot and have been since I first heard them. As a retired professional musician they make me feel like I am right in the middle of the performance.

 

The Hsu sub has always disappointed me in the past when using the built-in plate amplifier. I have been through three of those abominations before finally pulling the amp, closing the back and powering it with my Carver M-400 bridged. When the cube started misbehaving I found the TFM-6CB locally for an unbelievable low price and it has made the sub absolutely sing. It now integrates beautifully with the MG1.7i's and fills out the last octave with solid fundamentals. It is crossed at 40 Hz and also used with LFE for movies. What I used to think were excursion limit noises were really clipping sounds, and the latest Carver has put that problem to bed. The amp is super quiet and powerful, especially for its size and weight.

 

While not a true audiophile with tube amps and multi thousand dollar cables and interconnects, I do love the sound of my system and believe it acquits itself nicely with 90 percent of what I play through it. When I was young there was a 3 year period I spent in pro sound touring and soaking up everything I could about audio. Much of the concepts are still valid and there is quite a bit of vintage equipment that belies its age (the Adcom is a beast and VERY detailed). What little Caver gear I have I appreciate. I intend to eventually get the cube repaired and will integrate it into my system again probably as a center channel amp.

 

The Marantz name gets a bad rap from some forums but I have had a good experience with mine. It drives the MMGW's and the MGIIA's perfectly at six and 10 ohms respectively. Movies at my house are fantastic with the all Magnepan system. I plan on building a pair of sealed subs to replace the Hsu to deliver a bit more punch to the LFE. However I really enjoy how well the Hsu plays with the 1.7's for stereo listening - streaming music is engrossing and fun. If anything, the system reveals poor recording quality which can detract from enjoyment of some classics. I tend to search for the best recordings and rarely listen to live albums anymore.

 

It is not important to me that I have the latest and greatest gear. What I have pleases me and that is my journey, not someone else's. My plans for impending retirement include designing and building some box speakers for friends and relatives, keeping an eye out for vintage gear at bargain prices, learning a bit of electronics basics, and getting my chops back on my horn. Of course I will be watching and posting on this forum as well. Reading these pages helps pass the time when winding down from the day. Thanks for being here and providing this outlet for conversation!

 

Tim

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