[James3Toe]

I just picked up my new CARY 303/300 and Nordost Vishnu power cable from Upscale Audio this afternoon.
I'm planning on giving it some burn in before doing any serious listening, but I am really excited about it.
When I demo'd it against the Musical Fidelity A5, it was no contest. The CARY has a much greater air to the music, the treble much clearer and the bass carries more authority, being a lot more controlled and extended. However, for me the best part of the whole sound was how well everything seem to integrate with each other...nothing standing out so far that it detracts from the overall experience.

I will post some pics when I get a moment (and after I have wiped the grin from my face)

...and to think I can tube roll it too...Christmas can come twice

HUGE BOX!!

Beautiful PC

Ready for action!!

Trying to level the bad boy!!

Close up 1

Close up 2

 

[Nightfall]

James,

I'm very interested in hearing the rest of your thoughts after this has had a chance to burn in. What other cdp's have you owned, or auditioned?

JC


Quote:

Originally Posted by James3Toe I just picked up my new CARY 303/300 and Nordost Vishnu power cable from Upscale Audio this afternoon. I'm planning on giving it some burn in before doing any serious listening, but I am really excited about it. When I demo'd it against the Musical Fidelity A5, it was no contest. The CARY has a much greater air to the music, the treble much clearer and the bass carries more authority, being a lot more controlled and extended. However, for me the best part of the whole sound was how well everything seem to integrate with each other...nothing standing out so far that it detracts from the overall experience. I will post some pics when I get a moment (and after I have wiped the grin from my face) ...and to think I can tube roll it to...Christmas can come twice

 

[James3Toe]

I have had a number of players in the past including a TEAC VRDS-25, Roksan Kandy, Musical Fidelity A3, but the most recent player I owned was a Sound Odyssey Level 1 modded Shanling CD-T100A. I liked that a lot, but overall it was a little too polite for me...I always felt that there was some of the excitement missing from the music. The Cary is significant departure from the sound of the Shanling, (and also in price) but I can already say that I am enjoying my music a lot more again

.

I will post more impressions as I get more time with the player.

 

[Welly Wu]

That is one h - e - l - l of a source component!

 

[Audio Addict]

Talk about timely post. I listened to the A5 yesterday and was reading up last evening on the new Cary. Keep us posted as the Cary breaks in.

 

[earache]

Mine came in Friday evening! Listened a little friday night, and this thing is something special. It's been burning in and i will post some followups later today. Wow!

excuse the dust! It's been that long since I swapped a new toy in!

 

[Kieran Comito]

What price does one of these list at? Thanks

 

[earache]

$4K is the retail. I got mine from Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio. I have bought a lot of equipment from him over the years and he has provided excellent service as well as great pricing.

 

[Alu]

Ah...sweet. Seems like a very nice transport. If you get any more details about the capacities when listening to it, I'd surely be interested to read them. Even though I'd rather like a completely black design, without this blue led window. Nevertheless, if it sounds good, I can't care about my preferences in optics.

When my pc source is completed I'll be thinking about a new transport, even though I'm not disapointed with the rotel rcd-02, going to the bel canto dac 2 over coax in the future. I'm more thinking about an ml source though. Jackpot winning chances, anyone?

 

[James3Toe]

When the unit is off, the display does not really look all that blue, just a bluish tint to the glass if you look at it from an angle (I think the flash off the camera makes it look far more blue than it really is). When the unit is playing, you can switch the display (and indicator lights) off. It displays a very low level illuminated "CD" in the window that is barely noticeable.

 

[elrod-tom]

I've heard that source on a couple of occasions, and I've always liked it a lot. Congrats on your new pick-up...now let's hear TONS of first impressions!!

 

[James3Toe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by earache $4K is the retail. I got mine from Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio. I have bought a lot of equipment from him over the years and he has provided excellent service as well as great pricing.

I have to agree. I also bought mine from Kevin, and he couldn't have been more helpful and considerate. It was my first time buying from him, but it was like I was his most valued customer. It is always nice to find a great place to buy gear, but even better to find someone who places customer service first.

 

[bhd812]

eww man those pics look sexy...yummy

 

[tom hankins]

Congrats on your new Cary!! The new one I'm waiting to try is the 306/300 SACD player. They say the redbook is the equal of the 306/200 with the sacd even better.
Which output do you like the best so far...SS or tubed?

 

[James3Toe]

I am loving the Tube output. It just feels more integrated at the moment, with the bass being very tight, and the midrange being particularly sweet and open. The treble is nicely extended, but is not at all fatiguing. The SS seems a little edgier in comparison, but it does present a wonderfully large soundstage to the music. I am using the upsampling @ 768K and it does seem to impart a little more air to the sound.