Hibernator69 47 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 That Carver Derangement Disorder (CDD) really hit me the past two weeks. I'm in desperate need of a 12-step program or a bigger budget ... It all started with my happy little HT systems in the movie room and bedroom (it's CA, they make the bedrooms larger than the first few apartments I rented). My NHT VT-2s were being bi-amped with a 7x150 or so HT amp and a TFM-15cb I'd owned for many years. Then I got the strange idea of seeing what this mono bridging stuff was all about and moved the TFM-15 up to my home built sub in the bed room. that was nice and all, but now I had to use two more channels from the HT amp as sub channels. For god only knows what reason I decided to search for Carver and then also NHT on EBay and Craigslist. Talk about a butterfly fluttering it's wings in Gibraltar and a Cat 5 hurricane of CDD in my house. I found a great second set of NHT VT-2s another NHT center and two NHT bookshelf speakers and now needed more amps (never mind that may not be 100% true as my old receiver might just barely have had me covered). Then I found a great deal on a TFM-35 on Craiglist and really started feeling the fever (DIY too electronics since the light bulbs were out). I also never had a house this big before and didn't realize just how much power you need to play the stereo loud enough in one corner to be able to still hear it in another corner of the house. In the meantime a my more mundane research OCD kicked in and I started a slow but steady march towards M500 and above with the mkII mods in mind. Next thing you know I get a M500 real cheap non-working, but no biggie since $300 and a few months turn it into Godzilla or something. Well, then in true Chevy Chase or Rodney Dangerfield fashion, I find out Rich no longer works on M500s unless they have a "t" after the trailing 0. Oh well, CDD is in full gear ... Let's see where it takes us. Not to be deterred and freshly retired from the military I had way too much time available. Several auctions and way too much computer time later I found a M4.0t in FL Through the Canuckaudio site (yeah, that sounds weird to me too), but that one was just too easy to pick up. Then I found a M0.5t. These seem to be exceedingly rare and are not M500 rebadged beasts. No luck getting the 0.5 and the price was under $150, so I was kind of bummed. As I was just about to spring for a decent M1.5t I scanned the new listings and scored the two M1.0ts for $600. Please Rich ... Don't tell me you no longer work on those either ... :-) ... Although that would be in keeping with my kind of luck. As of today I'm running the new VT-2s on the TFM-35 straight from the audio out of an elevation dock for an iPhone. While that's pretty cool, I have to believe there are better DAC solutions for iPhone or computer streaming. Can't wait to try out the 1.0 and 4.0 bad boys on my leakers and hen maybe in some kind of biased fashion. What's next: - a solemn oath to try really hard not to buy any more amps for a while - a multi night stay at a Holiday Inn Express before attempting any DIY M500 trouble shooting. The military might have engrained mission completion in me, but as a software guru I'm going to need all the help I can get with any type of hardware work. One night makes you an expert according to the TV commercials, but fom where I'm starting, I think 5 nights will get me to the point of not electrocuting myself within the first five minutes. LOL Is there possibly anybody in SoCal who might be willing to help get me started on the path? Some kind of over the shoulder Carver amp repair for Dummies maybe? My call sign is Hibernator and I am a Carver addict! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zumbini 6,140 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNRabbit 370 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome, Hibernator! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord 1,060 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 The best you can hope for is that it goes into remission. Welcome to the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismiller55 4,717 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stereo_dog 416 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome Hibernator!! You suffer from an affliction of which there is no cure. Lot's of folks on this site to steer you in the right direction, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belvedere2 170 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome. Yep no cure here. Didn't expect any help along those lines did ya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesMan57 1,308 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome to the forum sir. Looks like you are well on the road of the never ending journey. So sit back and enjoy... Also we are a nosey bunch so post some pictures when you can of your system....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveStL 85 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome, Hibernator! Although YMMV, I have found that OCCD is like a fever that breaks for a while and then spikes. Best palliative care is to listen to the music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avguytx 226 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome to the forum! That was a fun read for your introduction post! Looking forward to seeing all of your gear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene C 1,745 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome to the forum. There are plenty of enablers here, so your in good hands. LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weitrhino 1,425 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 You're sunk, dude, so you might as well go all in. The M1.0t and the M500t are the big two MkII models, not that there's anything wrong with the others. For the TFM line, they don't become true mag field amps till you get up to the TFM-45. The 35, 25, and 15 are standard power amp designs. And then there are tubes....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene C 1,745 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 You're sunk, dude, so you might as well go all in. The M1.0t and the M500t are the big two MkII models, not that there's anything wrong with the others. For the TFM line, they don't become true mag field amps till you get up to the TFM-45. The 35, 25, and 15 are standard power amp designs. And then there are tubes....... NO! NO! Not the tubes.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibernator69 47 Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome to the forum! That was a fun read for your introduction post! Looking forward to seeing all of your gear... Me too ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues Pwr 765 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Welcome to the forum Hibernator69, glad you decided to join in on all the fun. As has previously stated there is no cure for OCCD. So to quote a line from one of my favorite movies ~ O Brother Where Art Thou ~ "Jump on in the waters fine" Enjoy the ride............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibernator69 47 Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 Thanks all! Just wish I'd read up a little more in the TFM-35 before buying it. For $280 though from a local buyer it will at least fare well as a computer speaker amp (hehe, after all is said and done that could actually happen). Of course I didn't really know yet at the time just how far I was going to go in two weeks. Good thing Carver doesn't make pre-processors with HDMI switching ... And the first person that mentions Sunfire: may he be cursed with a thousand crusty leaky caps in his amps ... Don't ever feed/tempt the addiction!!! At least the Sunfires are out of my casual spending, hide it from the wife, but it would be mostly OK if she knew budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibernator69 47 Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 Oops one more Noob question: What's the easiest way to post/link pictures. I've used google docs as a storage place, but the had to set permissions and click here and there to get a link to copy into the forums BBC(?) code. There's got to be something easier and less painful. P.S. I'm a Hackintosh user now if that helps (windows only solutions won't really help that much if I have to install Parallels and an old WinXP and do 30 hrs of upgrades and reboots before I can use it, ... Sorry venting, my dad has a couple things he has to do in Windiws and I am the lucky sys admin for anything technical at their house) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zumbini 6,140 Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 ...What's the easiest way to post/link pictures..... 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibernator69 47 Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Cool, never seen a forum that hosts the pics for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues Pwr 765 Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 This is a full service forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibernator69 47 Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 I've set up an Amazon wish list where I would like to assemble a list of must have OCCD workshop/workbench equipment. Please feel free to laugh hardily at my first attempt since this is kind of like a Waffle House dishwasher assembling an equipment list for Chef Ramsey in Hell's Kitchen. Permalink: http://amzn.com/w/2W04HEQGGKY0H Help and constructive feedback would also be appreciated ... Just remember about all I know about flux is that when it harnesses 1.21 Gigawatts in a capacitor all kinds of cool stuff happens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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