using the carver cm-1090 primarily as a (really snazzy looking) headphone amp

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terry parr

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or, I think it's a great-looking amp.  others may disagree, and if so that's fine.  i'm not offended.  that's what makes AudioCircle and life in general interesting.  (different tastes). 

i also like the way this amp reproduces the timbral and tonal quality that it does.  but, it IS a very "refined-sounding" amp, meaning not a lot of "punch" or "impact."  i'd like to have both.  which brings me to the subject of this post.

i'm dropping off the unit tomorrow at a very good repair shop (this guy has serviced carver units before, and after meeting him last summer, and after about an hour-long conversation), he's familiar with the type of sound that i'm after.  over the phone today, it sounded like he was trying to steer me toward a separate "headphone pre-amp" as he put it, but i want to try and use this as my main h/p amp, AND the amp that i'll use to power loudspeakers. but, at the end of the day, headphone listening will constitute the majority of my listening with this amp. 

what i'd like to see, is if he can change out the resistors in the headphone circuit in order to allow more current to pass through, thus making the sound more "dynamic" for lack of a better term.  (without losing the other refined-sounding qualities of this amp that i like).

the amp does have a few minor issues (which would've put it in the shop, anyway).  for instance the cd inputs need replacing, the signal coming through the right channel is about half that of the left (and the watt meters indicate this), and the unit needs a good cleaning (although it's in great shape meaning no dents or dings or scratches, so it'll "clean up good.")

don't know if i'm asking for too much here:  wanting the amp to retain the grace and refinement of a ballet dancer, while having the strength and punch of a heavyweight boxer.  that's about the best analogy that i can think of. 

we'll see what he tells me tomorrow.  if anybody here with an opinion on this would like to chime in, please feel free. 

to steve ford:  thank-you for the link to the carver site that you gave me when i talked about this amp a few months ago.  however, there's not a lot of info specific to this amp out there, and especially not when it comes to someone using this amp mainly to drive headphones.  (which is why i'm posting this "here" in the headphone section).       

bladesmith

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Best to do business locally,  always.!

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SteveFord

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No, I wouldn't think so regarding the headphone section.
Let us know how it works out.  If nothing else, you should have enough power to blow your ear drums out so be careful!

gjclaxton@gmail.com

You may want to check out the speaker amp for headphones thread at head-fi.  There are ways to use headphones from the speaker posts that can give you the dynamics you are looking for. 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649107/speaker-amps-for-headphones

Good luck.

Bob2

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Interested in how this works out..please keep us posted.

terry parr

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dropped off the carver this afternoon. i'm leaving it in good hands.  but finding an experienced audio repair guy who's younger than 70 (and one who seems interested in talking music and equipment) is getting to be a fairly rare find these days.

on to what i learned today:  changing out the resistors would not be the way he would recommend making changes to the "headphone out." he says i may notice a big enough difference in the sound after the unit has had a thorough cleaning inside (and especially cleaning all the "contacts").  he said that might be the culprit that's causing loss of signal in the right channel.  and once this is remedied, he says "you might be surprised at the difference that hearing the restored sound, which will be wider and fuller."  i'm skeptical.  but, hey. he's forgotten more about electronics than i'll ever know.

i wanted the capacitors changed (considering the age of the unit).  he says "not necessarily. carver was known to use good components to begin with."  i still might insist on this, though.  (those caps are old).

he said that he'll examine the solder points (which he says can sometimes be an issue with this type of amp that's of this vintage). 

on the whole, he was complimentary on the unit, and complimentary of bob carver and his designs.  "very well regarded." 

and since he said these units arn't very hard to work on i feel good that hopefully i'll have a very good sounding carver integrated back in my music room, shortly. 

here's hoping.         


terry parr

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i'm excited about the phone call i got today from the repair tech at the shop.  my carver amp is ready!  and he said that he thinks i'll be happy with it.  i haven't called him since dropping it off last thurs.  (didn't want to bother him.  just leave him alone and let him work). 

what follows is a "scatter-shot" list of things that i was able to make notes on while he was talking.  he said he'd go over everything when i got there to pick it up. 

as always, if anyone reading this notices anything that doesn't sound right, please feel free to add your $0.02 

--distortion was present (especially in right channel)
--he had to do a bit of audio troubleshooting ("freezing" certain transistors), in order to isolate the offending ones.  he said this can be like
   looking for a needle in a haystack sometimes.
--3 transistors were replaced (with original OEM parts).
--numerous "ring cracks" on solder connections were found.   these were repaired, and solder connections were then cleaned up. 
--all input jacks (and everything inside the unit was cleaned).
--at this point he mentioned something about the "internal input" that i didn't get. (i just have "internal input" scribbled down on my notes).
   (guess at the time of writing i thought  that i would remember.  i don't).   
--capacitors are in good shape
--he didn't want to replace the lights for the watt meters. ("these are 'fuse solder lights' in antique yellow.  don't worry.  they're known to last.")
--pots, switches and contacts were cleaned using de-oxit #5.
--balance was restored between left and right.  now, the meters indicate uniform signal in both channels.


on the whole, i feel very good about the phone call this afternoon.  i was hoping that i would avoid the danger of him telling me that once he got
in there, he's found something either difficult to fix, or a part that would be hard to come by.  then, i would be left thinking:  "well, i've already
spent this much on it, i might as well spend a bit more..."  i was hoping to avoid that.  (white elephant syndrome).

after spending some time talking to him on that first afternoon (and seeing how he runs his shop, with everything looking neat and clean) i knew he was particular about his work and that he was a straightforeward type of guy.

so far, so good.  i'll be picking it up in a few days.   
 


terry parr

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picked up my "new" amp (or, at least it's sounding like a new one) last night on the way back in from new bern and i couldn't be happier.

after getting it home last night and listening to some stuff that i had been listening to for the past few days through my backup JVC amp, the difference was very noticeable.  the background "noise" was gone (and i really didn't realize how much noise was present until i got the carver home and started listening through it).

this carver sounds so clean, without the "noise" in the background getting in the way.  i can tell you from listening to it last night and into today, it almost sounds like the dynamic range has been extended, since i can hear a more pure reproduction in the upper range (without any distortion.  the high notes sound "clean.")  and also, the lower range sounds deeper and better, too.  the repair tech really didn't want to do anything as far as modifying the headphone output, saying:  "get it home, and hear how this amp is supposed to sound.  i really wouldn't modify this amp.  you'll really hurt any resale. but if you don't like it, call me.  i'll be here.  i'm not going anywhere."  i think he knew i would appreciate how this amp sounds, now. 

well, now, after getting it home and hearing it, i'm glad he didn't do anything to the h/p out.  it doesn't need anything done to it.  it sounds good.  i'm hearing more detail and clarity and more natural-sounding details in the background.  no distortion in the high-end and the low-end is reaching deeper.  overall, as far as piano, and stringed instruments go this is a very good-sounding amp.

so, for the money spent, i think it was a good decision.  i'm happy with the end results.  here's everything that was done:

--25A1306 preamp transistor
--25C2240      "           "     
--25A1015      "           "

solder, ("chem-wick" ?)  and materials

de-oxit #5.

his notes said:  "a lot of tedious work, but all now OK and fully tested well!" 

i called him back last night after i got home with it and had listened to it for about an hour and thanked him for doing a great job.  he did an excellent job on this amp. 

this story turned out like i was hoping it would (where the carver would take primary status as being the main amp in my system). 

can't complain!

mdub

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Hi, i just found this post from google and I am about to take a similar plunge.  I have  A CM1090 i bought on craigslist. It needs some cleaning, the balance pot is going and who knows what else...

I found the service diagrams and considered doing the work myself, but now i think i may need to find a place to service it.  How did you go about finding the shop you used?


terry parr

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didn't see this until tonight (apr 22) and you posted your msg. on apr 8.  i'm late getting back to you, but congrats on the cm1090!

as far as how i found the shop i used, i didn't have to look.  i knew of the shop already.  as a matter of fact, the day i walked into his shop for the first time, he was working on a nice carver piece that day.  that's when i starting asking him questions about carver amps in general, and after that day, finding a carver integrated was "on my radar." 

i just kept waiting for one that looked like it had been taken care of to pop up on craigslist.  and eventually, one did. 

(so i found the repair shop before i found the amp!)

business takes me to new bern, nc a couple of days a week, usually.  and this is where this shop is located.  the owners' name is danny.  and i'm sure he'll help you if he can.  he's a great guy to deal with, and he certainly knows his stuff.  (and he's a nice guy, to boot).

the name of the shop is:  GARRIS TV (in new bern, north carolina). 

hope the issues with your carver arn't major ones, and i hope they can be easily corrected. 

with the money i spent both in getting the amp, then having it serviced, i still feel like it was a good decision. for me.  (from a strictly dollars-and-cents/dollars-and-sense perspective, it probably doesn't make much sense to spend much money on a piece of equipment this old, but there are people in this world who "know the cost of everything and the value of not much.")  you can't put a dollar amount on everything of value. 

i'm still enjoying this amp.  (no "buyers' remorse.")

hope you get any issues with yours taken care of.  (you might as well bring it back to (as close to) original spec (as possible), in order to really enjoy it.