Carver Receiver - The MXR 2000

Here is the Carver MXR 2000 from 1988. An incredible 200watt powerhouse that really took the market by storm. It was my first Mid Fi unit purchased and have the greatest fondness for all it offers. 

Here is the specs...

Amplifier Section
8-ohm FTC rated power/ch	200W
4/8-ohm FTC rated THD	0.15%
Rated full power bandwidth	1Hz to 30kHz +-0.1dB
Slew Rate	>100
Dimensions (HxWxD inches)	5.5" H, 19" W, 17.9" D
Comments	Protection: Short Circuit DC Offset Low/High Frequency Trip
Tuner Section
IHF Sensitivity mono/stereo,dBf	1.8uV
Capture ratio,dB	1.5dB
Seperation at 1kHz,dB	45dB
THD at 1kHz,stereo	0.1%
Maximum S/N,stereo,dB	78dB
PreAmp Section
Frequency response	20Hz to 20kHz + 0.5dB
Total Harmonic Distortion	0.05%
Phono input capacitance pF	47K ohm
MM S/N A-weighted 0.5v ref.	85dB
MC S/N A-weighted 0.5v ref.	76dB

This Magnetic field amplifier boasts massive amounts of power in reserve... essentially available for your performances peaks. This is the magnetic field capabilities. The Carver Receiver 2000 uses a better way. A method of delivering the power speakers need without heat, bulk and distortion. The solution is elegant and effective. Imagine a lightning-fast valve on your incoming power outlet. When power is needed, the valve senses the demand and opens, actually using the power of the actual power generator to deliver the needed current and voltage. Note that this approach provides VAST POWER WHEN NEEDED during peak demands … without keeping excess around during lulls. The 'valve' we've described in the Magnetic Field Coil inside the Carver Receiver 2000. By delivering power only when needed, it can satisfy your speakers need for power while generating less heat and virtually no distortion. The finest receiver FM section ever offered. The Carver Receiver 2000 employs Asymmetrical Charge-Coupled Detector technology which makes FM sound as good as other stereo sound sources. Free of background hiss and annoying radio interference. All of these great circuits set this baby apart from anything produced in the era of

 "bigger is better" 

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Carver TL 3100 Compact Disc Player

Here is the Carver TL3100 CD player.

This is a 4x oversampling 16Bit D/A Circuitry. One nice feature is its compatibility with the Carver receivers remote control. A 20 function remote comes with this unit if your into other receivers. Fully programable up to 20 tracks. The ability to play 3" discs if you have some of those in your collection. 

 

These units incorporate Carver's Digital Time Lens circuitry. A stand alone processor that improves the digital to analog conversion and assists tracking issues. This is Carver/s entry level player but has wonderful tone. Balanced and precise it/s a great addition to your HiFi gear. A vintage Sound Example! Trademark rack handles compliment its great looks!. 

The Oracle Delphi turntable

The Delphi MK VI

Welcome to the newer Generation of Canadian built Audiophile Turntables

Proudly built for over 35 years this company has produced over 11,000 turntables and have competed on the world market with the likes of Linn Sondek tables and other pure builds. Its 3 - axis design is recognizable across any room. Light years ahead of other designs when introduced in 1979.

Here we have the Next Gen. The Delphi Mk.VI

Polished Aluminum on an acrylic bed challenges future lines of designs to excel materials past this sleek, clean feel. A redesigned bearing and carries a 6 point adjustment. Quite versatile in set-up and positioning. The sound is accurate and brilliant with a feel like you are completley balanced and tracking with perfection. Quite a visceral feeling. This has to be on your short list of platters to own.

 

For Torontonians of the era, the closing of the Flagship Sam's Record store on Yonge Street in 2001 was truly the end of an era. Since 1937 this 140 store record giant led the way in music retail. In the late 1960s, the iconic spinning record replaced the previous neon signs, with the second neon record being added in the mid 1980's.  

I remember heading down from Richmond Hill on the Subway as a kid to lug back as much vinyl as my wallet could afford. Often collaborated a meet (via a real rotary telephone - no cells back then) with my good friend and vinyl aficionado Yuri. I anticipated that trip weekly and could not wait to crack open the finds on my arrival back up North. Sam's if I recall, was four floors of Genres with bargain bins and tapes galore. Gone are the days when you'd wait in line for your purchases to ring through. Christmas was unreal! Lines to the back of the store. It was as I look back  true engaged, experience. Have conversations with staff about releases and special pressings. The visit would last hours and it was not out of the norm to weather any storm to get there. 

Another shop a few steps away was Peter Dunn's Vinyl museum. Deleted Funkadelic records still sealed in the days when nobody actually wanted the stuff, every Stevie Nicks record ever released, of course Jonathan Richmond and strange old Rock Operas from the early Seventies, you name it! You could find it, touch it and acquire it. I scored my first pressing of Nucleus self titled LP for $25.00 there.

With what has been called the resurgence of vinyl, could we see another retail vinyl giant like this ever again? Perhaps this blogger is clinging to tightly to the memories of the past. 

The BALA stand-mount speakers Deliver! Viitums Sound Labs

 

 

  The Bala Stand-Mount Speakers from Vitums Sound Labs represent all that is analog. Hand built Drivers and Cabinets ensure that these engineered beauties stand among the greats of the Golden Era of audio.  Handmade in Muskoka Canada. 

Meticulously designed crossovers with only high end components from France. Exceptionally crafted cabinet suspension ensures that any inter modulation effect from the bass cabinet is isolated. Dampening is balanced with authentic pulled Sheep's wool. 

A hand coated paper cone 8" bass driver along with a 3/4" soft dome tweeter with huge magnet deliver it's accuracy. 

So how do they sound? In demonstrations the clarity and balance is mentioned each and every time. A great balance which is highly musical, is what defines a great analog design. As if the speaker is not there. No signature on the source signal, just delivery. Although floor shuddering bass is not what you acquire when you review bookshelf sized systems, the Bala deliver a precise musical bass tone that is truly music to your ears. Again, a balance in a two-way that we haven't heard in years. You will hear signals in recordings that you inherently know that were not present in your previous delivery. 

For a Canadian company that prides itself in Vintage design and Pioneers of yesterday, this certainly is a committed start to their line of Analog gems. the Bala stand-mounts deliver precision and Craftsmanship old school. They truly make you love music all over again. 

For more information visit www.vitumssoundlabs.com

 

Vintage Bookshelf Mission 760i / the Bassface Swing Trio LP

Newly arrived are one of the nicest 2 way bookshelf speakers I've heard in a while. From the English, always impressive Mission Corp, these are a beautiful audiophile pair of 6ohm - 89db sensitive speakers. At first glance they are seemingly plain and not that remarkable due to a weak plastic grill design that looks like it belongs on a child's toy. However, behind it they have a bold and distinctive blacked out design. Protruding driver face and front-ported they are truly elegant in appearance. Only available in black ash which was the thing into the nineties.

A 5inch (130mm) low frequency driver hails suprising results as in a small room they truly fill the space quite nicely from 300Hz and below. specs state they travel down to 70Hz and its a real natural sounding bass for their minimal size, only 11 inches high. They are crossed-over at 4500Hz to the high frequency unit It's a Polymide Ferrite cooled driver with natural clarity. These are very musical and suspect the crossovers are of high quality given their sonic abilities. The demo vinyl of choice was the Bassface Swing Trio'sBDirect to Disc cut of their Tribute to Cole Porter 180gram release. If your familiar with Stockfisch records releases you will anticipate the level of sound here. A beautifully musical airiness to them with some great punch value makes them a delight to listen to for hours on end.
I cant imagine any improvement in these other than simply creating it 3 ways. A (very) slight soft spot for my tastes in the midrange but apples to apples its a sonic vintage sound home run.

PROS

• Fidelity for such a small speaker footprint
• Sleek, slick look
• Good Bass response 

CONS

•  a touch light in the midrange
• small rec room at best for driving higher 

This vinyl is a must for serious sound aficionados. Not to mention the incredible performance captured here. Absolutely a top ten pressing for demos. The technique in the recording/pressing process has not been done and is a stroke of genius. I'll let you read up on it as its quite extensive when you acquire this vinyl gem.
Frank Sinatra's Swing Easy original duo-phonic US pressing poured out of them effortlessly.

Linn Sondek - LP12 The turntable

Hailed as the turntable by which all others are judged the LP-12 was and is a  vintage design staple. My first taste of it's sound came from my friend Yuri's setup. I was blown away at the balanced suspension design and then by it's transparent sonic representation. A table he utilized to this day which is testament to it's performance.
Throughout the years, there have been many changes to components such as rubber feet, baseboard, armboard, suspension springs and grommets and reinforced plinth. However, the Cirkuskit, with its newly designed bearing, is one of the most significant. This subjectively offers a large performance upgrade. Since 1991 (serial number 87600 onwards), the LP12 has been supplied as a mechanical assembly only, without power supply fitted.Early versions were a platform for mounting third party tonearms, had a basic power supply arrangements, and would only revolve at 33⅓ rpm. Those users requiring a 45 rpm option would have to purchase a special adaptor to increase the diameter of the motor pulley and platter speed accordingly.

Linn capitalised on the success of the Sondek LP12 by introducing the more affordable Basik and Axis turntables, complementary tonearms for the Sondek and cartridges at different price points.

The Sondek LP12 turntable, introduced in 1972, utilises a suspended sub-chassis design and a patented single-point bearing machined to extremely tight tolerances. The LP12 has evolved since its introduction, but its basic suspended sub-chassis design has remained. The thinking at the time was that the most important component of a high-end audio system is the loudspeakers. Linn presented an important challenge to that by claiming that the source (i.e. the turntable) was the most important part of the system.

Today, many options are available for tonearms and power supplies to partner the deck. The LP12 allows the purchaser to select from a number of Linn as well as third party options. It is commonly partnered with the Linn Ekos SE tonearm. External power options include Linn’s own top of the line “Radikal” power supply featuring a speed management system that auto-calibrates the motor every time the Sondek LP12 is powered on. If purity in design is what you seek than look no further than this "sonics first" design. VintageSound at it's finest!

The Distortion of Sound

The Distortion of Sound is the music industries look at the degradation of our audio signals evolution. A must see for the audio enthusiasts. We are truly in the valley of sound quality. Let's champion high fidelity back to the mainstream! 

Vintage Speaker Greats

When you have a look at the designs of speakers today and their boasts of high efficiency you can't help but ask is this all that modern consumers gauge sound reproduction on? Every era has it's wish lists in speaker marketing. The 60's marketed speakers were pushing larger than life designs. The 70's revelled at low harmonic distortion figures.

The 80's were all about multiple driver enclosures and innovative driver materials and stereo imaging. The 90's...well lets not say anything. Now in the modern millennium it's all about slim sleek cabinetry and how efficient they are. Really in the pursuit of incredible sound reproduction why do we care so much about efficiency? I mean if you review the essential specifications and are thrilled with the performance and design would you not drive them with whatever is needed for their optimal performance? You have to ask if sound waves have not changed in length and characteristics then how can these modern enclosures produce a bass/mids sound wave the same as the cabinets of old? Crossover points and driver build is of much greater importance yet we see time and time again the consumer asking "what's the efficiency?"
Sure the ability to convert the power to sound is important but it is not characteristic of it's musicality or tone. An ideal frequency curve response without peaks or troughs are of greater importance in the musicality of a speaker. This is hand in hand with distortion rates and signal to noise ratios. Lets educate ourselves and not simply go with the trending topic when seeking your holy grail reproducer. Specifications will narrow your field of choice, your ears will bring your conclusion.
Here's a few more vintage audio greats...