New Amazing owner looking for some affirmation

Hello all,

I have just purchased a set of original Amazings for what I thought at the time a nice price -- $400 via Craiglist from the second owner (almost the first owner as the current owner's sister was the first owner and she owned a shop that sold Carver). I have not taken delivery yet being that the speakers are 140 miles away and I didn't have a suitable vehicle with me to transport them.

Now, after reading the dearth of info on this site, I am wondering if I've done the right thing. I just read the transport requirements of keeping them upright to protect the viability of the ribbon...how realistic is this? I don't have a cargo van or an enclosed trailer...what I have is a large SUV or a crew cab pickup with a hard side bedcover...both of which would have me laying them either on their sides or flat. Flat-packing them would be a much easier option but I don't want to wreck the ribbons...

I suppose I should also be curious as to how the original owners transported them during the two moves that the speakers had over their 20 or so years of service?

A 45 minute listening session deemed them to sound nice with no apparent issues that I could discern. Visual inspection showed no problems at all with the ribbons and the woofers' foams were all soft and pliable. The speakers themselves did have a few minor cosmetic issues...one had a few chips on the lower corners and the other had a some surface scratching over a 6"x6" area on the front panel.

I thought at the time that $400 for operable Amazings seemed like a no-brainer...but now, after seeing the cost of ribbon replacement, I'm not so sure.

What is the general consensus?

Aaron

What are you going to power them with?

I've transported two pair, one pair flat, and the other on their sides, no problems. Be sure to use plenty of cushioning under and in between.

Welcome to the Forum Aaron S! You got a tremendous deal on those Amazings at $400. What amplifier do you plan on using to drive them?

As for transporting them, I can't speak about that from first hand knowledge, but the people who do the actual Carver ribbon repair/refurbishment also own this site (ToyMaker and DaveS) so they would be the best people to ask about it. As for the cost of ribbon repairs, it isn't all that out of line when you think about the orginal cost of these speakers, some versions of which cost almost $3000 back then. The ribbons do represent maybe 75 to 80% of the total cost of these speakers.

If you want to keep them upright during shipping maybe you could look at one of those open top trailers and cover them with waterproof shipping blankets.

Power as of now is somewhat undecided. In all honesty, these things weren't even on my radar until I happened to check out Craiglist and saw them in the town I happened to be working in at the time.

The largest 2-channel amp I have is (5 actually) QSC DCA-1622's...300 wpc @ 8 ohms, 500 wpc @ 4 ohms, and 700 wpc @ 2 ohms.

Full disclosure would have me stating that I also fell into a pair of pristine Martin Logan CLS II's last week (also while out of town)...unplanned aquisition as well.

Before these, my 'big speakers' were to be a pair of Onix LS-6 line array speakers (8 XBL 6.5" and 6 BG Planars) that I have paid for on preorder...MUCH easier to drive than either of these. I'm going to have to give some time to each pair to see which impresses the most.

I'm not sure what the hell is going on with the whimsical Martin Logan and Carver purchases over the last few weeks, but I am enjoying the journey!

It's a damn good thing I have a super-cool and understanding wife!

Welcome Aaron S. I think you you got a great price on the Amazings. That amp should be able to run the Amazings.

WELCOME to our little slice of insanity, Aaron!

Looks like you got a pretty good deal. You can drive those with that amp, but if you like your music very loud, you may find the amp runs out of steam. The Original ALS is notoriously difficult to drive & a real power hog.

What an outstanding deal at $400! As a former Magnepan owner I highly recommend that if you put them on a trailer to keep them upright you make absolutely sure to keep them out of the wind. Boxes or cardboard covers is all you need. The ribbons will not like 50mph winds blasting through them. I moved my Magnepan Tympani's twice and laid them down in their original boxes with no problems, but as far as laying down your Carvers goes I do not want to give bad advice on that. I would say it's best to ask the fellas here that do the ribbon repairs for everyone and you should use their answer for a rule not just a "guideline"
Rainman

I've transported AL-IIIs both on their sides and flat with no negative effects.

I transport my ALS Platinums in my van with one speaker flat on it's face and the second face up on top of the other. Well padded and secured to keep them from sliding around of course. Unless you travel for miles on a washboard dirt road or hit any 12" deep potholes you should be fine. You got a good deal at $400. Even if you have to replace all of the ribbons and woofers, you still will have a speaker that is better than any in the $4000 or less price range IMO.

1. WELCOME to the board! And what a deal you got!!!!!
2. Welcome to obsessive audio collecting disorder - OACD - (you'll probably get to Carver obsessive collecting disorder [OCCD] in absolutely no time - highly contagious!)
3. I've had my Amazings since the mid-90's -- original owner in the south Bay Area had them in his office for sale -- I picked them up in a friend's Grand Cherokee (and discovered how little actual cargo room there is in one of those Jeep SUV'S!!!) -- Padded and slanted on their sides, maybe a 30 mile ride back home was all. Everything OK. Then they stood played in a living room for about 18 years. Professional movers packed up my household goods in 2004 and the Amazings were padded and packed in surrounding multilayered cardboard wrappings, with bases off, of course. They arrived in perfect condition (I'm not sure if they were kept upright or flat or on their sides -- it probably depended on the movers' decisions on space in the van...) - and I only had a minor issues that in the move a crossover/board apparently became detached sometime during the move/after arrival here -- and hanging from its wires, rested on the back of a lower woofer voice coil, causing some puzzling buzzing (from vibration) which I only discovered after pulling off the back covers. I had thought (and discussed it here on the forum in my first visit to Carver.com back in 2004-5 with great advice and suggestions from members here!) the speaker surround or the paper cone itself was perhaps gone -- it was only a matter of reattahing/gluing the crossover back in place!.

I defer to any differing advice from Dave or ToyMaker, of course! (I hope I don't find that I was perilously close to killing those Amazings in their couple of moves here and there!)

4. I ran my Original Amazings w/ Platinum ribbon and x-over upgrade with one adcom 5800 amp putting out 250w/ch into 8 ohms. Excellent sound. But even more "amazing" with the Silver 7t's (and then the Silver 9t's) I bought a few months ago and drive them to beautiful levels and resolution you wouldn't believe. But you've got a really good start right now!

Again glad you're aboard and you'll enjoy the discussions and the expertise on here, for sure!

Thanks for the warm welcome and the comments guys!

I'm just hoping the ribbons are OK as that is where the money is on these things.

It really is a major hassle if I have to transport them vertically. I have a 20' flat bed trailer but I don't really want to take the time to construct 6' side boards just to move these speakers 140 miles across the interstate.

Anybody had any luck touching up the cosmetics of the black laquer finish? I have a few light surface scuffs on one and a few corners with small chips on the other.

I have more on my mind, but I am 2 hours late for work already and need to get my sorry ass on the road.

If you are going to carry them in an open truck, make sure you get a big industrial roll of saran wrap and wrap the hell out of those babies. Wind will wrech havoc with the ribbons and I doubt you will have any of the foam surrounds left on the woofers after 140 mi on a flatbed if not protected from the wind. For scratches on the finish, try a black marker pen like a sharpie.

The black is car paint, easily touched up with the same. Buff and polish like you'd do your car.

If you are going to carry them in an open truck, make sure you get a big industrial roll of saran wrap and wrap the hell out of those babies. Wind will wrech havoc with the ribbons and I doubt you will have any of the foam surrounds left on the woofers after 140 mi on a flatbed if not protected from the wind. For scratches on the finish, try a black marker pen like a sharpie.

Absolutely not going to transport them in an open anything. I have a Nissan Armada that will most likely be doing the duty with 2nd and 3rd rows folded down; speakers on their sides.

I've bought and sold many speakers before and the Sharpie is definitely the used speaker seller's best friend. I was hoping it would be okay to try and buff out the scratches on the face...probably do a spot touch-up for the chipped corners.

Reese,

I know all too well the spatial limitations of the Grand Cherokee. I drove a '94 for 5 years and suffered through packing that thing many times...the most memorable occasion being trying to stuff 4 huge pallet carts full of Ikea crap (wife) into this thing in the parking lot of the Edmonton, Alberta Ikea after a totally spontaneous shopping spree. 3 hours later we were able to drive away...

Laying them on their sides, and or faces are just fine. I have moved my AL-V both ways, and have never had a single problem.
I layed mine flat for the 600+ mile trip to CarverFest last year.

The only thing you have to really be careful of "shocking" them... It doesn't matter which way the ribbons or place, if you drop them in any direction, the magnets can pop loose. I useally put down a layer of 2" thick foam, and lay them flat on thier faces to move them.

This year, things are going to be pretty tight, and I plan on stacking them on top of eachother in the back of my truck.

Just be careful