The Carver Receiver

SoCal Sam

SoCal Sam

Lunatic Member
I scored The Carver Receiver today and what started out as a bad buy decision turned into good karma. It popped up on CL this morning and I called within 20 minutes of the listing start. I was first to call and when I arrived at the guy's house, he said he must have priced it too low because he got 25 more calls after mine. I probably know a few of the callers...

So, I was testing and it didn't work. The amp was producing sound but weakly and the tuner was completely shot, or so it seemed. I spent 20 minutes with the guy troubleshooting but no luck. Anyways, the price got a lot better. The unit was in mint condition with manual and wood sides and the price was low enough to pay for a visit to my excellent tech. I usually pass on "troublemakers" but I talked myself into buying it.

To my surprise, I got her home and hooked her up and it works perfectly. I am guessing his speakers were the problem. The foam was shot and there was a noticeable clicking from one of the woofers. Also, some of his tweeters were shot. I am guessing the speakers were shorting and that caused symptoms in the Carver.

Initial impressions are favorable. The sound is very attractive, natural, and easy to listen to. Made in 1983, it's got 150 wpc making this a true monster. A peek through the grill shows two larger filter caps and a pair of smaller filters so this appears to be a dual voltage rail design.
 

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SoCal Sam said:
I scored The Carver Receiver today and what started out as a bad buy decision turned into good karma. It popped up on CL this morning and I called within 20 minutes of the listing start. I was first to call and when I arrived at the guy's house, he said he must have priced it too low because he got 25 more calls after mine. I probably know a few of the callers...
Click to expand...

You sure do! I was tied up today or you'd be reading my success story! Glad it found a good home!
 
A very nice unit.

Legend has it that the MXR-130 and the MXR-150 are essentially identical units. The MXR-130 allegedly shipped with an extremely conservative power rating, and was rebadged in later production runs to reflect the actual power output.
 
Congrats, sam:thmbsp: :thmbsp: :thmbsp: :thmbsp: :thmbsp: :thmbsp: :thmbsp: :thmbsp: Glad you got it all working.:yes:
 
The original was simply The Carver Receiver. He had no plans to make any other receivers.
I got one of the earliest The Receivers. Originally rated at 130 wpc in the manual, *specifications subject to change*.
The serial number on mine was written in with a pen (same on the box).
For about 3 years running, Consumer Reports only rated the Carver Receivers as best buys, no other receiver even getting a vote.
The Carver Receiver was uprated to 150 wpc during its initial run.
I really loved mine. Great sound, great tuner. It replaced my beloved JVC JR-S501 just because I wanted the newer model. Yikes. I still kept the JVC, though.
 
bully said:
The original was simply The Carver Receiver. He had no plans to make any other receivers.
I got one of the earliest The Receivers. Originally rated at 130 wpc in the manual, *specifications subject to change*.
The serial number on mine was written in with a pen (same on the box).
For about 3 years running, Consumer Reports only rated the Carver Receivers as best buys, no other receiver even getting a vote.
The Carver Receiver was uprated to 150 wpc during its initial run.
I really loved mine. Great sound, great tuner. It replaced my beloved JVC JR-S501 just because I wanted the newer model. Yikes. I still kept the JVC, though.
Click to expand...
What? You kept the JVC over the Carver??!!
 
SoCal Sam said:
he said he must have priced it too low...

the price got a lot better... I got her home and it works perfectly

I would go back and pay him the rest of his asking price but thats just me
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Oh, copies of the manual are available to bona fide members/owners. If you a lurking re-seller, forget it!
 
atlienstyle said:
SoCal Sam said:
he said he must have priced it too low...

the price got a lot better... I got her home and it works perfectly

I would go back and pay him the rest of his asking price but thats just me
Click to expand...
If I could have gotten it to work at his place, I would have paid his asking price. Anyways, it was a long drive so things balance out...
Click to expand...
 
atlienstyle said:
understandable, didn't mean to preach
have fun with it!
-Sami
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I understand your sentiment. However, if the seller can't demonstrate that his item works, a discount is in order. Not my fault his speakers were shorting the Carver. But it is definitely my good luck.
 
theblackknight said:
How dose your Carver compare to, say a Rotel RX-1603?
Click to expand...
I don't know if you can compare the two, although they are only seven years apart, they are completely different. Powerwise, the Rotel has to win because of the toroid and the massive caps. Soundwise, the Carver edges forward because of faster acting components. Accuracy is where the Carver shines. We are talking about the nth degree difference because both are great sounding receivers. For looks and AWESOME FACTOR, the Rotel wins hands down.
 
SoCal Sam said:
I don't know if you can compare the two, although they are only seven years apart, they are completely different. Powerwise, the Rotel has to win because of the toroid and the massive caps. Soundwise, the Carver edges forward because of faster acting components. Accuracy is where the Carver shines. We are talking about the nth degree difference because both are great sounding receivers. For looks and AWESOME FACTOR, the Rotel wins hands down.
Click to expand...
Well said. Sam, check out this page---
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=97161
If you can, post SN's of you TOTL receivers. Thanks,
 
Sorry, no. When I bought the Carver The Receiver it was the only receiver that Carver made or thought he would make. Bean counters turned his thinking on its head.
That is way it was called The Carver Receiver. It was the only one.
Mark Twain said get your facts straight. Then you can distort as you wish.
 
I was looking over the owner's manual and some of the details in the pictures are different from mine. In the picture on the manual cover, the rack handles appear to be detachable, like on Marantz separates. Mine has a full width faceplate with the handles attached to the plate, as they are on later Carvers like the HR 772. Also, my serial number has a B prefix so my guess is mine is a late production example.
 
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