[earache]

Looking to upgrade my digital source to one of the newest players. Not interested in SACD or DVDA. Anyone had a chance to compare the Meridian G08 with the latest Cary players, namely the 303/300? I have seen a lot of talk about the G08 in various meets but haven't found any comparisons via the 'search'. Thanks in advance.

 

[walkman666]

There's a lengthy thread about the Cary 303/300 in the digital section of AudioAsylum.com. You might find that of some interest.

- walk

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by earache Looking to upgrade my digital source to one of the newest players. Not interested in SACD or DVDA. Anyone had a chance to compare the Meridian G08 with the latest Cary players, namely the 303/300? I have seen a lot of talk about the G08 in various meets but haven't found any comparisons via the 'search'. Thanks in advance.

I own a Meridian G08, but I have not compared side by side with a Cary. immtbiker recently bought a G08 to replace his Cary 306/200, maybe he'll jump in with some feedback.

Just curious, how does your ML 39 compare with the Cary 303? I breifly listened through a Levinson DAC at a Head-Fi meet and the sound was excellent.

 

[earache]

I went ahead and ordered the 303/300 this week to replace my 303/200. When it gets here I will post some comparisons with the ML 39. The player is for my office setup along with a SLI-80 (which in itself is a great headphone driver for my HD-650's). The 303/200 stood toe to toe with my old Levinson dac/transport. The biggest differences IMHO are that the ML just does detail to the nth degree. Soundstage, both depth and width, truly are amazing. Instrument placement in space is just the best I've heard. In the wrong system the ML can sound too analytical. My Wilsons have a mid bass hump coloration that just complements the ML resulting in a really remarkable sound. The Cary does the bottom end in spades. Lots of drive, lots of air, a get up and boogie bottom end. The mids are considerably warmer than the ML and the highs are somewhat rolled off in comparison. Certainly a different flavor. When I got the 303/200 a few years ago i dropped it in my main system and it held up remarkably well against my ML 360S/31 combo. So much so that I sold the ML's when the getting was good, pocketed the change, and lived with the Cary for about 6 months. I ended up borrowing a demo 39 one day out of curriosity and i just kept it. My main rig is all about soundstage and detail. A/Bing the cary vs. the 39 directly just brought back the depth and width of the soundstage in a way the Cary just would not. Both are excellent players and recommend them both as fantastic one box solutions. It's funny how you can swing to each end of the spectrum over time

 

[KZEE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by earache I went ahead and ordered the 303/300 this week to replace my 303/200. When it gets here I will post some comparisons with the ML 39. The player is for my office setup along with a SLI-80 (which in itself is a great headphone driver for my HD-650's). The 303/200 stood toe to toe with my old Levinson dac/transport. The biggest differences IMHO are that the ML just does detail to the nth degree. Soundstage, both depth and width, truly are amazing. Instrument placement in space is just the best I've heard. In the wrong system the ML can sound too analytical. My Wilsons have a mid bass hump coloration that just complements the ML resulting in a really remarkable sound. The Cary does the bottom end in spades. Lots of drive, lots of air, a get up and boogie bottom end. The mids are considerably warmer than the ML and the highs are somewhat rolled off in comparison. Certainly a different flavor. When I got the 303/200 a few years ago i dropped it in my main system and it held up remarkably well against my ML 360S/31 combo. So much so that I sold the ML's when the getting was good, pocketed the change, and lived with the Cary for about 6 months. I ended up borrowing a demo 39 one day out of curriosity and i just kept it. My main rig is all about soundstage and detail. A/Bing the cary vs. the 39 directly just brought back the depth and width of the soundstage in a way the Cary just would not. Both are excellent players and recommend them both as fantastic one box solutions. It's funny how you can swing to each end of the spectrum over time

Oh man, you've got some pretty tasty equipment there earache - Cary, Mark Levinson, Wilson... ooh la la

. If you ever need someone to house sit for you, have truck will travel!

 

[Nightfall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by earache Looking to upgrade my digital source to one of the newest players. Not interested in SACD or DVDA. Anyone had a chance to compare the Meridian G08 with the latest Cary players, namely the 303/300? I have seen a lot of talk about the G08 in various meets but haven't found any comparisons via the 'search'. Thanks in advance.

I believe the comparisons havent really had a chance to be made yet, the Cary 303/300 literally just started shipping very recently. I would be interested in this comparison too. I was not a huge fan of the sound of the previous Cary cdp's, but the 303/300 is supposed to be a quantum leap forward from even the 306/200.


JC