Another newb- will this work?

[gilbrock]

Hi guys, I am a complete newb when it comes to home theater, but I have been offered a great deal on some components but want to make sure they all work together.

The parts are:

Carver pre-amp with radio tuner
Carver M-500t amp from the late 80's
BSR Equalizer
4 foot Infiniti tower speakers (with 1 blown mid)

All this for $300!

So my question is:

A. Will I be able to plug this all in to a TV to use it as a theater system - I presume I just run a wire from the TV's audio out to the pre-amps' audio in?

B. Do the Carver preamps usually have Dobly decoders and such (I dont have a model number yet)..if not, can I buy decoders that will enable stuff like THX, etc?

C. Where can I find replacement speakers for the blown mid in the Infiniti tower (again, no model number yet)?

D. Should I buy auxilliary fans for the amp? The guy said that when it's going for a long period of time really loud sometimes it shuts down - my guess is from heat sink.

Thanks in advance everyone!!

Eli

[misterq4u]

You may or not agree with this.
For $300, is not a great deal, specially if you want to do home theater.
The list that of equipment may be an "ok" deal for a collector or vintage enthusiast and this equipment does not qualify for that yet.
Blown Infinity's? a replacement part will run pretty high, too high to care to look for even.

Please do yourself a favor and spend your hard earned $300 here or anywhere else.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-8RAF6wD...700#morephotos
That is if you want to start with initial HT satisfaction then work your way up.
If you are more serious about music than HT then do a good receiver + 2 speaker setup then build up. Like this

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-8RAF6wD...0&I=158STDG500
And this
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-8RAF6wD...7900&I=108P150

I wish that I could point you into separates but I am not sure of your budget, some here will sugest a ton of stuff but my picks are budget oriented and free shipping.


If money is no object, then please accept my apologies.

[AVMASTER]

A. No
B. Yes
C. partsexpress.com
D. No
save your money, check out Onkyo HT-S580

[N. Abstentia]

Definitley not a good deal if doing surround sound is what you are trying to do. It's all basically useless for home theater. The amp is the best part, but with it shutting down it obviously has problems.

Carver went out of business before Dolby Digital and DTS became the norm, so it won't do either. Best advice..avoid and spend your $300 on a home-theater-in-a-box system. They're crap, but better than that Carver stuff.

[Mr Peabody]

Like everyone has said this stuff would be a pain to use in HT. If stereo was your primary, then $300.00 would be fair. The Carver separates will sound better than any receiver you can buy for double the money. The thing I wonder, is the amp shutting down because your friend over drives it or does it have a problem. If the Infinity speakers are from the same era, they are much better than todays Infinity products but finding a replacement driver will be nearly impossible. Since they moved from the West coast to the East the company hasn't been worth a crap. However, if you have a good tech in the area they should be able to find a good replacement but you will have to replace the driver in both cabinets to keep the sound balanced. If all components were in good condition $300.00 would be a deal but if you have to put money into the system to get it up par, then not. I worked for an electronics store in the late 80's, early 90's and we carried Carver for awhile. They boomerang back with problems as fast as they sold. But, when they worked, they did sound pretty good. Much better than a receiver but not up to par with good integrated or separates of today.

Also, i agree that for $300.00 you can get a pretty good home theater receiver from Onkyo, Denon or Marantz. But then you have to buy speakers. I'd personally buy the Carver and listen to stereo for awhile before I'd buy a "box system". These all in one box systems are alright for scattering sound around the room but lack any real impact or sound quality.