Carver Receiver for SDA 1A's?

nduitch
nduitch Posts: 316
edited March 2009 in 2 Channel Audio
Hello,

This is my first post and I would greatly appreciate any feedback. I have a Carver Receiver, "The Carver Receiver" I believe it is called. The manual says that it is 150 wpc. Is this enough power for these speakers? They sound pretty good, could they be better. The manual also does not say if the 150wpc is doubled into 4 ohms. Any thoughts?

Thanks,


Nate
Post edited by nduitch on
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited March 2009
    One thing you want to find out first is if it is common ground. If you hook it up without knowing that you can blow the receiver up. There are a few Carver guys here. Hopefully they will chime in.
    Welcome to Club Polk.
    Ben
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,421
    edited March 2009
    nduitch wrote: »
    Hello,

    This is my first post and I would greatly appreciate any feedback. I have a Carver Receiver, "The Carver Receiver" I believe it is called. The manual says that it is 150 wpc. Is this enough power for these speakers? They sound pretty good, could they be better. The manual also does not say if the 150wpc is doubled into 4 ohms. Any thoughts?

    Thanks,


    Nate

    I welcome you to the club! I must caution you on the use of a carver receiver with the SDA's. My personal experience with such was that they did not like each other very much. Depending on the model, it may not be a common ground amp design. SDA's need to have a common ground amp or bad things happen. Check for common ground of the receiver before you try and run the speakers with the innerconnect in place. Enjoy the club!!!
    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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  • nduitch
    nduitch Posts: 316
    edited March 2009
    It is common ground, I do know that. I have had the system up and running for a couple weeks now. Got to Receiver from a family member a few years ago and just got the speakers a few weeks ago.
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,421
    edited March 2009
    it should be no trouble then. The receivers are pretty good performers as I remember. Crank it loud and enjoy!
    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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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited March 2009
    What is the model number, no use guessing. If it is a TFM series your ok. Probably a TFM-15 based upon your descript.
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
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  • nduitch
    nduitch Posts: 316
    edited March 2009
    No model number. It is an older receiver purchased in 1987. Says "magnetic field power amplifier" on the front and has wooden sides, made in Japan. My Uncle used the unit on his SDA 2's before it one of the Channels went out. I had it fixed a couple years ago.
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  • Fongolio
    Fongolio Posts: 3,516
    edited March 2009
    I thought all older Carver The Receivers were made in the USA. Without the made in Japan thing it sounds like you have a Carver The Receiver 150 which was a pretty good piece of equipment for it's time.
    SDA-1C (full mods)
    Carver TFM-55
    NAD 1130 Pre-amp
    Rega Planar 3 TT/Shelter 501 MkII
    The Clamp
    Revox A77 Mk IV Dolby reel to reel
    Thorens TD160/Mission 774 arm/Stanton 881S Shibata
    Nakamichi CR7 Cassette Deck
    Rotel RCD-855 with modified tube output stage
    Cambridge Audio DACmagic Plus
    ADC Soundshaper 3 EQ
    Ben's IC's
    Nitty Gritty 1.5FI RCM
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  • Mike21
    Mike21 Posts: 252
    edited March 2009
    Hi nduitch.

    Welcome to the Forum.

    If your system sounds good then you don't need more watts.

    I assume the Carver amp is rated at 150wpc into 8 ohms. Is this correct?

    I could not find the specs for the SDA 1As. Similar versions have either 4 or 6 ohms. Do you know what ohms your speakers are?

    Are you asking about doubling power onto 4 ohms becuase your speakers are 4ohms and the Carver's 150wpc spec is @ 8 ohms? If so, the wattage will significantly increase into 4 ohms. The most it would be is 300w, but it could be less. W/o a spec for watts @ 4 ohms in the Carver's manual, only God and Bob Carver knows.:p

    Note that the manual for the SDA-SRS (the last and best of the series) recommends at least 200wpc into the 4ohm SRS.

    If I had your speakers and some cash to spend cash on toys, I would use a pair of Boulder 400w monoblocks. :D

    Seriously, if you are satidfied with the sound as is, then leave it alone. If however, you would like some improvement and have some $$$, go for a quality amp w/ at least 250wpc (anything less and you will not notice a major diff over the 150wpc Carver).

    Mike
    ____________________________________________
    Home Theater 32"LG LCD; Comcast; 7.1 Onkyo 805; Fronts: Polk M50s; Center: Polk CS2; Sides: Polk M40s; Rear: B&W LM1s; Subs: (2) Sony 12" x 100w; Samsung 1500BDP; Toshiba A-2 HD-DVDP.
    PC stereo: Viper custom PC: Windows XP; ASIO4ALL; JRiver Jukebox> Pop Pulse USB to S/PDIF conv> Monarchy DIP > Musiland MD10 DAC > Parasound 2100 pre> Aragon 4004 MKII amp> Dali Ikon6 towers; Sunfire True Sub; PSA Duet, Ultimate outlet and Noise Harvestors.
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  • nduitch
    nduitch Posts: 316
    edited March 2009
    Yes, I believe it is 150 watts into 8 ohms. My research tell me that the 1A's are 4ohm.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,171
    edited March 2009
    It should be fine, How does it sound to you? I will say from seasoned experience all SDA's improve greatly as you move up the audio gear ladder. There really is no limit on gear. As your gear gets better the SDA's get equally better. As long as you are sure it's common ground....rock on.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,171
    edited March 2009
    Mike21 wrote: »
    If I had your speakers and some cash to spend cash on toys, I would use a pair of Boulder 400w monoblocks. :D

    Mike

    Just so you are aware in many (most) instances you cannot use mono blocks with SDA's. Later gen SDA's allowed you to use non-common ground amps and mono's with the use of a separately purchased AI-1 cable which had a built in transformer. If you in fact have 1A's this cable cannot be used even if you were to find one or build your own.

    There are some model monoblocks that allow for having the negative speaker terminals "strapped" together to create a common ground between the (2) amps but ALWAYS check with the manufacturer first.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,421
    edited March 2009
    nduitch wrote: »
    Yes, I believe it is 150 watts into 8 ohms. My research tell me that the 1A's are 4ohm.


    My carver amp is 250wpc@8 and 375@4 respectively. If your reciever follows a similar pattern my guess you are at about 185@6 and 225@4. Regardless if it is common ground as you say you should be good to go.
    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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  • nduitch
    nduitch Posts: 316
    edited March 2009
    I don't see anything in the manual specifically stating that it is common ground. Is there a way to check? My Uncle used the amp for almost a decade with sda 2's so I assume that it is. You guys have been very helpful, thanks again!
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,421
    edited March 2009
    nduitch wrote: »
    I don't see anything in the manual specifically stating that it is common ground. Is there a way to check? My Uncle used the amp for almost a decade with sda 2's so I assume that it is. You guys have been very helpful, thanks again!
    If he was not using the interconnect there would be no trouble. If you are uncertain I would not use the sda cable until you know for sure. I am not the one to ask on testing for common ground however as I am not certain I remember how its done.

    Ben had this advice on another post. He is pretty good with such things. The third link from the right in the blue bar is a search tab. If you type in what you are looking for there is a good chance you can find it there...

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51169&highlight=test+common+ground
    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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  • nduitch
    nduitch Posts: 316
    edited March 2009
    Ok, problem solved. Got an email from the man himself, Bob Carver after a few days(I'm pretty impressed that he emailed me back, very cool. He said the receiver is just fine for the speakers and that it would be 225wpc into 4 ohms, just as nooshinjohn had predicted.

    What are people doing for tweeter replacements on these now a days, I have been reading that the RD0194 is no longer made.
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