Carver stack resurection Newb

Let me begin by offering my condolences to the family and friends of a man I never met (Bill Dibble). I only joined the Carver site a few days ago so I was unaware of his condition. Browsing that site I quickly figured out he was a man I wanted to get to know. So many there had C1 preamps that he had modified and after reading so many of his posts as well as the posts of others he had helped, I soon came to realize what a technical legend he was among Carver fans and what an exceptional human being was in general. It's clear to me how well regarded he was for his electronics knowledge and also for simply being a really nice guy. I feel like I have somehow been cheated for not having had the chance to become acquainted with him. RIP Bill, I never knew ye.

For the past couple of decades my tweak audio side has been subdued by kids, a career selling JVC and a part time job flying with the Air Force reserves. Because of my job with JVC I was given access to the latest and greatest in video entertainment and home theater audio gear which lured me away from my tweak audio roots. These days I find myself with a strong renewed interest in the hi-end analog audio gear of my youth. I recently pulled out my stack of Carver equipment that has been in the original boxes for the last 20+ years. A few days ago i joined another Carver site and have already met some fine friendly folks there. I hope the members on this site are similarly helpful and amiable. I suspect that many here are also members there as well.

My Carver stack includes the following.:
Amps - M1.0 x 2
Pre - C1
CD - DTL-200
Tuner - TX11a

My goal is to get this Carver stack renewed with new caps and I learned that I could best accomplish that goal and also improve the stock performance of my gear with mods that have been offered. I have already lined up mods on my two amps. My focus now is to learn about mods for the C1 and who can best do them within my budget.
I have also heard of a TX-11a upgrade known as the James Van Dyke mod so I want to learn more about it and who might be able to do it.

Any help in achieving my goals would be greatly appreciated.

WELCOME goc!

I beleive you'll find we're a bit more irreverent & rowdy over here, but that's the way we like it~

I think russkall from the other site is doing the mods you speak of. Those C-1 mods that BillD perfected really seem to be the cat's ass for an already world-beater, kickass preamp for the price.

To my knowledge, James Van Dyke has only done extensive mods to the old C-4000 & only a couple of those. I don't know that for certain, just haven't heard of that of which you speak.

What speakers will you be driving with said stack?

Any who, I hope you find what you're looking for!

Welcome to the forum!

You might also want to talk to Tom at www.vintagehifishop.com. Tom is doing mods to most of the Carver lineups.

Welcome!!

Thanks Rabbit!

It took me a couple of days after I joined CS to discover the mods available and who might be able to do them (not me) lol. So right away I got a message from Russ and made arrangements with him for my amps. I will be shipping him both of my M1.0 amps next week. I should have them back by the end of April and I can't wait to hear the magic! I also learned about the C1 mod and did a little digging to find this legendary BillD I had been reading so many great things about and the fantastic work he had been doing. Sadly I soon learned of his illness and them immediately thereafter his passing. It's weird that I feel a genuine sense of loss for a man I never met or had any contact with. My heart goes out to his family and all his friends, of which there seem to be many.

Now I will be looking to see who else might be able to carry on the good work of BillD and mod my C1 so it can keep up with my rehabilitated amps. As for the TX-11a tuner goes, I saw a blurb on a post from a member at CS about a mod he called "The James Van Dyke mod" that had been done on his tuner by RichP. I'm not sure what all is involved in the mod or the improvement and benefits it's seeking, but I suspect it includes extensive replacement of aging caps like the other mods. I will keep digging to learn more and will let you know what I find out if you are interested.

To your question about speakers I have almost too many, but like the rest of my treasured analog audio gear, all the speakers I own are from the 80's or earlier. My favorites right now are an upgraded pair of DQ-10 by Dahlquist. They are great sounding speakers to my ears and seem to work well on every amp I have tried with them (Hafler SE120, Pioneer A-717, JVC RX-D302 & RX-D702 receivers and even a low power home-made push-pull tube amp based on an ancient chassis of unknown origin). Now I use them on a system I set up with a Nikko Betta II pre that has tubes in the path before and after it (Bellari VP129 single tube phono pre and upgraded Dyanco 70 tube power amp). The results are warm and sweet and juicy like these nutz.. Other notable speakers in the rotation include JBL L80, Boston A400, Magnapan 2.5 RT supplemented with a Cerwin Vega HT-12PWR sub and. Some samll speakers I use in the bedroom & shop are KEF C35 and JBL Pro III (I have two pair of these and use the others for rear surround speakers with a JBL LC1 center speaker). Other not so notable speakers include a pair of DCM TimeFrame TS600 and a JBL SB-5 sub. A few of the very cool ols speakers I'm proud of are the NiViCo (JVC) 5340' with horns, and Sansui SP-3000 with very nice cabinets and beautiful wood lattice (komiko) grills. I also have several other pairs of speakers stacked along a wall in my garage that are buried behind boxes and can't get to. A few are home-made that I bought for the drivers but a few are vintage and unusual so I got them because I thought they were cool.

For the Carver stack I will be checking out my collection of Infinity Quantum series speakers. I have working pairs of Qb (with the cool Infinity stands) and Q2. I also have an unusual pair if QJr that need some work (they also have the cool Infinity stands). I bought them new when I was stationed in Germany and they are a bit of an enigma because unlike all the pictures I have seen of the QJr with the black painted face and close fitting grills, mine have the wood veneer faces and stand-off grills like the Q5 and also have the Watkins Dual voice coil woofers (I checked the connectors) like the Q5. Even though the box and crossover are labled QJr, they appear to me to be Q5's (very odd). I bought a pair of Q5 crossovers on ebay to plug in the extra connectors on the Watins woofers to complete them as Q5's. My real pride will come from hooking my Carver M1.0 amps to a pair of QLS monsters that I'm working to restore. They should be ready sometime this year and I can't wait to hear what they will sound like with the Carvers.

Sometimes I think I may be missing something by not having a more modern pair of high-end speakers and I'm looking for suggestions on worthy speakers to audition (that don't cost more than my car). lol

Thanks for the link Thuffman! I'm off to see those wizards with my fingers crossed about getting an affordable C1 mod.

I'm looking for suggestions on worthy speakers to audition (that don't cost more than my car). lol

You rollin' a Pinto or Jag?

I'm a big time fan of Klipsch speakers, love my Chorus IIs. They can be some what picky though with what you put in front of them, can be unbelievably harsh when mated with the wrong equipment. Get it right though and you're in for a real treat! Good luck on your upgrades!

Oilcan, everybody will have their favorite selection of speakers, but the guys on this forum are very informative as to why. You will get some good suggestions. As for me Im also running a set of DQ-10s and I think they are awesome, dead quiet and love lots of power. After rolling several tubes thru my 490t and Sunfire tube preamp the 10's sound like art to the ears. Specially for speakers made in the 70's.