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two questions


rick hair s c

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I have two questions...a little history first. I bought my Heresy 1 in 1985 it was a floor model so I paid $1200. I also bought a carver 500 amp and a couple of technics 1200 mk2's. I used a straight 4 channel mixer (realistic). This had a great sound. I'm wondering if I should get a carver 1400 preamp, would it sound better? Or should I keep what I have (sound is good to me). Also I am wondering what wood is under the black paint. I don't have the serial numbers from the back. Is there any other way to find the. Ok that's three questions.😎

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Welcome to the Forum!

I don´t own Carvers, but i say this - if it sounds good to You, why change it?

 

As for the verneer, You could use some acetone and strip a spot of paint on the bottom of your Heresy to get a peek.

 

Just my two cents.

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6 hours ago, rick hair s c said:

I have two questions...a little history first. I bought my Heresy 1 in 1985 it was a floor model so I paid $1200. I also bought a carver 500 amp and a couple of technics 1200 mk2's. I used a straight 4 channel mixer (realistic). This had a great sound. I'm wondering if I should get a carver 1400 preamp, would it sound better? Or should I keep what I have (sound is good to me). Also I am wondering what wood is under the black paint. I don't have the serial numbers from the back. Is there any other way to find the. Ok that's three questions.😎


Just a quick intro to High Fidelity and Stereo 

 

When you see speaker specs - take note of the sensitivity db rating 

A rating of 93 db or greater is HiFi and under that it’s Stereo 

 

The higher the sensitivity db rating the less watts needed to drive your speakers 

So I personally think the Carver 500 is overkill 


Klipsch speakers don’t need that much power 

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Before doing anything like taking acetone to the finish, I would wait until some more knowledgeable members check in.  Don’t worry about power.  The main thing is that your power amps and preamp should produce very little noise of their own, since the high sensitivity of your speakers enables them to pick up noise as clearly as they pick up all the fine details in your music.

 

That’s the main thing.  The next thing is how much power do you need?  You need enough power to accurately reproduce the sound of the music you like, in your room, at the sound levels you enjoy.  Some types of music, like acoustic folk, for example, don’t need a lot of power, because there are usually not very instruments playing, nearly all of the music is in the midrange, and typical listeners no levels are not very loud.

 

However, if you like listening to music from full symphony orchestras or hard rock or its relatives like heavy metal, at near-concert volume, you’ll need a lot more power.  You need enough power that your power amplifier is not straining in any way.  If it is, some of the loudest parts of the music might drive it into clipping, which sends non-musical signals to the speakers, which can cause damage.  For that reason, most speaker manufacturers recommend that you use an amp with double the power rating of the speakers’ power rating, to ensure that they’ll always be getting clean, safe, sound.  A general recommendation is that if you have to turn the Volume knob much past the 12 o’clock position, you may be pushing the amp too hard.

 

Another factor is the size and liveliness of your room.  A bigger room calls for more power, since there’s more air that the speakers need to jiggle to produce the music you love.  The contents, like furniture, carpeting, rugs, drapes, and so on, all affect the liveliness of the room, because they will absorb some of the sound.  This can be a good thing, since it cuts down on the reflections caused by the hard surfaces in the room, like the walls, ceiling, floor, and windows.  An ideal room will have some furniture and carpeting, because a totally dead room is not much better than a totally live room.

 

Keep in mind that Heresys are not big Pro speakers.  They will play louder than nearly any speaker of their size, but if you like to listen to really loud music in a really large room, you will need bigger speakers.  If your room is reasonable-sized, reasonably lively, and you like to listen at reasonable volume, your Heresys may well be your ideal speakers.

 

So the question is, what is your goal?  If you have two turntables and a mixer, you might be a DJ.  If so, the Heresys will be fine for dance parties at home, but not ideal for a dance club with fifty people on the dance floor.  BTW, people absorb sound, too.

 

Do you find your present system lacking in some way, and would you like to upgrade it in some way?  Fear not.  If you describe what you have in mind, there are members on here who have experience with nearly any kind of audio application, so be patient and see who turns up.

 

And welcome to the Forum!

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@Full Range

Quote

A rating of 93 db or greater is HiFi and under that it’s Stereo

 

I hope you were kidding. Because if not, that is one of most foolish things I have read in a while.

 

OP

 

You should dump the 4 channel mixer, and not for a Carver pre either. Look for a modern day tube preamp or perhaps a high quality passive. Just because you think it sounds good now is never a reason not to upgrade a weak link. And that mixer thingie you are using is definitely a weak link........

 

 

Shakey

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Normally Andy  [He use to build Heresys] said the black ones were walnut with flaws in the wood. You can take some paint off bottom to see. The carver amp is working ??? Thats awesome just keep it. A newer pre amp would help i would think. The serial numbers were not stamped into Heresys. Mine are number 1s  from 85 also. I think around 85 they started to switch to Heresy II, So if the woofers are rear mounted and the back panel comes off      those are series ones. 

You could do some mods to them like I have.    Rebuild the crossovers. , I added a 1/4'' layer of ply a little smaller than the back panel on the inside of the back panel  to stiffen it up. Put a seal on the back panel so it seals better. 

I would watch the power going to the Heresys with that Carver . I had my sons Carver for awhile and got carried away with the volume and bottomed out the woofer. No damage though. 

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8 hours ago, RandyH000 said:

ditto for that answer , and let me add , ASAP

 

If the system he built does what he wants, why change things?

 

Granted, if capacitors have aged over time and the sound with them, then you might not notice that anything wonky has occurred. It's always fun to play with new gear, however, and as long as you don't sell off the original parts of the system, you can always put things back to what you liked.

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2 hours ago, Oicu812 said:

 

If the system he built does what he wants, why change things?

 

-The OP was asking  whether removing the Mixer -----4 Band -Realistic and adding the Carver 1400 preamp would give a better overall sound -  and the answer is yes   -the rest of his gear was great -

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2 minutes ago, rick hair s c said:

Thanks for all the reply's...... this place is great. I might sell one of my turntables and buy a pre amp.

 

no just add the preamp for HIFI sound , but keep your mixer when you want to scratch or mix songs   ,   Preamps can be dirt cheap ----------Check the Shiit  products -----the SYS--49$

https://www.schiit.com/products/sys

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