jt1stcav

Well, I can't say for certain how close to a tube amp his offerings sounded since I had no frame of reference back then, but I thoroughly enjoyed the sounds of my M-400t and TFM-35x power amps. I can only imagine the sonic characteristics of Bob's best Carver and Sunfire amplifiers...never heard any Phase Linear products, but I suppose at the time they were really something.

I would've really enjoyed attending the fest and to meet the legend himself! What an honor that must've been. From '83 to '01 I was a loyal Carver owner...my Magneplanars never sounded sweeter than with the clean, accurate power of my TFM-35x (the two M-400t cubes were each bridged to mono to drive my DIY subwoofer). There will always be a soft spot in my heart for Carver gear, and I sometimes wish I had never gone in a different direction audio-wise; too bad I couldn't afford two seperate systems or I would've never sold my classic Carver gear to help finance my love of tubes and horns! I've been out of the loop since 2001...is Bob relinquishing Sunfire or resurrecting Carver Corp. or starting a whole different company?

I had a pair of Loth-X Audio "Amaze" transmission-line, slot loaded bookshelf monitors with cabinets made from solid cherry, each fitted with a Stefan Stamm-custom designed, Fostex-built 6" single unit tri-coned full-range paper driver with cloth surround, impregnated with a special proprietary polymeric resin for lightness/stiffness, with an alloy phase plug, and a 23,000 gauss Alnico magnet: *Frequency range: 55Hz - 20kHz +/-3dB. *Sensitivity: 96dB/2.83 V/m. *Impedance: 8 ohms. *Weight: 6 kg (13.22 lbs). They obviously lacked the deepest bass, but what bookshelf speaker doesn't! A pair of Dayton Audio powered subwoofers (down to 25Hz each) took care of that, and blended quite nicely with the Amaze. IMHO they really were horn-like in their interpretation of live music, and they weren't underachievers in the highs at all. They were well balanced and full in the mids...you'd think you were listening to seperate drivers. At 96dB, they were super efficient and an easy load for my 8Wpc 300B SET amp. Vocals were life-like and floated in air, and on excellent recordings sounded very live and dynamic! My only complaint was they did tend to become somewhat shrilly and beam at higher volumes, but that could've also been due to my 8 watt amp nearing its clipping point! I wish I had kept them since I now own a more powerful 6L6 PP tube amp...maybe that alone would've solved the beaming at louder levels, I dunno.

That's right-neighborly of you, Dave. And you're probably right...a multi-voiced (Baroque and Symphonic) Hauptwerk virtual pipe organ would blow away a digital Rodgers or Allen (although Johannes organs sound pretty convincing, along with Marshall & Ogletree instruments).

I regret that I'll have to sit this one out, but I'd love to attend (my finances and my unreliable car prevent me)! I'd bring my big, bad Baldwin 6L6 amp, and my 180 gram pressing of Dave Mason's Alone Together, and various organ CDs, natch! Maybe next time...[]

"Women are like pianos...when they're not upright, they're grand!" ~Benny Hill~

Gregg, sending you, your daughter and wife some good Florida vibes your way...hope her operation was a success.

Shoot, DC...the massive Baldwin amp would take the entire Civic's back seat! It is tempting, though...

Damn cancer...it's claimed so many good lives. RIP Richard.

I'm happy to hear Dave and family are doing well after Ike tore TX wide open! Sorry about your pool full of gunk, but at least your Fraziers made it unscathed! I also received an e-mail last night from Erik Mandaville of Houston, and this is what he had to say: "Our power came on this evening (hopefully for good this time), but we don't have running water. We have some roof damage...several of our neighbors had severe flooding, with entire upstair floors collapsing. We had large branches blown off trees, and many mature trees completely uprooted or snapped in half right behind our house. Roof shingles were blown all over the neighborhood, and none of the street lights have been working. All nearby gas stations are closed for business. Just lots and lots of cleanup to do, but you're right, it could have been worse." I think everyone involved from this forum have been saying a word of thanks to the ol' Man upstairs that Ike wasn't a killer here in the US like past storms have been. As much damage that was caused from Ike, it claimed very few lives...thanks be to God for that!

Or at least make them an option (maybe their mini speakers sound half-way decent[A])!

That's okay, I'll pass alltogether. I get enough spam on MySpace to feed an army!

Oh, if only I could afford the gas (and my car was more reliable)...I'd make a road trip over your way and bring my Baldwin 6L6 tube amp along for the ride! Afterwards, I'd drive to Houston and visit my good friend Erik Mandaville! Alas, it is not meant to be...sucks living on a fixed income![:'(]

Z4! hit the nail right on the head! Mark builds top-notch tube preamps with phono stages to die for, and seem to be designed especially for Klipsch loudspeakers. If you're interested in vintage refurbished/modified tube pre's with excellent built-in phono stages, check out Craig at NOSValves.com. Many here have bought old clunkers on eBay or Craigslist for cheap and had Craig rebuild them to like-new condition...members here swear by both Mark and Craig! Check them out.

I dunno...is there a big market share for upscale mini systems? I mean, JVC, Teac and Onkyo seem to have the market sewn up with their decent sounding affordable ($149-399) 2-channel systems. How many people who can afford $6-8k will want to spend that much on a mini system? The few wealthy businessmen my dad and I know who have audio systems in their offices have regular high-end components with exotic bookshelf monitors and subs.

Darn, I feel left out...I haven't been spammed by the peacock yet...[]

Glenn, glad to know Ms. Rose had the skin cancer detected early enough...my dad had tiny skin cancer spots burned off his nose and shoulders awhile back without any problems! Sorry to hear about your son Bill...same thing happened to my kid brother back in the early '90s with his Ford Ranger extended cab; punks stole his Alpine head unit and 3(?) JL Audio subwoofers and amps from his DIY enclosure while it was parked at the local K-Mart one night (his truck alarm didn't even faze the thieves, and they got away with it to boot)! Hope Bill gets some satisfaction from his misfortune.

Thanks everyone...I appreciate the kind words from highly regarded audiophiles such as yourselves! I'd like to add more MP3s to my music page, but I really don't have the room available unless I switch to a premium service, and I can't really afford that right now (free is good, so my limited bandwidth website with ads will have to do for now).

Hope Dave's holding up well. Same too, for all the other TX forum members here who are in Ike's path. Anyone hear from Erik Mandaville (Houston) and Wardsweb?

Thanks for the kind words, Ben. It was great while it lasted...maybe someday our paths will meet again once the organ's installed in its new home. Glad you enjoyed the music files. I'm sure your dad's fiance will get a kick out of hearing them (glad to hear she plays a pipe organ too).

For anyone whose interested in music for the pipe organ, I've now got 4 MP3 music files up on my website of the pipe organ my dad built for our home back in '83 (sadly, now sold). The recording isn't the best quality soundwise, but you get the idea of what 19 ranks sounded like. The organ was "played" by a computer sequencer performing MIDI music files I arranged and edited myself (since I'm not an organist). The MIDI files weren't totally refined yet, but my dad wanted to record the organ up to that point so his out-of-town friends could hear what it was capable of. http://www.freewebs.com/jt1stcav/myorganmusic.htm You can also click on my sig's banner below and see the entire site, or read up on the organ pages only. If y'all are up to it, comments are certainly welcome. FWIW...enjoy!

Ditto on all the well-wishes, Bruce. Now tell the new parents to get crackin' on producing a granddaughter for ya![A]

It is the memories that make up for lack of any aesthetic deficiencies...thanks for continuing to keep this old gear (and your memories of your dad) alive!

Beautiful furniture-like finish...the owner better keep the cats, house plants and picture frames off these babies!

The auction ended with a no-sale (gee, I wonder why?). Who would want 'em? Wonder why the previous owner mirrored them...what's the point, unless he was trying to be different (or had them in the corners of his bedroom...ugh)! If they were mine, those mirrors would come off pronto, and I'd have Greg refinish them.