Meridian G08 vs. Cary 303/300

[Ruppin]

Has anyone done, or can anyone help with a comparison between the two?

This would be used with both speakers and headphones:

HF: RSA Raptor, maxed out home; 650s 710s GS-1000s(soon)
Sp:Manley Labs Shrimp (preamp), Mahi monoblocks, Eggleston Fontaine II speakers.

Varied tastes from Classical, Jazz, Rock, Vocals. Little techno or metal.

Please tell me if an E5 with a Benchmark DAC1 would be just as good.

Thanks.

[insomniac]

I've owned both simultaneously and you can't go wrong with either of them. I think it will come down to tastes. In my opinion, one is not clearly better than the other. The Meridian has a smoother sound whereas the Cary is more dynamic, especially through its solid state output. Speaking of which, the 303/300 has both tube and solid state output stages which you can toggle between on the fly. The tubes are easily accessible for tube-rolling. The Meridian is very easy and pleasant to listen to. The Cary sounds "bigger" and more energetic.

[skullguise]

I think I'd VERY SLIGHTLY lean to the Cary, though admittedly I've heard it only briefly. Tube rolling will definitely help tailor a sound or as insomniac says, go solid sate output.

That said, a G08 just sold on audiogon for $2,000 even! Sorry I missed it.

[jjcha]

I agree with both the guys above. I personally prefer the Cary, but that was only on brief impressions.

Both will sound very different from a DAC-1 fed by an Eastsound. Actually, I don't quite see the point of a DAC-1 and Eastsound.

Best,

-Jason

[gevorg]

Originally Posted by Ruppin

Please tell me if an E5 with a Benchmark DAC1 would be just as good.

Any good high end dac like DAC1 with a decent transport will be at least as good as a CD player costing much more. The difference will be, as always, in sound preference, so audition if you can. Make sure to compare a DAC setup before spending thousands on a CD player, but if you really can't audition, go with a dac.

[milkpowder]

Originally Posted by skullguise

That said, a G08 just sold on audiogon for $2,000 even! Sorry I missed it.

The dealer in Hong Kong was selling his last batch for $2,300! Isn't that absolutely crazy? I just missed out on them. Now they're selling for $4,200.

I haven't really listened to the Cary, so I can't really offer much advice... All I know is that both have good reputations and you can't really go wrong with either. I have listened to the G08 a few times and I think that it's a brilliantly versatile player and very good sounding as well.

[909]

Originally Posted by skullguise

That said, a G08 just sold on audiogon for $2,000 even! Sorry I missed it.

Thanks for sharing. I would have rather not known this fact.

At least you are now not alone in your sorrow over missing such a great deal.

I am going to check it out at Audiogon.

[Todd R]

I compared the G08 to my Cary 303/200 last fall.
I'd say the G08 is the nicest built machine I'd ever used, with a very cool looking display.
Sonically, we ended up preferring the Cary by a small amount. The Cary is very dynamic and has a wider soundstage, vs. the G08 which had a deeper soundstage. The G08 also seemed to have a fine glaze or veil over the sound which made everything seem "smooth". It wasn't objectionable, just noticeable.
Also in Cary's favor was the digital input, that I use with my DVD player (big improvement), HDCD, and switchable upsampling.