slbenz 110 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Thought on a lark to pick up a mint condition Carver C-1 preamp for the Sonic Holography feature. I am using a pair of Magnepan IIIa speakers powered by an Emotiva XPA-5 amp. My preamp is a Pioneer VSX-74TXVi AV receiver and my source is a Marantz DV-9600 universal DVD player connected via Firewire. I also have a Yaqin Tube Buffer in the chain. Surprisingly, the addition of the Carver unit really added to that "live" performance feeling I was looking for. The additional depth and wider soundstage was a great addition to an already great sound that I was happy with but was curious if I could have more. Amazing that an almost 30 year old technology can sound so good and compete with today's technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues Pwr 765 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome to the forum and the world of Carver Equipment. If you like that pre wait till you pair it with an M1.0t amp. You'll quickly forget your old amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weitrhino 1,425 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome slbenz. I agree with the post above! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zumbini 6,140 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Howdy slbenz and welcome to the forum. Glad you hopped on board the Carver train. The C-1 and it's black-faced brother the C-11 are great sounding preamps and favorites among many members.One CarverSite member (BillD) has made them even sweeter by updating them with modern components. The difference in sound quality is stunning and his mod turns a very good preamp into an exceptional one. For more info check out these threads on the C-1 and C-11. When you have time please post some photos of your toys for us to admire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slbenz 110 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 Hello Everyone that posted, I see the unanimous consensus on the M1.0t power amp. I remember years ago when it first came out listening to it at a Good Guys store in San Francisco. Not sure how it will sound compared to my Emotiva XPA-5. Really like the sound of the Emotiva. It replaced a Parasound HCA-1205A power amp I had for nine years. I decided to downsize my 5.1 home theater to my current two-channel system. Still have the additional speakers, an Eminent Technology LFT-XII center channel and another set of Magnepan IIIa speakers for the rears. As you can see why I have 5 channel power amps. I see locally a M1.0t power amp asking for $325. May have to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PDR 1,192 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome.......your gonna get along fine with Mr SteveFord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slbenz 110 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome.......your gonna get along fine with Mr SteveFord Seems to be a good thing. Looks like he his a moderator of this forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesMan57 1,311 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome to the forum slbenz. Glad to have you.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismiller55 4,717 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zumbini 6,140 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 ....I see locally a M1.0t power amp asking for $325. May have to check it out. That's a pretty good price if it's in decent shape. A DEAD M-1.0t recently sold for $266 on ebay! Welcome.......your gonna get along fine with Mr SteveFordSeems to be a good thing. Looks like he his a moderator of this forum? SteveFord IS a mod here but I believe PDR is referring to the fact that Steve is a huge Maggie fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vintagchris Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome to the Carver experience! i am a new member and new to Carver myself having recently acquiring a C1 pre amp myself, i as well found the holographic feature to be incredible to what it adds to the listening experience, totally took my system to another level for me, enjoy your new toy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PDR 1,192 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Yep....should of explained myself better, hes a great guy and doesnt push the "moderator" button often...........see, still here! Steve is a huge fan and a moderator of the planer circle at "Audio Circle" as well. He is also a tube gear fan with some beautiful equipment, but has a bunch of everything else too. His bedroom system is nicer than most peoples.....and probably sounds better than my main!! Perry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jldeni 439 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome to Carver site! I think you're going to like it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stereo_dog 459 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome to the Forum. You have a great start, the M-1.0t will/would be a great addition to your system. Be careful, this Carver addiction is contageous......lots of personalities on this site to enable the addiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtexasdog 2,371 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome to the forum slbenz. Your gonna love it here I think. It's a great neighborhood. Post some pics-we love pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slbenz 110 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 Here is a picture of my system as requested. The Magnepan IIIas are stabilized by a set of Mye Stands on a piece of particle board. You can see where I prominently put the Carver C-1. The subwoofer by the left speaker is a Velodyne HGS-12 SeriesII. Upper left is my Marantz DV-9600 universal DVD player. Below that is my Pioneer VSX-74TXVi AV receiver used as a preamp. Upper right is a Panamax Max 5100 power center and below that is my Emotiva XPA-5 only running two channels currently. Tried active biamping and didn't like it as much. Hidden behind the center grill and beneath the Carver is a Yaqin Tube Buffer using a Russian 6H23 tube with a Herbie's Tube Damper. What you don't see in this picture is that I have done the Uncle Stu battery tweak from Audio Asylum to my speakers and AV receiver. The recommendations for the Carver M1.0t had me thinking last night. But the Emotiva in two-channel as it is currently being used can push 440 watts/channel into those Magnepans which is more than enough power for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jldeni 439 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Nice system - and I would call the C-1 it's crown jewel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zumbini 6,140 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Thanks for the system photo and description slbenz. VERY NICE! Unfortunately the anthracite C-1 kind of kills the stealth vibe you have going. You might consider a blackface C-11 which is otherwise virtually identical to the C-1. Here's a few shots of my BillD-modified C-11 (the 1/4" TRS sockets right rear are balanced outputs): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtexasdog 2,371 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Nice setup there! Have you tried some Telefunken or Amprex 6DJ8 tubes in the buffer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slbenz 110 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 Nice setup there! Have you tried some Telefunken or Amprex 6DJ8 tubes in the buffer? Yes I have but I settled on the 6H23 because of the extra detail and richer mids matching the other tubes but for much less money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slbenz 110 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 Thanks for the system photo and description slbenz. VERY NICE! Unfortunately the anthracite C-1 kind of kills the stealth vibe you have going. You might consider a blackface C-11 which is otherwise virtually identical to the C-1. Here's a few shots of my BillD-modified C-11 (the 1/4" TRS sockets right rear are balanced outputs): I agree with you the C-11 would better match my current system. I am just happy the C-1 takes my system up another notch. By the way, I have seen the BillD reference on modifying the C-1. Approximately how much does he charge to do the modification? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtexasdog 2,371 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Thanks for the system photo and description slbenz. VERY NICE! Unfortunately the anthracite C-1 kind of kills the stealth vibe you have going. You might consider a blackface C-11 which is otherwise virtually identical to the C-1. Here's a few shots of my BillD-modified C-11 (the 1/4" TRS sockets right rear are balanced outputs): I agree with you the C-11 would better match my current system. I am just happy the C-1 takes my system up another notch. By the way, I have seen the BillD reference on modifying the C-1. Approximately how much does he charge to do the modification? If I remember correctly it is about 70.00 in parts plus shipping both ways. As far as I know Bill does not charge per say for all the time(a lot of it) and effort(again a lot of it) he puts into each unit. Bill leaves it up to you to decide how much his talent-knowledge-time and effort are worth. But I would check with him first-as things may have changed. He is currently in the Hosp recovering from previous builds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanford lindstrom 35 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I have been running a BillD modified C-1 for my two channel set up with a M1.0t amp. I own a several Carver amps and preamps. I purchased about a couple of months ago a Emotiva UMC-1 theater pre-pro for my home theater setup to match up with my five channel THX Carver AV-705x amp. I like the functionally of my UMC-1 but I have the occasional audio drop out problem described in the Emotiva forum. New firmware was released yesterday that hopefully addresses the problem. If this one problem is addressed I will be extremely happy with my UMC-1. We are currently living in our recently completed garage/guest house while our home is being built. The UMC-1 is currently being used for video in two channel mode with another one of my M1.0t amps. In two channel mode, my modified C-1 blows away the UMC-1. I do not have an unmodified C-1 to compare to the UMC-1 but I would think that an unmodified C-1 against the UMC-1 would be a close competition. I look forward to a review of comparison of a Carver M1.0t amp to the any of the current Emotiva amps. Based on the results of the pre amps I would think that the an unmodified M1.0t amp and a Emotiva amp would be a good competition but the modified M1.0t Mark II amp would produce superior sound. Based on what I understand about both Emotiva and Carver they are both very similar in offering superior performing products at a great value. They are just from different eras. Welcome and I look forward to your future posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balok 1,429 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Welcome to the forum, slbenz. Thanks for the pic of your system. Don't let these crazy guyz force you to buy an amp that you don't need. (altho, you probably will want an M1.0t at some point) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weitrhino 1,425 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I never realized there was soooo much love for the M1.0t on this board. Fine. It's a good amp by all accounts. I've never owned one but personally I'd recommend the M500t. Both amps are MkII candidates but you just can't beat those terrific meters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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