Which would you use and why?

[429CV23]

All,
I won an estate auction for a Carver C-4000 and Harman Kardon TU-610 tuner which will be picked up this weekend. I'm debating if these should just replace the Carver CT-Seven I have set up in a spare bedroom, or replace the Pioneer SX-950 in my main system.
CT-Seven system is a micro system using the M400t I purchased new in the 80s, a Sony PS-X600 BioTracer TT with Nagaoka MP-110 cart, and Carver TDR-1550 and TD-1700 cassette decks through Marantz HD440 speakers.

My main analog system is running a Sony PS-X600 BioTracer TT with Micro Acoustics MA3002 cart, Nakamichi ZX-7, 682ZX, CR-7A, and Dragon cassette decks, BIC T-4M cassette deck, and Sony MDLP through Marantz M-10 (Euro/mirrored version) speakers. Digital/PC feed is through an SMSL M300SE DAC.

I do not plan on placing speakers for a proper sonic holography setup. When I had the CT-Seven on my main system, the SH did expand the stage nicely in most cases. If the C-4000 replaces the Pioneer, I could use either the M400t, or a PM-1.75 I used years ago in my bass rig for amplification.

I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with similar setups and an opinion on comparative sound quality. I realize much has to do with relative condition of components; I recapped the SX-950 (all but the tuner board) 9-10yrs ago, the C-4000 would likely get recapped only if it replaces the 950.

Also want to thank those who reviewed the M300SE, my purchase was based partly on reviews I read here.

 

[JayGilb]

429CV23,

Welcome to ASR - Glad you found us.

I'm a owner of a lot of vintage Carver gear, but do not have listening experience with your other units, so I cannot offer a useful opinion.

 

[429CV23]

I went ahead and recapped the C-4000 (around 95 elcos, mostly BP in the signal path). It originally sounded pretty bad. I ran a BIC T-4M through it, listening with headphones. Sound was very shrill with a narrower stage compared to directly out of the deck. After recapping it's a totally different beast. No real difference in sound swapping the headphones now. I swapped it and a Carver cube with the Pioneer SX-950; the C-4000 sounds just as good, but has a wider stage; so overall sound quality is better than the 950.
The TU-610 is basically rubbish; much diminished output from the left channel. According to the SM it has <30 electrolytic caps, so I'll probably replace those and see if it evens out the channels.