Affordable Preamps & amplifiers? Thoughts on Carver Gear?

[SEAWOLF97]

I think another fun thread (if it doesn't already exist) would be, "What were your biggest audio disappointments and surprise smash hits?"

JBL-L56 AVOID

easily bottom out that poor LF and get rewarded with a big POP.

[DerekTheGreat]

Oh, that's disappointing. I was pondering about having a set of those for surround speaker duties. Or one of them for a center channel.

[DerekTheGreat]

Alrighty, been awhile since anyone chimed in here, so why not me?

Got my hands on another Adcom GFP 555, although this one was recapped completely with Nichicon gold stuffs. Maybe something was done wrong but the bass output is weak and the upper midrange is a bit more fatiguing compared to my stock GFP 555. First time I've tried something that was recapped, and my experience isn't positive. That thing is now in the garage. I did take it apart and took pics, every single cap was indeed replaced on it.

Also bought two Crown K1 amps. Unfortunately, I only have one Crown K2. After some extensive listening, I prefer the K2 for midrange & treble and the K1 for bass. Despite having the lower wattage rating, it slams harder & tighter than the K2 I've got. I never see the OIC light either, whereas I do with the K2 up top- guess the tweeters on my XPL's are hungry.

Compared the K's against the Macro Techs and decided the MT's are just too veiled or fuzzy for me. They're nothing like the Marantz trash I used to have but the Crown K stuff is significantly better all around. That and their fans are unbearable. I even tried one in the garage to run my Klipsch Cornwalls- no bueno. So those will be for sale. Shame, I liked the look of them to the look of the K amps. which are mighty ugly.

Another piece of gear I tried out and recommend is an Adcom ACE 515 A/C enhancer. I've already got a Furman thing-a-mabob so what really appeals to me here is the staging of on and off for my gear. Being that I'm bi-amping with an active crossover, there is now a lot of gear to switch on and off and I'm worried about the longevity of those power switches. The ACE 515 switches the preamps & accessories on first, then the amps. It does the same thing in reverse when switched off. Not sure if there is a modern equivalent, but I was able to pick two up for <$80/ea.