[jamato8]

The Cary uses 8 6SN7's and while they are a nice tube that many are way too much of one tube. Also unless you have tube rolled you don't really know what it sounds like. I would guess that it has the Russian 6SN7? Those are noted for high frequency accentuation and a bit of grain as are most of the newly made 6SN7's. The 6SN7 was the most produced tube or one of them of all time so there are still many good nos that don't cost a great deal. But maybe the basic nature of the Cary is slightly bright. I know they have stuck with 6SN7's for years. Also, for the headphone section are there just two 6SN7's?

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Probably a B22.

i doubt that.

 

[crappyjones123]

i still cant stop staring at the build quality of that amp. it is just beautiful. is it as strong as it looks? not suggesting you take a hammer to it but do you think it is capable of taking a few hits say via transit (ups etc) if one were to ship it from one residence to another?

i know this is off topic is sort of related. ive been saving up for the past 2 months (have ~1200) and will continue to do so until i have enough money to buy a balanced 650 (probably used but maybe not - i find the whole burning in process excruciatingly painful but infinitely fun as well), a balanced amp (tube vs ss?) and a balanced source. a rig that could be called the best possible solution to a 650 rig.

problem is this. chances of me have a cd player are pretty slim as i have to do stuff at my desk for about 8-10 hours everyday in front of my computer. so 90% chances are, while im still a student (another 9 years) the computer will be my source. therein lies the problem. could a dedicated sound card do a 650 and say a b52 justice or would the source leave a lot to be desired. if such is the case, i might as well drop the whole idea for now and just wait until i am done with school by when who knows if the 650 is still around. a 750 might be all the craze then.

being a student, to put down 5k+ for a hp rig is a big amount of money which is why im sort of trying to circumvent the whole cycle of upgrades and just go straight to the top. perhaps not the wisest of decisions but cost wise it would save me a lot of money along the years. having said that, whatever i buy in the near future will have to last me for a long time. i sure as hell am not going to go around spending 5k+ every year (well not until i have a full time jerb

)

long post aside, and i shall be hearing some AWESOME rigs at can jam, do you think the b52 really is the amp that qualifies as the holy grail of amps for the 650? well holy grail for under 5k. i dont think i could bring myself to spend more than that with all these student expenses to take care of at the same time.

also what source would fall in the same category as the b52? is the prelude the best i can do in terms of computer for source?

apologies for the long post and also if i end up hijacking this thread (not my intentions =/) and thanks in advance for the help

ps. forgot to ask about the dac

suggestions welcome!

 

[jamato8]

I know that Ray uses the 600's all the time so I would imagine it has a pretty good affinity for the Senhheiser phone. Nothing wrong with starting at the top. The view is always nicer.

 

[PFKMan23]

I'd say you'd be giving the B52 a fairly large bottleneck if you're going to use it with a typical soundcard. The sources I'd look at would be something on the order of a modded transporter or a Squeezebox as a transport put into a emm labs dcc2, Esoteric D05/D03. Those are commonly mentioned statement level sources that I'd be looking at (among others).

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd say you'd be giving the B52 a fairly large bottleneck if you're going to use it with a typical soundcard. The sources I'd look at would be something on the order of a modded transporter or a Squeezebox as a transport put into a emm labs dcc2, Esoteric D05/D03. Those are commonly mentioned statement level sources that I'd be looking at (among others).

I'm thinking he meant a stand alone dac and not a soundcard. If that is the case I think it would be fine to use something like a lavry, stello or benchmark dac-1.

 

[crappyjones123]

well either setup is what im inquiring about -

1. computer sound card - dac - amp - headphone

2. computer - usb dac - amp - headphone

3. small enough source to where i dont have to pay through the roof if i have to move (with my research i pretty much have to about once a year). so need something sturdy but with 5k going towards an amp i also dont want to have such a big bottleneck going in that the 5k turns out to be a waste.

i ask again, using a computer as a source would it even be an advisable road to travel on or should i drop the idea?

i forgot to mention this earlier. i have about 3-4 cd's. pretty much all my music is in flac/vbr on my hard drives. and dare i say there a lot of it. i HATE listening to cd's because depending on what im working on the mood might strike me to listen to some metallica and when i need to concentrate i shift gears to david gray or beethoven. i used to own a cd player and it used to drive me nuts - having to change cds because i dont want to listen to the same music continuously. also, burning cds now with all the music i have would take eons and its just not something i can do. in my defense i blame the anxiousness of youth on my inability to listen to one cd at a time

keeping all this in mind, is it a worthwhile endeavor or an exercise in futility?

 

[oicdn]

Damn...that thing is pretty as hell....

 

[PFKMan23]

While the Lavry, Benchmark and Stello are decent products, they are far from statement level, IMO. You can do a heck of a load better, especially with a monstrosity like a B52.

 

[4N6]

After chatting with my dealer, I have made a couple of changes that have improved the sound of the Cary in my system. One, I originally had my amplifiers plugged into my Shunyata Hydra 8. He told me to plug them straight into the wall. I did and the sound improved a little, namely just a little less edge. Maybe the Shunyata was choking the current, resulting in some distortion? Not sure as I am no electronics expert. Next, he lent me some different interconnects to go between the Cary and my NuForce 9 V2 SE's. The Harmonic Technologies were pretty good, but it was a set of Italian interconnects that did the trick. I will get the name of the brand from him later, but I was not familiar with it when he told me the first time, and unfortunately I cannot remember it now. I have no idea how much they cost. So from a bias standpoint, I would say that I have none as I don't really know a darned thing about them other than the fact they sound terrific. Much smoother highs without seeming rolled off. I put my Kimbers back in and the harshness to the highs returned. Funny, I had never considered the Kimbers to be harsh, but with the system synergy, they were just not the right cable for the job.

I may end up keeping the Cary for the preamp but would like to have the headphone jack moved more forward and flush with the faceplate. I have e-mailed Cary to ask about that. We will see if they can do anything.

It's still not the B-52, however!

 

[crappyjones123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif While the Lavry, Benchmark and Stello are decent products, they are far from statement level, IMO. You can do a heck of a load better, especially with a monstrosity like a B52.

like wut?

lets assume for one extremely short pico-second that i MIGHT think of getting a cd player...probably wont but for the sake of completeness lets assume that i do. what then?

 

[PFKMan23]

You don't have to get a CDP, but if you insist there are many good options. A modded Denon from APL, an Esoterix UX1 LTD, the Esoteric P)3/D03 combo, the P05/D05 combo, the emm labs. CDSA or the separates, the Audio Aero capotile, among others. Like I said though you don't have to get a CDP. you can get a good transport/dac system like a Squeezebox + a good DAC, or get a soundcard with a coax out and then feed it to a good DAC. As you can see ther are many good options out there.

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crappyjones123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif like wut?

the Cambridge 840C has been getting very good reviews (fully balanced) and it has a digital input so you could also use it as an external DAC. at around $1350 new it seems like quite a bargain.

 

[indikator]

before you jump to esoteric, why don't you try empirical audio product, they sound promising though

 

[jamato8]

With many people going to hard drives to store and use the music and feeling the sound is better than most any transport, I don't see the need for a transport. You also have the advantage of music at your fingertips without the hassle. With regards to a good dac, there are many and they don't have to cost a king's ransom. I am sure something good will filter through just give it time.