The other Cary forum......
 

z

In my time here at AA I've not seen a great deal of Cary interest/posting so having a dedicated seems unnecessary. Same can be said for other brands as well. It would be interesting to know how many "lurkers" have visited the Cary forum specifically?

z

I don't disagree as to the quality of Cary gear. And if owners choose listening over posting here I see nor have any problem with that. I was merely commenting of the lack of participation, just as you are doing.

The Cary guys are all posting in the BAT forum ........ not. :) I feel your pain, CRJCapt.

I searched around and this is the only Cary forum I found. It would be sad not to have it, even if posting is sparse.

A rough idea about amount of lurking can be had by looking at the "views" number for individual threads relative the the number of posts.

I am trying in the SLI-80 area! Same as in the Vandersteen area....Glad to have you aboard the god ship Cary, Captain!

Cary components especially their amps one of the best kept secrets high end audio. Us audiophiles in the US are not quite hip to the amazing beauty & musicality of SET's. I own the 805AE's and love them with my Wilson Sophia's. What an amazing combo. One listen and I became a believer. No more push pull crap for these ears!

I've been hearing this message. I'm thinking strongly about getting one of Dennis Had's Inspire SET amps at ~10 watts for reasonable $ as a first step. 805's would be a great final choice if I like it.

How would you characterize the sound difference between PP and SET?

The first thing that strikes you is the soundstage. SET's especially the 805 is much more holographic and palpable. It seems as if the musicians are with you in the room. I've compared the soundstage of the 805 to that of the mighty VTL Sigfrieds and to my ears, the Cary sounded much more musical & natural. I know Luke Manley personally and I hope he doesn't read this :/
Second, power is not an issue when paired with the right speaker. The ~23W of class A power of the 805's are plenty to drive efficient speakers such as Wilsons. It rarely uses more than 5W. I've compared it to a 200W solid state and preferred the 50W of the 805.
Third, people who believe that bass is an issue with SET's should listen to the 805's. What you get is very well controlled deep bass that is integrated seamlessly to the rest of the frequency range.
Fourth, the liquidity of the midrange and the air on top is amazing. The tapping of a drumstick on a cymbal, the sound of a wood flute or a pluck of a guitar string is as close to real as it gets. A real life comparison will prove so.
Fifth, the speed & pace in which the music is delivered through the speakers are amazing.
Of course there are many factors that contribute to bring out the best in these amps such as first class components upstream and also cables. I use Transparent cables throughout the system that are calibrated to the amps and really work with them.