Finally got around to auditioning my Carver MXR-130 Receiver...

Vintage Asylum

Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time.

It's one of the oddest SS integrated amp sections I am familiar with in that when used with line inputs (tape/CD) and the tone controls defeated the sound is very similar to that of the Dynaco Stereo 70/Pas3x combo I used in the 70's.
The phono section is not to my liking in that it sounds thin/dry compared to an Advent 300 and my modified (dual mono) Little Rat battery powered phono preamps. I have not looked inside the unit to see if any adjustments can be made (will do so later).
Anyway, the sound is not @ all what I had expected (vintage tube "like" bass/mid's/HF's). Before I had it hooked up to a cheap DVD player and a pair of vintage coaxial drivers. The drivers rested on a bookshelf (sans cabinets) which made it difficult to assess the sound of the receiver.
I used Stephens Tru-sonic 8" single drivers (could not get the power meters to register with these speakers), a pair of ADS L880's and for old times sake a single Braun L200 (my second L200 has a bad woofer surround).
At first (until trying the other speakers) I figured that what I was hearing was a fluke created by running 97dB/16 ohm single drivers with a fairly powerful SS amp, but this turned out not to be the case.
I irritated an old neck/shoulder injury moving the gear around and my Godson will be dropping by to put things (the living room system) back together again. I'll have him install the Little Rat phono preamps to the Aux inputs, for now, and will go back to the single drivers (which I fused based on some good advice - thanks Russ).
Next time up I will try the power amp and preamp sections separately (curious as to how they sound/perform on their own). I don't have an FM antenna, but friends have expressed interest in checking out the tuner section (they have a rooftop antenna).
Positive: Nice finely stepped volume pot that tracks evenly.
Negative: Engaging the tone control circuit cuts transparency (the sound loses some of its tube "like" quality). This was more apparent with the single drivers than the L880's (seems dependent on the speakers used).

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Topic - Finally got around to auditioning my Carver MXR-130 Receiver... - DeKay 11:24:33 12/22/03 (0)

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