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Thread: Teaching an old dog new tricks... |
    
Gold Member Username: Larry_r
Naples,
FL
Post Number: 1913
Registered: Oct-04
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| Posted on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 12:00 pm: |
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Why do I get a hint of a "conspiracy" here?
But I don't have time to explain. I have some re-wiring to do - the NAD is being operated on, and I shall see and hear the results sometime Wednesday.
This is one of the happiest Christmas seasons I've had in a l o n g time.
Very respectfully. . .LarryR |
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Silver Member Username: Sem
New York/Cal...
USA
Post Number: 743
Registered: Mar-04
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| Posted on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 02:00 pm: |
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Hmmm, can't wait to hear about it. |
Gold Member Username: My_rantz
Australia
Post Number: 1737
Registered: Nov-05
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| Posted on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 05:07 pm: |
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You're keeping us in suspenders Larry. |
Gold Member Username: Larry_r
Naples,
FL
Post Number: 1914
Registered: Oct-04
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| Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 12:32 am: |
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Well, so much for Christmas.
Conspirators, you already know. Others may only guess as to the silver angel who sent me a Carver amp as a present. He/she may not even be on this forum for all you know. . .
Anyway - it brought tears to my eyes, and I was preparing to modify the NAD so the Carver 4.0T could run the two mains speakers.
Then disaster struck. Mer fell off a ladder this evening, and broke her left arm in two places. Emergency room - doctor - and to an orthopedic surgeon tomorrow (Wednesday) for some heavy-duty bone-setting procedures. Ouch.
The bills are staggering - we have no insurance - so any or all stereo upgrades that I don't have here in place will remain a misty memory.
I shall post whenever I can get around to hooking up the Carver, and will let all dawgs know if the Carver sounds "better" than the NAD mains amps.
Jan - please don't "get into it" with me on whether the Carver is a great piece of gear. I sold at poverty level my Carver units and Kef 104/2 speakers when Mer and I "went sailing," and have been mourning the loss ever since. For me personally, there has never been better-sounding gear than the Carvers.
The "new" Carver is a gift if immense emotional value to me - as the giver must already realize.
So - Happy Holidays to all - and hope for better times ahead.
Respectfully. . .LarryR |
Gold Member Username: My_rantz
Australia
Post Number: 1741
Registered: Nov-05
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| Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 01:57 am: |
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Larry, I sent a note. Jeez mate, we are so sorry about this news. Take care of Mer and yourself. |
Silver Member Username: Sem
New York/Cal...
USA
Post Number: 744
Registered: Mar-04
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| Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 08:46 am: |
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Oh Larry, I am so sorry to hear about Mer's fall. I hope for a full and speedy recovery. My thoughts are with you guys. |
Gold Member Username: Larry_r
Naples,
FL
Post Number: 1915
Registered: Oct-04
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| Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 10:04 am: |
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Dawgs: thanks for the good wishes.
Sem - if you look out a window - far, far to the south - you will see a black cloud. I live under it. Sigh. . .
Anyway - I hope to rip jumpers off the NAD tonight, and hook up the Carver 4.0t amp. My guess is that it will make the B&Ws sing.
I know that even the B&W brochure says they need and want a lot of power to sound good. And when I reconfigured the NAD one time so that all the amp power was directed to the mains, the B&Ws "seemed" to have a much fuller sound.
We'll see.
And Jan - I hope you know I was only kidding about giving me a hard time. Right? Only kidding.. .
Well, it's time to leave for the orthopedic surgeon. Double sigh. . .
Respectfully. . .LarryR |
Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigne
Dallas,
TX
Post Number: 11794
Registered: May-04
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| Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 11:59 am: |
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Give Mer my best wishes, Larry. And good luck with the amp. A little Pledge will make it sound better yet. |
Gold Member Username: Larry_r
Naples,
FL
Post Number: 1916
Registered: Oct-04
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| Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 03:39 pm: |
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Jan: Laughing out loud! Pledge! Of course it will make the Carver sound better - or at least smoother?
Will pass along good wishes - with thanx.
Mer doing fine, with bone all set and hidden under tons of crud on Mer's arm. Six weeks of that and I'm sure she'll be happy to be cast-less!
Was going to try for a Carver preamp/tuner, but with Mer's bills - not. Sigh. Hope the NAD mod works.
Respectfully. . .LarryR |
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Gold Member Username: Nuck
Post Number: 9308
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - 05:58 pm: |
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Good luck to you and Mer, Larry, mind she will have to have the wine poured for her. |
Gold Member Username: Larry_r
Naples,
FL
Post Number: 1917
Registered: Oct-04
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| Posted on Saturday, December 01, 2007 - 10:47 pm: |
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All dawgs: Mer is feeling better, but still has to have the arm re-done in a hard cast next Thursday. Pain in manageable, with pills.
As to the Carver. Sigh. I FINALLY had time to dig deep into the back of the equipment cabinet. The li'l plugs that connect pre to amp are devils to pull out! Almost tore one apart, but finally got it.
Carver to cabinet top - blue jeans connection plugged in - power cord plugged in - lights lit up - hopes up as well.
Well - it didn't go quite as I'd planned. Seems that one channel of the Carver won't come up. Checked the cords, connections out from NAD, and now me thinks that the shipping must have done something to the input plug, which seems very loose on its mounting. Will dig in tomorrow or Monday.
One of the speaker connections was badly bent, so I'm guessing that something caused the packing material to do something bad. Sigh.
I'm still optimistic - but if, when I open the case, I find that there's more than just a broken connection, I'll have to ship the unit to Miami - and the guy there said he wants $85 up front just to put the amp on his bench! Ouch. I'm still trying to find somebody local who knows anything about Carvers. So far, they just say "what?" If I may - - -double sigh.
Still optimistic.....
Respectfully.. .LarryR |
Gold Member Username: Artk
Albany,
Oregon
USA
Post Number: 5694
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Sunday, December 02, 2007 - 10:22 am: |
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Wow I didn't even see the news (not any more I guess) about Mer. So glad that all will be fine. Last I heard my brother still has and loves his Carver....awesome. |
Gold Member Username: Larry_r
Naples,
FL
Post Number: 1918
Registered: Oct-04
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| Posted on Sunday, December 02, 2007 - 10:58 am: |
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Art et al: Yep, I know there are many things to be thankful for this Holiday Season - one of which is that Mer didn't break BOTH of her arms! Six more weeks in a cast, and if she doesn't drive me crazy by then, well, all will be good. (grin)
The Carver - sigh - working on it today, but I doubt that I, personally, can help. We'll just see. . .
Respectfully. . .larryR |
Silver Member Username: Sem
New York/Cal...
USA
Post Number: 745
Registered: Mar-04
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| Posted on Sunday, December 02, 2007 - 07:07 pm: |
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I tried earlier to post this but it disappeared. I'll try again. I thought this was interesting, written by Steve Hoffman, a highly regarded audio engineer.
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=133328 |
Gold Member Username: My_rantz
Australia
Post Number: 1748
Registered: Nov-05
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| Posted on Monday, December 03, 2007 - 06:16 am: |
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Larry - whatcha prefer: being crazy or having a broken arm? [lol!] Glad Mer is managing the pain. It's a tough thing to have happen. Keeping fingers crossed for your Carver. Thanks for the info btw - communicate soon.
Sem - interesting for sure. |
Gold Member Username: Larry_r
Naples,
FL
Post Number: 1919
Registered: Oct-04
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| Posted on Monday, December 03, 2007 - 11:24 pm: |
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MR - (grin) well, we've got it both ways: Mer has a broken arm and I'm crazy! So there. . .
Today was C-day. Got out my screwdrivers, hammer, chisel, crowbar and a stick of dynamite - and cracked the 4.0t's case.
Hmm. . .some dust and stuff, as expected, so I vacuumed out everything, top and bottom. It was actually pretty clean. . .
Then I put a strong light over the unit and went through all the parts - a little tightening here, and little pushing and pulling there - and took out what looked like a couple pieces of almost-melted black electrical tape. Don't know where they came from or where they'd been. Hmm. . .
Anything that could come apart did, and got cleaned. Pretty cramped in there,and I didn't have a lot of room to play around - nor did I want to.
Saw nothing "burned" or pulled apart or squished. So I cleaned what I could and put the thing back together again. took it into the living room, plugged it into the pre outs of the NAD and hooked up the B&Ws. Wowzer! It worked! Such nice, clean, clear sound! The B&Ws sounded like they went to heaven and got harp lessons. I think they like a lot of power behind them. . .
Anyway - do NOT ask me what was wrong. I haven't a clue. And I don't have any parts left over, either! GRIN
So thanks to the silver angel for the gift that now plays merrily merrily! Only problem is that it has to sit on top of the equipment cabinet - and Mer sorta frowns at that. We'll see. . .
I suppose I'll have to bite the bullet and get a Carver preamp someday - but right now I gotta pay bigtime medical bills for Mer. So goes the, well, y'all know. . .
And to all, a good night. . .
Respectfully. . .LarryR |
Gold Member Username: My_rantz
Australia
Post Number: 1753
Registered: Nov-05
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| Posted on Monday, December 03, 2007 - 11:44 pm: |
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Larry, that is wonderful news. You must have the magic touch. Now all you need is the Midas touch LOL!
Seriously that's just great. The silver angel will be pleased for sure. |
Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigne
Dallas,
TX
Post Number: 11812
Registered: May-04
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| Posted on Tuesday, December 04, 2007 - 03:51 am: |
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Larry - With those short cable runs in your rack you'd probably be a good candidate for a passive "pre amp". Nothing better than nothing in the signal path. Nothing cheaper either. |
Gold Member Username: Nuck
Post Number: 9364
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Tuesday, December 04, 2007 - 04:24 am: |
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Larry, that's great! Just a little slippage in shipping after all. Your tinkering is still top shelf.
Let's have a look a a passive setup, then? |
Silver Member Username: Mike3
Wylie,
Tx
USA
Post Number: 905
Registered: May-06
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| Posted on Tuesday, December 04, 2007 - 09:06 am: |
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Nice work Larry, good epilogue to a wonderful story.
I had a '64 Buick LaSabre that I had that kind of luck with when I went under the hood. Except I always had an extra part or too. 
I like Jan's idea of trying the source direct to amp, if in fact the source has a volume control.  |
Gold Member Username: Larry_r
Naples,
FL
Post Number: 1920
Registered: Oct-04
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| Posted on Wednesday, December 05, 2007 - 12:31 am: |
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All dawgs: Thanks for the comments. I'm still pondering those liddle black "blobs" that I found inside the cage.
I'm thinking that I need a Carver pre/tuner - most likely a CT-7. That's what I had before, as I recall, and it was wunnerful. I've been looking on eBay and other places, but they all seem to sell in the high 200s - about 270 average, and that's more than I can afford at the moment.
Mer says it's exciting to have "at least part of a Carver" back in the house - but she has said several times that I have to remember yet another set of speakers to go with it if I want it as a separate system. Yeah, uh, that's right. . .more money.
I don't have anything to run directly to the amp, so I'm outta luck there, as well. . .
Maybe next month. . .
Respectfully. . .LarryR |
Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigne
Dallas,
TX
Post Number: 11818
Registered: May-04
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| Posted on Wednesday, December 05, 2007 - 09:36 pm: |
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"Thanks for the comments. I'm still pondering those liddle black "blobs" that I found inside the cage."
They were the output transistors trying to get out of the amp when MW was playing Pink Floyd at 105dB.
. |
Gold Member Username: Larry_r
Naples,
FL
Post Number: 1921
Registered: Oct-04
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| Posted on Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 09:16 am: |
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Jan: Wow! Thanks! I wondered what doze tings waz! Do I have to put them back somewhere? Hmm. . .looks like all the plug-holes are filled. (grin)
Pink Floyd at 105dB? Maybe I'm not the only dawg who's going deaf?
Respectfully. . .LarryR |
Gold Member Username: Artk
Albany,
Oregon
USA
Post Number: 5707
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 09:23 pm: |
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"Pink Floyd at 105dB? Maybe I'm not the only dawg who's going deaf?"
Or soon will be... |
Gold Member Username: Nuck
Post Number: 9393
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Friday, December 07, 2007 - 05:24 am: |
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"huh?" |
Gold Member Username: Nuck
Post Number: 9412
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 07:05 pm: |
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And Tina is so happy today.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2007/12/12/ike-turner-obit.html |
Gold Member Username: Artk
Albany,
Oregon
USA
Post Number: 5738
Registered: Feb-05
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| Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 09:27 pm: |
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Ike was one of the great influences of modern music. Listen to any blues station or old school R&B. Read interviews from some of the most influential artists of our time and you will hear time and time again how Ike Turner influenced their music. He is one of the giants of music even if he was wasn't a perfect man...who is. |
Silver Member Username: Mike3
Wylie,
Tx
USA
Post Number: 942
Registered: May-06
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| Posted on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 09:32 pm: |
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Ike Turner is credited by some as producing the 1st Rock song in 1951. A guitar's distortion was introduced in the recording for the first time. |
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