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Souped-up Carver Amps


TNRabbit

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Dern. Now I wished I hadn't sold my m1.0t that I had had for twenty years. It was mint.

Good info.

jc

Interesting.

I did not care for the other "m-series" amps from Carver. However, the M1.0t sounded very nice when I heard it on some Klipschorns. There was something about that particular model.

-Tom

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Hello all. I'm a new member here, but have been over at carveraudio.com for quite awhile. I'm still working on getting my system listed (Carver, Klipsch, misc.) and due to a recent move it's still a bit in pieces.

I've been researching and experimenting, and came up with a stable, reliable upgrade to the M-500, M-500t and M-1.0t Carver amplifiers.

If anyone's interested, check out http://carvermk2.com for more info.

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I saw that rabbit, but I just joined and wanted to make a post to see if my sig was working ;) I should have joined long ago, since I've owned Klipsch since mid 80's and just upgraded my Cornwall II tweeters with the Bob Crites titanium diaphragms. (long-time lurker I guess)

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I still kick myself for tossing my dead M1.0t and two M1.5ts about 6 years ago. I have since learned that the likely issue was the power supply caps, and now I read this thread and kick myself TWICE.

I guess I need to add one of these modded 1.0ts to my list of desired gear.

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I have a Carver M-500t; for those not familiar with it...

250W/ch @8ohms

350W/ch @ 4 ohms

500W mono bridged (diagram for how to do that screened on the back panel)

Two very large watt meters on the front face that may be callibrated inside with a plastic screwdriver and a known source (but the lights for them went out years a go)

Magnetic Field power supply

I could probably find the rack handles if I looked around for them

Of the few sand amps I have heard, this one is the nicest sounding, very strong and quiet.

I've been going the other way for years (SET), so if someone is looking for a big old Carver to play with, let me know.

post-16099-13819428202484_thumb.jpg

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I still kick myself for tossing my dead M1.0t and two M1.5ts about 6 years ago. I have since learned that the likely issue was the power supply caps, and now I read this thread and kick myself TWICE.

I guess I need to add one of these modded 1.0ts to my list of desired gear.

When the caps start to go bad the sound getws very grainy and lacking punch. A flat dead unit is likely to have been another problem, but not devastatingly hard to fix (if the tech is familiar with the Carver triac controlled power supply and class G switching topology. It's too bad you ditched them....
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I have a Carver M-500t; for those not familiar with it...

250W/ch @8ohms

350W/ch @ 4 ohms

500W mono bridged (diagram for how to do that screened on the back panel)

Two very large watt meters on the front face that may be callibrated inside with a plastic screwdriver and a known source (but the lights for them went out years a go)

Magnetic Field power supply

I could probably find the rack handles if I looked around for them

Of the few sand amps I have heard, this one is the nicest sounding, very strong and quiet.

I've been going the other way for years (SET), so if someone is looking for a big old Carver to play with, let me know.

If you need lamps I have a few left over from the LED mod I do on these, let me know
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Yep...I was a Carver fan since '80 when I first heard my dad's friend's two M-500t amps driving four Klipschorns in his monsterous music room (which also housed a complete 1927 Marr & Colten theatre pipe organ).

While stationed in Germany in '83 I bought my first M-400t, along with a C-1 pre, TX-11 tuner, and later their DTL-100 CD player. Excellent gear; never had a problem with them (except for the transport mechanism in the 1st generation disc player).

In the '90s I later purchased the TFM-35x, a beautiful brute of an amp that sounded quite sweet, yet tight, clean and powerful driving my Magnapan MGLR1s and later my Cornwalls! It was the best amp by far that I had owned up to that point...only the McIntosh MC7200 edged it out in sheer dynamics, and not by much IMO! I also bought a new SD/A-450 disc player and a used C-4000 pre to upgrade the C-1, and another used M-400t for a DIY sub I had at the time.

Had my financial situation been different, I would've kept my Carver gear instead of selling it off for other equipment. I still dig the '80s Carver Corp. components...maybe someday I'll be able to own Carver gear again, and consider any updates/modifications that might be available...

post-11084-1381942826306_thumb.jpg

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I'm a "back in the day" Carver fan as well

I too had a M-400t and a C-1 combo and loved the detail

The 400t failed beyond reasonable repair in the late 80s but I still have (and use) the C1, which I recapped about 8 years ago.

I've been desperately trying to get my hands on Bob's latest creations , here's a photo (yes, 6xKT88 per side)

WopOnTour

post-19879-1381942833898_thumb.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm back from vacation, and sent an email out to all who expressed interest in having their unit's mk II upgraded.

If everybody (10) on my list goes ahead with it, I'll be booked up until the 1st week of April, so if you get an email, let me know as soon as you can if you:
1. Are staying on the list
2. Want to be bumped down on the list
3. Are no longer interested

Thanks, and Happy new Year!

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How do the TFM-6CBs compare against the bigger brothers? I have a chance at a pair which I would run bridged, 1 per side on my Scalas.

I don't have any experience with the TFM-6, or any TFM under the TFM-35, but the TFM-6 is NOT a magnetic field amp (triac controlled mag coil) it is a more traditional transformer design. The only TFM's that are mag coil are the 42/45/55 and 75.

Bridging in general is not very well thought of, although it would be easier on the amp with those LaScala's (they're an easy load). The trouble is, when bridged, one channel is inverted, and you hook one speaker up to BOTH hot terminals. Now, instead of (for example) a 50 V swing, there's a 100V swing, which implies more power, BUT, to deliver twice the voltage, the amp has to be able to supply twice the current (not many can).

Delivering twice the current into an 8 ohm load is roughly analogous to having to drive a 4 ohm load (which is the wrong-headed idea that the amp 'sees' half the load comes from). If you bridge and try to drive a 4 ohm load, the amp has to be capable of driving a 2 ohm load, continuously.

This is the problem, then. You're now asking the amp to deliver twice the current to hold up the rail voltage, which it has a hard time doing, so the rail sags, and cone motion control suffers; IMO the sound is a bit 'loose'.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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