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Almost 100% Wrong About Everything

Posted by Mike Porper (A) on March 24, 2015 at 11:36:44

In Reply to: REVIEW: Carver CT-17 Preamplifier (SS) posted by FRG7SWL on March 22, 2015 at 18:01:23:

>>It's hard to believe Carver's CT-17 was their second most expensive preamp ($799 retail; C-19 was $999 retail, per Audio magazine's October 1990 33rd Annual Equipment Directory), considering the critical bashing it's endured these last several decades.<<

Really? It's been "bashed", for....decades? It wasn't even in prodcution that long. But, you're saying that apparently the critics, audio critics allegedly, just kept piling on the poor pre-amp, over and over and over and over...for decades? Wow.

>>Way back-in-the-day, techs modified gear to personalize it to their specific needs.<<

What? Who did that? I've never heard of techs "personalizing" audio equipment. You seem to have mixed up 2015 with 1985. Are you thinking of ring tones and screen savers, and projecting that backwards to old gear? Mods were made by various "gurus" with the promise of improving the item in terms of transparency, preservation of harmonic delicacy, tonal purity, soundstaging, and so on. What you seem to desire is the opposite of that.

>>So Bob Carver the tech apparently crafted an external loop for BBE-n-dbx-n-Dolby et al fanatics to explore their muses through.<<

WRONG. External processing loops were common place on pre-amplifiers, and some more expensive receivers. They were included so that devices such as equalizers, etc. could be added to the system...if desired. They weren't added for fanatics of any stripe, as you seem to think.

BTW, over the years, there've been many features that've appeared on pre-amps, such as stereo blend, muting, ultra-sonic filters, tone control frequency turnover, etc. All of them were designed on solid engineering ground, with the thought of adding benefits that would help improve sonic performance, not for fanatics who desire to add wild electronic gadgets to goose up to sound to even greater levels of electronic coloration.

For audiophiles, all such controls bring the penalty of electronic coloration and degradation of the signal. The idea is that the less circuitry through which the signal passes, the better. That's why high end pre-amps tend to have fewer, rather than greater, switches.

>>Relative neutrality, in comparison, really is boring. ...<<

Sure is, if you're reference is some wildly EQ'd, booming, pounding, ultra-zingy-bright car stereo system. Or, the brutal thumpers at the dance club, as you pour down the alcohol in time to the EDM beat.

>>Another interesting CT-17 aspect are the video/audio inputs, which apparently have a different eq curve than either aux, cd, or tape monitor modes. <<

That would be an anamoly. All inputs should be flat. No eq curves added. Otherwise, the listener's stuck with some wacked-out EQ that he/she doesn't want or need.

>>add a BBE Sonic Maximizer, dbx expander, Dolby outboard processor, or equalizer or processor of choice through External Processor loop<<

You're the exact opposite of an audiophile. You demand more electronic coloration, more electronic processing, more synthetic, unnatural noise.

Audiophiles want zero of all of that. I wouldn't have any of the devices you've mentioned anywhere near my house. Why? Because I'm a "cork sniffer" as you've put it? No. Because I find the sound of real musical instruments playing in a real space thrilling to the core. You seem to have trouble really getting that. Grasping the concept. Let's see if I can explain it this way. Some guys like women with fake breasts. The phonier, the faker, the better they like it. Other guys prefer real women, without silicone. The latter aren't "cork sniffers". Does that make it any clearer?

In the end, you're free to enjoy whatever you like. But, don't make stuff up, or misappropriate terminology.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Schiit Audio

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