Thanks Dr. Bob! [Archive]

BlueMDPicker

11-08-2005, 04:53 PM

I received the Carver Lightstar Reference amp and Lightstar Direct preamp today. Holy Shite!

Just finished a session with Al Di Meola's "Kiss My Axe" spinning on the Shanling, through the rig, and on into the SDA SRS. An out of body experience at it's finest. These vintage Polks are doing their thang! Tight powerful bass, crystal imaging, and a sound stage nearly 180 degrees. I'm running unbalanced while I wait for another cable to arrive.

More later.... back to the music! :cool:

audiobliss

11-08-2005, 04:54 PM

Awesome!

Ricardo

11-08-2005, 04:58 PM

DAGLJAM6

11-08-2005, 05:17 PM

Mike that second track is killer on the big SDA's. The low bass followed by the ethereal guitar , simply fantastic.
BTW, soon to finish that comp. disc (been waffling on a couple of tunes for it)

madmax

11-08-2005, 05:29 PM

Cool!!!
madmax

W WALDECKER

11-08-2005, 05:55 PM

steveinaz

11-08-2005, 05:55 PM

pics man, pics!

DAGLJAM6

11-08-2005, 06:03 PM

Oh great looking amp, please post a reference picture. The shots in the Audiogon ad couldn't do that one justice.

TroyD

11-08-2005, 06:18 PM

Glad to see it arrived safe and sound and glad you are enjoying it!

BDT

BlueMDPicker

11-08-2005, 09:46 PM

Of course nothing compared to your "out of body" experience, but last night I was listening to the dark side of the moon CD and I was actually thinking I was hearing that 180 degrees stage out of my 1B's; hard to explain the feeling :)

I'm with ya' - weird sensation to just be "lost" in the music, like you're part of it. I spun Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" on vinyl awhile ago and was lost again. Had percussion all around me, well in front of the sound stage, and synthesizer over my left shoulder - nearly behind me.

BlueMDPicker

11-08-2005, 09:51 PM

Mike that second track is killer on the big SDA's. The low bass followed by the ethereal guitar , simply fantastic.

That's the one that took me "there". I don't know what the drums are (kick bass or kettle) but they rival any explosive sound effects I've ever heard with the HT rig and SVS. The third track is a personal favorite as a guitarist (of nowhere near the talent). Al's attack is breathtaking and his timing is nearly superhuman. Good shite, Maynard! Thanks for turning me on to the album!!

BlueMDPicker

11-08-2005, 09:53 PM

pics man, pics!

Man, this black gear is hard to capture! Let me get it setup a bit more permanent and I'll certainly snag some photos.

heiney9

11-09-2005, 01:06 AM

Absolutely cool......Al Demiola is really an incredible artist. Out of body is a great way to describe it. He amazes me every time I listen to one of his many recordings, "Friday Night In San Fran" is my favorite.

H9

BlueMDPicker

11-11-2005, 12:18 AM

I finally got it in the rack. Well, rather, I got the rack around it. I had to completely disassemble the rack and build it around the amp (with 1/8" of slack front to back!) The amp has a built in platter base that fits perfectly where the bottom shelf glass was. I lined the inside of the rack vertical face with self-adhesive foam tape to prevent any scuffs.

Only things on the amp fascia are dual analog meters and a touch plate for standby. I forgot to get an ass shot before I wrestled this 78 lb. mofo into the rack frame. Dual power cords and power toggles, RCA and XLR inputs, two pairs of BPs per channel, hi/lo input gain toggle each channel.

The pre has no external controls, everything is remote controlled. The stepped attenuation with Holco resistors is absolutely superb. Three RCA and three XLR inputs, tape, and RC5 jacks.

The big SDAs love this combo. Great synergy with the Shanling CDP. I'm very impressed as well.

organ

11-11-2005, 12:26 AM

Sweetness! Those are some manly equipments. Congrats.

Oh yeah, PM me your addy. I'm gonna send you some goodies for being so generous with the Tele tube. Don't worry, not sending you the SED.

Maurice

organ

11-11-2005, 12:27 AM

Actually, it's all good. I still have the box with your addy:).

BlueMDPicker

11-11-2005, 12:40 AM

Guess I better quit. I'm out of room! :o

Maurice - fugitaboudit, just enjoy the tube!

dorokusai

11-11-2005, 02:35 AM

Kudos. It ain't pretty, but it's brutal.

DAGLJAM6

11-11-2005, 07:59 AM

There's something about good looking equipment, I personally like the "get down to business" look of that amp/pre combo. I received my Carver A500x about the same time and couldn't be happier.
Looks and performance go hand in hand with me. Nice set up Mike, a bit of exclusivity, blinding performance, and a great monolithic look.

BlueMDPicker

11-11-2005, 08:51 AM

Kudos. It ain't pretty, but it's brutal.
Back in black, baby! :D

There's something about good looking equipment, I personally like the "get down to business" look of that amp/pre combo. I received my Carver A500x about the same time and couldn't be happier.
Looks and performance go hand in hand with me. Nice set up Mike, a bit of exclusivity, blinding performance, and a great monolithic look.
I used to scoff at the power recommendations for these old Polks. Come on, 200 to a THOUSAND WPC!? And, I've been pretty damned pleased with them running 75 wpc of tube amplification. But, this setup clearly shows Polk wasn't kidding about the power suggestions.

First impression, for both me and Sandy (with no prompting on my part I might add), was "bright". Then you begin to realize it's not at all bright or fatiguing, it's not rolling off anything at the top end. You also instantly sense the silence between sound and the complete elimination of bass bloom, room resonance (for that matter, whole house resonance) at the bottom end, and harmonics. Driven failrly hard, we can still sit 8-10 feet away and have a conversation without shouting - which amazes us both. Driven at very low level, it retains all the dynamics of the music throughout the frequency range.

Perhaps most telling is the fact the little kids want to sit and listen to music. My 3-year old is fascinated with the SDA sound stage. She looks to her sides and behind her with an expression of puzzled enjoyment. That really makes me smile.

beardog03

11-11-2005, 10:34 AM

good to hear that your
'sharing" the music with the kids..

The one thing My dad did that had/has the most impact on my life is/was music..

Nice rig..

Teach the children the joy`s of music, and make thier life infinatly better...

good on ya..!!

BlueMDPicker

11-11-2005, 01:40 PM

Bear,

The little ones (3 and 5) are stone music lovers. Both have guitars (Mitchell has 3 in fact), an electric piano, PA system and mics, and Hammond B-3. Geri, at 3, has nearly perfect pitch and an uncanny knack for remembering elaborate lyrics. I love when she sings for me. Mitchell is a country/blues rocker with more moves than SRV - at age 5! Now, if he'd just learn to play. ;) But, that will come because he has it in his heart and soul.

Like you, my father (a fantastic baritone) and mother (an accomplished pianist) instilled a solid love of music in me. And, even when my garage bands were (I know) driving them nuts, they always praised an encouraged us. I'm passing along a family tradition that I'm confident will be around years after I'm gone.

Mike

reeltrouble1

11-11-2005, 03:43 PM

Way to go Mike, nice man rig. Of course you know you cant hear anymore old man. The little ones are a blast. My three old grandson likes the SDA too, his favorite is Talk about Me, Toby Keith, which he knows most of the words to, especially the me, me, me part. Go Figure!!

Enjoy the music. Bout time to dump the Shandling isnt it. :D Remember me!

RT1

BobMcG

11-11-2005, 09:21 PM

Cool, definitely cool!

schwarcw

11-12-2005, 12:16 AM

Wow! Nice looking setup Mike! Congrats on your new addition and happy listening. I'm going to checkout the Al Di Meola disc. I haven't followed him in a long while. Thanks for the headsup guys!

Carl

organ

11-12-2005, 02:33 AM

Mike,
Thank you so much. I owe you man.

That's a killer rig. Have you tried the RF-3 without the grills? The grills on the RF series are pretty nasty and I can honestly say the imaging improved when I have the grills removed. I keep them off but I think they look much better with grills on:(.

Tour2ma

11-15-2005, 05:17 PM

Nice... Yup, something about muscle, sand amps and big SDA's...

Lightstar, huh? OK... now I'm caught up on the Dr. Bob story. Kinda ironic, but the Lightstar line is part of the reason Bob got the boot from Carver (the first time) and he went off and formed Sunfire.

My 3-year old is fascinated with the SDA sound stage. She looks to her sides and behind her with an expression of puzzled enjoyment. That really makes me smile.Interaural crosstalk cancelation would make a nice science project a few years down the road. A pair of CRS's would be easier on the back. :D

BlueMDPicker

11-15-2005, 05:46 PM

Bruce,

I think I'll keep the Lightstar gear in the lineup on the big SDAs for quite awhile. With .25 ohms output and the ability to go 1200 wpc into .5 ohms, this has got to come really close to what Matt Polk and crew had in mind when they design these speakers. I've had some excellent gear driving them, but this amp has enough damping to control eight drivers per side with no loss of detail across the FR and a seemingly bottomless pit of power supply.

Yep, some CRS would be fun to play with. But, in this area, they get snatched quickly.

organ

11-15-2005, 05:54 PM

Hey Bruce,
Long time no see. Where have you been? How's everything? Good to have you back.

Maurice

Tour2ma

11-15-2005, 07:22 PM

Gracias, Maurice (oops... wrong border...)
Doing OK... Was just changing things up for a while.

Mike, I hear ya... and it's not that your SRS's sounded to be lacking back in May on your 75 wpc tube-amp.