Regarding the two preamps, if you'll have the Adcom back soon, just compare it to the Carver for yourself. Another idea, sell both and buy a nice used tube preamp for around $1K. Yet another idea, sell the Carver and send the Adcom to John Hillig, of Musical Concepts, for modification & upgrade.
I had an Adcom 535 in the attic, doing nothing. I sent it to John Hillig, for the LX-Signature mod, and it now sounds totally kickass. His mods for your Adcom preamp look very interesting and may be a very cost effective upgrade.
I had an Adcom 535 in the attic, doing nothing. I sent it to John Hillig, for the LX-Signature mod, and it now sounds totally kickass. His mods for your Adcom preamp look very interesting and may be a very cost effective upgrade.