Carver and Polk synergy

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honestaquarian
honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
edited June 2006 in 2 Channel Audio
I KNOW there are others out there who like the way Carver electronics sound with Polk speakers.I want to hear from you.I ESPECIALLY like the way that the TFM series of amps with the SIlver Seven vacuum tube transfer function sound with Polks that have the SL-3000 tweeters.As well as the RD-0194's.Any comments?Any other opinions?:cool:
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited June 2006
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    I thought the carver silver 9t's sounded ok with the SDA's but in the end I sold them. A little too sterile for me. They are clean powerhouses for sure though! In the same price range I much prefer soundcraftsmen amplifiers or tubes.
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • SDA SRS 1.2
    SDA SRS 1.2 Posts: 255
    edited June 2006
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    I always enjoyed my TFM-45, C-16, and TX-11b with the SDA's. The Sunfire works well with the SDA's also. :)
    Main System: Polk SDA SRS 1.2 Speakers, Sunfire Signature 600~two Amp, Carver C-16 Preamp, Carver TX-11b Tuner, Marantz 6350Q TT, Philips CDR-775 Recorder, Teac V-707RX Cassette Deck, Signal Cable Double Run Speaker Cable

    Upstairs Den: Marantz 2325 Receiver, Marantz 5220 Cassette Deck, Marantz HD-880 Speakers, Marantz 6370Q TT

    Exercise (Kabuki speaker) Room: Kenwood KR-9600 Receiver, Pioneer CS-99a Speakers, Sansui SP-X9000 Speakers (not pretty, but LOUD! :) )
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    edited June 2006
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    SDA SRS 1.2 wrote:
    I always enjoyed my TFM-45, C-16, and TX-11b with the SDA's. The Sunfire works well with the SDA's also. :)
    I have a C-19 preamp myself.When i FINALLY decided to go full 5.1 i pulled it out and put in a Parasound AVC-2500.OY VAT A DIFFERENCE!Now i have no use for my C-19(which had been giving me trouble ANYWAY) and the TX-11A.
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  • ohskigod
    ohskigod Posts: 6,501
    edited June 2006
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    my carver 4.0t (same as the tfm 42/45) allways sounded good on polk speakers. I used them with sda's, RTA12's, Lsi9's and 15's. some will argue better, especially based on preference, but you certainly cant go wrong.

    my 4.0t currently drives the LSi15's in my HOme Theater set up, giving them 500 watts of power the LSi's crave so much. simply put, movies rock in my house!
    Living Room 2 Channel -
    Schiit SYS Passive Pre. Jolida CD player. Songbird streamer. California Audio Labs Sigma II DAC, DIY 300as1/a1 Ice modules Class D amp. LSi15 with MM842 woofer upgrade, Nordost Blue Heaven and Unity interconnects.

    Upstairs 2 Channel Rig -
    Prometheus Ref. TVC passive pre, SAE A-205 Amp, Wiim pro streamer and Topping E50 DAC, California Audio Labs DX1 CD player, Von Schweikert VR3.5 speakers.

    Studio Rig - Scarlett 18i20(Gen3) DAW, Mac Mini, Aiyma A07 Max (BridgedX2), Totem Mites
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    edited June 2006
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    ohskigod wrote:
    my carver 4.0t (same as the tfm 42/45) allways sounded good on polk speakers. I used them with sda's, RTA12's, Lsi9's and 15's. some will argue better, especially based on preference, but you certainly cant go wrong.

    my 4.0t currently drives the LSi15's in my HOme Theater set up, giving them 500 watts of power the LSi's crave so much. simply put, movies rock in my house!
    One of the two most realistic sound recreations that i have EVER heard was with a pair of Polk RTA-12's(the last of the line with the SL-2000 tweeters)and a Carver M-4.0t amp.It was being driven by a Carver sonic holography preamp(i cannot remember which)and a Carver SD/A-490T cd player.I was listening to a Telarc cd and the orchestra was laid out before me!
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  • Airplay355
    Airplay355 Posts: 4,298
    edited June 2006
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    I used a Carver m.05t with my Lsi's and my SDA's. Great powerhouse amp, but in the end, my musical fidelity integrated sounded noticeably better. Classic case of you get what you pay for I guess. I could have bought 4 of the carver amps for what I paid for the integrated :)
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  • scottwilson999
    scottwilson999 Posts: 2
    edited June 2006
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    I am new to the forum and new to Polk use. I have used Infinity products for years--this may well brand me a heretic, but I have recently purchased and received what I nearly bought many years ago: the RTA-15 model. I debated between it and the Kappa 8, and I ended up going with the Kappa 7 for shipping reasons.
    Now, I finally have the RTA 15s by which I was always intrigued. One of the tweeters is blown, and I have ordered original SL-3000s at $100.00 each--am I paying too much?
    I am running a Carver HR-752 receiver with the pre-outs plugged into a TFM-42--without the wonderful vu meters of the TFM-45.
    Thus far I am very impressed, even without the second tweeter running as it should.
    (By the way, when I moved the wires connected to the SL-3000 about, having removed the tweeter to inspect it only to find its untimely demise, suddenly midrange sound came into play where I had only heard bass before--a short in the wiring perhaps--can anyone explain? No highs or midrange, play with wire: midrange and bass, but still a very dead tweeter--short somewhere in addition to dead tweeter?)

    My brother always had the jr. SDA with the stands, and he still swears by Polk and the SDA phenomenon. I am running Carver's sonic holography, so I do not require the SDA.

    One other thing had always troubled me. It was the use of passive radiators. They seem like so much audio alchemy. How can they possibly work? Dammit, they shouldn't work, but hearing them, feeling them, I believe they do. Am I the victim of some sonic spell? There is no power, no voice coil! Sound pressure trapped in the cabinet? Did Polk make some Faustian bargain for yet another inexplicable phenomenon?:confused:
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,794
    edited June 2006
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    Welcome!

    Polk no longer sells the SL3000, but they have a replacement, the RD0198-1. The new tweeter is silk vs. the metal dome and sounds much better. It's best to order two for matching purposes.

    You probably have one or more loose connections in the one cabinet. It would be worthwhile to open it up to check.

    FYI, Carver's sonic holography is similar to the SDA technology, but most agree that SDA is better.

    Enjoy your new speakers.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    edited June 2006
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    scottwilson999 wrote:
    I am new to the forum and new to Polk use. I have used Infinity products for years--this may well brand me a heretic, but I have recently purchased and received what I nearly bought many years ago: the RTA-15 model. I debated between it and the Kappa 8, and I ended up going with the Kappa 7 for shipping reasons.
    Now, I finally have the RTA 15s by which I was always intrigued. One of the tweeters is blown, and I have ordered original SL-3000s at $100.00 each--am I paying too much?
    I am running a Carver HR-752 receiver with the pre-outs plugged into a TFM-42--without the wonderful vu meters of the TFM-45.
    Thus far I am very impressed, even without the second tweeter running as it should.
    (By the way, when I moved the wires connected to the SL-3000 about, having removed the tweeter to inspect it only to find its untimely demise, suddenly midrange sound came into play where I had only heard bass before--a short in the wiring perhaps--can anyone explain? No highs or midrange, play with wire: midrange and bass, but still a very dead tweeter--short somewhere in addition to dead tweeter?)

    My brother always had the jr. SDA with the stands, and he still swears by Polk and the SDA phenomenon. I am running Carver's sonic holography, so I do not require the SDA.

    One other thing had always troubled me. It was the use of passive radiators. They seem like so much audio alchemy. How can they possibly work? Dammit, they shouldn't work, but hearing them, feeling them, I believe they do. Am I the victim of some sonic spell? There is no power, no voice coil! Sound pressure trapped in the cabinet? Did Polk make some Faustian bargain for yet another inexplicable phenomenon?:confused:
    The main differences between Carver's Sonic Hologram Generator and Polk's SDA(Stereo Dimensional Array)is the fact that the Carver is an active electronic system VS Polk's Passive acoustic approach.Also The later SDA's only ran the interaural crosstalk distortion cancellation signal from 200 hz to 1000 hz.The Carver runs it full range.I used to own a pair of RTA-15TL's and dearly miss them.Even without any kind of crosstalk cancellation they can throw a 3D holographic soundstage.Oh and the Passive radiators are driven by the air inside the cabinet which is excited by the movement of the midwoofers.Those big center caps are for resonant tuning to certain bass frequencies to help deliver the low end.In the case of the 15's QUITE effectively.Welcome to Polk and the forum.I see that it has been quite a long time in coming!!!!!!!!

    Carlton
    P.S.I always thought the Infinity sound was very similar to Polk in most respects.I just latched on to Polk about twenty years ago and have never gone back.Oh well ya gotta make choices!
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
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    Currently own a pair of SDA-SRS 3.1TL's being driven by a Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature. WONDERFUL sound!! Bi-wired.
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,094
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    honestaquarian wrote: »
    SDA SRS 1.2 wrote:
    I always enjoyed my TFM-45, C-16, and TX-11b with the SDA's. The Sunfire works well with the SDA's also. :)
    I have a C-19 preamp myself.When i FINALLY decided to go full 5.1 i pulled it out and put in a Parasound AVC-2500.OY VAT A DIFFERENCE!Now i have no use for my C-19(which had been giving me trouble ANYWAY) and the TX-11A.

    I will give that C-19 some love... Shoot me a pm if you want a good home for it.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,559
    edited December 2015
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    Necro thredding again John :p
    I'd love to have it also, I was too poor to afford it back in the day when I had to settle for the C16....probably still too poor to afford it now lol
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,094
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    Lol... The guy above my post brought this one back from the abyss.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
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    Well I can do that since it's a thread that I started 9 years ago!! :D
    I hadn't been on here since then............
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
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  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
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    That is with the SDA-1C's and CS-400 which I am selling in another thread.
    Now I have the SDA-SRS 3.1tl's and a CS-1000p
    All driven by the same Sunfire Cinema grand Signature amp.
    (you can just see the LED's on the M-400a amp behind the Blu-rays.Which drives the height channels visible in the upper pic)
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