That's very interesting. Back in the 80s, when I was first getting into "high end" audio, the C-9 was new and Bob Carver was doing everything he could to piss off Stereophile, my audio buddy had a C-9. My recollection is that on 3 records it was amazing. On everything else it (at best) made recordings sound different, but mostly just made stuff sound funny. And for those 3 records you had to have your ears within a millimeter of the exact sweet spot or the magic disappeared.

Of course back then our systems were pretty pedestrian compared to my/our current Decware rigs, and what passed for stereo imaging was not much more than being able to hear the different between the left and right channel. The idea of a detailed, layered and transparent sound stage would have been crazy talk. I wonder if the Sonic Hologram was just way ahead of its time, or actually needed something like a low(er) power Decware system rather than the mega-amps with huge speakers Carver sold?

Looking forward to future installments.

The room my stereo equipment is in is probably a fairly common size for people who can dedicate a space for listening. I wish I had a larger space and maybe one day I will, but for now I have to work with a 12’x14’ with a 10-foot ceiling. The space is not ideal since I have a credenza between the speakers which I have my equipment on. The speakers are on the long wall, which in normal circumstances may not be the best but in my situation, it seems to work well since the speakers have more distance to the side walls and still gives me a little more than an 8’ triangle for my listening.  I spent almost a year trying different speaker positions and toe-in and finally settled on what I have now. The sound I was getting was about as good as the Decware system and the room would allow. Over that time, I was also adding a significant amount of room treatments. I’ve spent a great deal of time listening in this environment and had a very good feel for the Decware sound and how the room allowed it to shine. The sound was very neutral, clear, and had good imaging as well as a nice soundstage with a solid phantom center channel. What I wasn’t getting was a lot of depth, that front to back depth I hear so much about. Fortunately, I was getting some depth and a good amount of layering, so I was happy. I think the credenza and the room as a whole is limiting me to some extent.

Just a few pics of my room:









The C-9 is usually behind the credenza door but I pulled it out for the pic.




It had been quite a while since I had read anything about the C-9 and when Paul (red pill sanctuary) brought it up in his posts I started to research it again. It was definitely a cool and interesting piece of gear, but as CAJames mentioned in his post, I was wondering if the unique characteristic of the unit and my not-so-great room would be able to do justice to the C-9. You see, the C-9 is meant to be used in a very specific way. The instructions point out that it should be used exactly as described if you want to extract the most 3D holographic imaging that it’s capable of. It requires as exact a speaker placement as you can get based on the guidelines it spells out. I knew I had the right equipment to springboard from (the great Decware system) but the limitations in my room would be a problem. I really had very little wiggle room for changing speaker placement and the directions said the speakers should be roughly 5’ apart. (maybe even closer). That meant I would need to position the speakers in front of the credenza, which I knew I would probably not be doing (except to experiment with maybe). I went back and forth but ultimately decided to get one. At the time you could pick one up for $100 - $200. I paid $175, on the high side but in retrospect it was a good enough deal. As I mentioned earlier, even with the issues the unit had, once inserted into the audio chain, it just enhanced the sound from the get-go. Knowing what it could do at this point I decided to do what Tony mentioned in his post. I contacted 4krow (aka Greg) and asked if he would refresh the unit. He agreed and did a fantastic job, and I thank him for that. I now have peace of mind knowing there is fuse protection and all the updates and upgrades will carry me well into the future. For less than $400 total, I have a piece of equipment that perfectly complements and enhances my Decware system.

C-9 BEFORE :



C-9 AFTER Greg performed his magic. Outstanding!




After more play, the C-9 alleviated my uncertainty. To CAJames’ point, I thought maybe it would sound weird or somehow ‘off’, or maybe no difference at all. The C-9 didn’t ‘add’ anything, in fact, it seemed to subtract something. That something is crosstalk. When both ears hear an instrument or voice from both speakers, precise imaging seems to be affected. So, when an instrument, voice, or backup vocals are supposed to come from the left or right position in the soundstage, the sound from the opposite speaker can detract from the imaging in the soundstage. The C-9 seems to be able to eliminate/reduce the crosstalk by removing the unwanted signal to the opposite speaker when it needs to, thus eliminating the opposite speakers’ influence on the position of that sound. I have no idea how it actually works though (my technical experience is zilch on this). The kicker is it does this without altering the tone, neutrality, or base sound you’ve come to expect from your system. The result is precise imaging within the soundstage. The other important fact is that it gives depth to each instrument or voice. It seems that each instrument has a 360-degree radius of sound that emanates from its precise location as you’d expect from a live performance. The C-9 seems to not only give each instrument its own depth, but it also pulls the entire soundstage together into one cohesive soundscape. The speakers seem to disappear more easily, the left to right soundstage widens a bit and the air and separation of instruments and voices, along with the overall cohesiveness, just draws you in. I found myself wanting to leave it on at all times for all tracks. There is a much higher level of emotional engagement with the C-9 on as opposed to off. That is where it’s at for me.

I don’t know why I’m able to achieve this level of enjoyment with the C-9 since by all accounts I shouldn’t be able to. I have done nothing to my original setup and when I tried to adhere to the user guide instructions on proper speaker placement/etc. I couldn’t achieve anything near the results I got with my original setup. (not to mention the ridiculous look of having the speakers in front of the credenza). One day when I have a different room I will certainly try again, but for now I’m leaving it as is. I’m not getting a true holographic image with this setup but to be honest, I’m getting what seems to be a true to life image/soundscape in front of me as you would in a small venue with the performers spread out in front of you. I know the room treatments help a great deal and getting your setup/speaker placement to your liking with your Decware (or other high end) gear before inserting the C-9 is critical as well. From there, I think anyone with a conventional setup can still benefit from the C-9.

Another topic I’d like to talk about will be the different recording formats that Paul (RPS) has sent me on various CD’s. Paul was kind and generous enough to send me over 30 CD’s with some great music on them that he had created to help me evaluate the Carver C-9. I hope to follow up shortly. Thanks for hanging with me so far.

Thanks MM, it took a couple of years+ to get to this point with my system and room treatment.

You make a good point about the QRD diffusers. I hope to add them at some point, but I don't think I'll be able to until I change rooms. Those absorbers just have a 'scatter plate' attached to the front and are a poor attempt at mimicking some diffusion along with absorption. I've heard the QRDs do a great job, and I hope to incorporate them down the line. I do have absorbers at the first reflection points as well as rear bass traps and absorbers at the back wall (not shown in any of the pics). These room treatments are nothing like GroovySauce or red pill sanctuary have, (and others) but surprisingly they make a big enough difference. Groovy and RPS have some awesome treatments, and I hope I can come close to something like that in the future. I'm sure enjoying the sound in this smallish room. (the Decware equipment makes sure of that!)

Thanks for your recommendations, appreciate it.