[enviro119]

Just thought i would share that i bought an sli 80 about 2 weeks ago and so far love it. I use a pioneer elite D6 cd/sacd player with Energy Reference Connoisseur 70s. Also have a pair of Senn 650 but have not tried them yet. The speakers were pretty cheap (bought last xmas for $800)  but good bang for the buck.
 
I had been using NAD 7155 (2 channel) receiver bridged with a NAD 2155 amp (identical amp that is in the receiver and when bridged get over 100 amp/ch) but decided it was time to replace it as it was really vintage and wanted to rebuild a really good 2 ch setup. Almost bought some Bryston gear until i heard this cary tube amp. Actually had never heard tube equipment before and it was love at first hear/sight. Checked out some Moon solid state integrated side by side with the Gary and just could not get over the sound of the cary.
 
You always wonder how a new piece of gear will sound once you get it home and whether you really will hear a significant difference. For me it was huge difference but then again I was comparing to some old NAD stuff (good in its day). Liquid mid range (vocals to die for) much improved soundstage and detail etc. I am in sonic heaven at the moment. Will invest in some better speakers down the road but for now i am listening to my old cds/sacds again. All the tubes are ElectroHarmonix but will wait awhile and use these tubes before getting into trying different tubes.    

 

[ardilla]

Congratulations - it is truly a remarkable amplifier! Both with phones and speakers. 
Quote:

Just thought i would share that i bought an sli 80 about 2 weeks ago and so far love it. ........ Liquid mid range (vocals to die for) much improved soundstage and detail etc. I am in sonic heaven at the moment. .......

 

[enviro119]

One thing I have noticed is that the amp needs a good warmup (30min) before it really sings. And I have now tried the sen 650 with it and I now I really appreciate what I have read on forums like this one about having good headphone amp. I had been listening using my denon 3806 receiver. I really bought the cary for speakers but the headphone benefit is a pleasant surprise. I will check out other posts about benefits of headphone cable upgrades for the 650. Back to listening to some "Foreigner " classic tunes.

 

[ardilla]

Some buy this amp for headphones ONLY

It is great with all cans I'be tried. If you plug the notoriously hard driven HE6 into the speaker taps it is supposedly a perfect combo

 

[dminches]

 

[longbowbbs]

Gorgeous dminches! I need some cash flow!

 

[toschek]

Hey folks, I just picked one of these up today from an Audiogon auction. I will be picking it up tomorrow.

I'm coming from a Schiit Lyr, so I already have a bunch of 6922 type tubes, if you check my profile you can see what I've got. It's my understanding that the current owner never experimented with tube rolling, he's just taken it to the shop for a swap of replacement stock tubes and a rebiasing.

Can you guys recommend a good tube complement for this amp for primarily classical with occasional garage rock outbreaks? I will be listening through Paradigm Atoms & HD800s, about 50/50 split between headphones and speakers.

 

[dminches]

I use 4 Tung Sol 6550s, 2 Tung Sol 6SN7WGTs, 2 Mullard CV 2492s and 2 Mullard GZ34s.

 

[toschek]

What is the proper bias setting for the 6550's?  Still 75mA?  Any tips for biasing with a standard multimeter or should I just pick up the Cary meter that was made specially for this?   Hate to waste money on something I don't really need.

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

Hey folks, I just picked one of these up today from an Audiogon auction. I will be picking it up tomorrow.

I'm coming from a Schiit Lyr, so I already have a bunch of 6922 type tubes, if you check my profile you can see what I've got. It's my understanding that the current owner never experimented with tube rolling, he's just taken it to the shop for a swap of replacement stock tubes and a rebiasing.

Can you guys recommend a good tube complement for this amp for primarily classical with occasional garage rock outbreaks? I will be listening through Paradigm Atoms & HD800s, about 50/50 split between headphones and speakers.

Nice score!  I really enjoyed this amp with my HD650's. I spent several hours with it at my dealers and never pulled the trigger...(I blame that on Decware!)

 

[toschek]

Decware stuff is awesome. I flirted with the idea of getting a Taboo III but I did not want to replace my speakers the more I thought about it. Steve makes some great stuff though, there is no denying that.

If I ever get a windfall though, I'll definitely consider his gear. I might even buy the Decware phono preamp down the line since this guy has no phono stage built in.

 

[dminches]

I bias mine to 80 mA.  I use a Radio Shack meter.  You don't need anything fancy.

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

Decware stuff is awesome. I flirted with the idea of getting a Taboo III but I did not want to replace my speakers the more I thought about it. Steve makes some great stuff though, there is no denying that.

If I ever get a windfall though, I'll definitely consider his gear. I might even buy the Decware phono preamp down the line since this guy has no phono stage built in.

I used the SLI-80 to drive a pair of KEF 207/2 Reference speakers. Phenomenal sound quality.

 

[dminches]

My SLI-80 is driving a pair of Nola Boxers.  I like the whole setup quite a bit.

 

[toschek]

Yes, the two things that really closed the deal for me were the flexibility provided by the amount of power it puts out (no offense to low wattage SET owners, but I find being restricted to >94dB speakers constricting) and the remote, which sounds lame but I love having the mute and volume buttons for those long sessions in my favorite chair. Never underestimate the value of laziness.