Carver CD players

stubby

Hey all, has anyone used/heard/owned any old Carver CD players? Like the TL3200 or such. Only player reviews on Audioreview are for the tube units, which get outstanding comments. Doubt if I could snag one of those units at a good price-especially on ebay. Was in the old change for the sake of change mood. My old Yammie 5 disc unit still works fine, but figured I would try a single disc player. The Rotel 855 just has not impressed me that much either. Any comments would be appreciated. Especially if they're about old Carver CD players.

Stubby

RuSsMaN

I believe Mr Grand made some Carver CD player comments not too long ago. I'll search and post back.

Cheers,
Russ

RuSsMaN

Here ya go, per GG, a good read:

The older Magnavox's are regarded for the Phillips CDM-4 TRANSPORT system, not for their sound quality. I had a CDB-473, and it was okay. I spoke to Frank Van Alstine about modding it (ABOUT 12-14 yrs ago), and due to the fact that it incorporated remote volume, he wouldn't touch it. His exact statement? "You have a Ferrari there, with Sears tires on it." When I called him, it was a scream. His wife answered the phone. She was delighted that I called. Seems she has a lot of trouble getting him out of the basement (laBORatory no doubt) for incidentals....like food and sleep.

The Magnavox that WAS modded to the max by a lot of different people, was the CDB-650. I found one modded by Euphonic Technology, it is the ET-650, and is one of two cd sources I have in my He-Man rig. Sucker cost me all of $5. You read that right, FIVE dollars. The other cd player in that rig is a Radio Shack CD-3400 portable, feeding raw digital data to an Audio Alchemy dde V1.0 DAC. Giant killer of a combo. OF COURSE you don't believe me! I don't care.

The early Carver's sucked, and were NOT manufactured by Carver (DTL-50, DTL-200). I bought a Carver TL-3300 in 1992, and while it didn't suck as bad as the early ones, I preferred the Rat Shack/Audio Alchemy combo all day long. I still have the Carver around here somewhere. The Euph Tech WIPES it soundwise.

My first machine was an ADC 16/1 with no remote, and analog brick wall filters. It was VERY musical. I wish I still had it. I have no idea where it is, or what I did with it.

I have a Toshiba X-750 or some **** on my desk at work. It's also about a million yrs old, but I like the way it sounds. It is also about 30 pounds of cd player. Somebody (not Troy or Russ) told me Toshiba uses nothing but optical grade glass lenses (no plastic), even in the cheapest of machines. Maybe that counts. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe my ears are ****. I don't care.

Anthony Roma

stubby

Thanks for digging that up for me, Russ. If I trust anyone about Carver gear, its Mr. Grand. Seems he wasn't exactly taken by their performance.
OK, does anyone have any suggestions for a bargain hunter like myself? Incidently, I also have the DDE v1.0 DAC that George uses hooked up to my Yammie. Maybe I should try hooking it up to the Rotel.

Stubby