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Cary Audio Design Superior Quality and Value

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  #11  
Old 08-05-2020, 03:06 PM
joey_v joey_v is offline
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Geez
What a system

How does your cousin do it? That’s an expensive system to amass!
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  #12  
Old 08-07-2020, 01:29 AM
Dilettante Dilettante is offline
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Well, he's loaded and a hardcore audiophile and has been one for decades.

He previously had the Magico M6 until recently moved up to the M9. Before the Naim Statement pre / monoblock amps combo he had the D'Agostino Momentum M400 monoblock amps / ARC Ref 10 linestage pre combo paired with the Wilson Alexx, then moved on to a pair of Boulder monoblock amps / pre combo (can't remember which series) until finally settled with the Naim Statement pre / monoblock amps combo on a pair of the Magico M6 and recently moved up to the M9. He still has the D'Agostino Momentum phono preamp for his Clearaudio Statement v2 turntable. He also recently acquired the Struder master audio tape machine (reel to reel).

He has one of the best acoustic (listening room) I've ever been to. He spent a lot building his dedicated reference listening room from scratch along with room treatments and all.
His speaker cables alone cost twice as much as my speakers. I have the B&W 800 D3 ($30k/pair). He's using the Transparent Magnum Opus speaker cables.

I'm about to change speakers myself, thinking of either higher end Vandersteen or possibly the flagship from PMC if I end up with the Naim 500 series stacks since they have great synergy together. Will see. If I end up with all Naim 500 series stacks (Naim streamer/DAC, linestage pre & power amp) I will have to end up selling the Cary CD 306 SACD player.
I'm also in the process of getting an analog front end (turntable / phono pre setup) too. Still undecided on which to get. Of course I won't be able to afford the Clearaudio Statement v2 turntable with D'Agostino Momentum phono pre like the ones my cousin has. My pocket isn't as deep as his. lol.
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  #13  
Old 08-07-2020, 05:01 PM
joey_v joey_v is offline
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Yeah

I was always wondering how loaded you had to be to acquire m9... wow

You have 800d3, similar to mine. You deserve better than the Cary.
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  #14  
Old 08-08-2020, 02:38 AM
Dilettante Dilettante is offline
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I'm driving the B&W 800 D3 with the Classe Omega Reference monoblock amps and the Classe Omega Reference Mk iii linestage analog preamp. The Omega Reference Mk iii linestage preamp is a two chassis preamp with an external separate power supply unit. This is a pure analog linestage pre and has no DAC of digital circuitry, unlike the recent Classe preamps that are equipped with DAC as in the case with the CP 800 and the recently released Delta Pre. And the Cary CD 306 SACD player served as my digital front end. I previously had the Accuphase before the Cary.

These Classe Omega Reference monoblock amps are big step up sonically and musically from Classe Delta series such as the CAM-600 monoblock amps.
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  #15  
Old 08-09-2020, 04:52 PM
Dilettante Dilettante is offline
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Joey,

I noticed that you don't have turntable setup. Are you going to get one? You should get one. There are many choices out there. Linn Sondek LP12 is a good one. But Linn LP12 can be hard to get it set up and calibrated properly and just to get it sound great or right. But once you get it right it would sound very right, very musical and spectacular.
Linn also makes great phono preamps but my fav phone preamps are ARC (Audio Research), or the D'Agostino Momentum phono pre for some ultra high end turntable setups such as the one my cousin has. Finding the right phono pre is crucial and some people underestimate the importance of a phono preamp. Linn, VPI, SME, AMG, Clearaudio, Kronos all make great turntables. Even higher end Rega (the flagship models) are really good when set up properly with the right cartridge, tonearm and phono pre. There are countless options out there when it comes to choosing the right turntable setup for your system as well as finding the right phono pre, cartridge & tonearm.

I used to have Linn Sondek LP12 TT with ARC tube phono pre but got rid of them few years ago. Now, I'm thinking to get another TT probably will be looking at the Kronos Pro TT setup with most likely some ARC phono pre. I used to listen to analog front end (turntable) setup most of the time. Music sounded real or more organic aka natural using analog front end setup (turntable) when set up and calibrated properly. That's what I call listening to real music. But of course turntable player is high maintenance, and even the vinyls have to be perfect, free of dust and scratch. But they pay off in the end.

I also noticed that you also have a pair of Sonus Faber Olympica 3 floorstanders paired with the Rotel RA-1592 integrated amp in your secondary setup. Do you use this system to listen to music or movies / TV shows? Cause for listening to music I think the SF Olympica 3 deserves better than the Rotel. Unless if you use this setup for movies and TV shows, etc then the Rotel would be fine. If it's for movies I would suggest getting AV separates (pre pro + power amp combo) since AV pre pros have HDMI connectivities and would be better choice and would sound better for movies too. I mean good AV pre pro/power amp combos would sound fabolous for movies, would be better than your Rotel integrated amp. Cause your Rotel integrated amp does not have HDMI and does not decode DTS HD Master Audio or Dolby True HD formats from bluray Discs.

In my secondary system I have the Sonus Faber Olympica 2 paired with the Naim Uniti Nova all-in-one integrated. The Naim Uniti Nova is a streamer/DAC/integrated amp all in a single chassis. Highly musical sounding unit and pairs well with the Sonus Faber. I use this system strictly to listen to music only. I'm thinking to get rid of the Sonus Faber and get either the PMC or the ProAc or the ATC. Naim always has great synergy with PMC or ProAc speakers. Naim gears also pair well with the B&W. I used to pair the Naim Uniti Nova with the B&W 805 D3 before the SF Olympica 2.

And in my living room setup that I use for watching movies (kinda home theater setup except I only have 2 ch setup for this) I have the Oppo 105 universal bluray disc player connected via HDMI to the Classe SSP 800 pre pro. For power amp I use the Classe Sigma Amp2 stereo amp (class D) driving a pair of Monitor Audio Gold 300 5g speakers (the latest newest gen/version from the Gold series).
I used this setup for mostly watching bluray movies and sometimes Netflix streaming & Vudu HD movies since the Oppo 105 has built-in Netflix & Vudu HD streaming apps to stream movies. I also use this setup for occasional DVD Audio disc (high resolution audio disc) playbacks from the Oppo to the Classe SSP 800 via HDMI thus using the Classe's DAC, which sounded better than using the XLR analog audio out of the Oppo 105 (using the Oppo 105's DAC).

Joey, in your secondary setup (your Sonus Faber system) if you only use this setup for movies you should sell your Rotel RA1592 and find a used Classe SSP 800 or a used Classe Sigma SSP, which both can be had pretty cheap these days in used after markets since both models have been discontinued and do not support latest formats (4K HDR, Dolby Atmos). A used Classe Sigma SSP can be had cheaper than a used SSP 800 since the original retail price of the Sigma SSP was much much lower than that of the SSP 800. A used Classe Sigma SSP nowadays can be had for around $2500 and a used SSP 800 can be had for around $3k to $4k (usually around $3500). Pair either pre pro with either a used Classe Sigma amp (class D) or a used Classe Delta CA-2300 (class AB) amp or perhaps a used McIntosh stereo power amp since Mac amps usually have good synergy with Sonus Faber. Any of these combos will sound much better than your Rotel RA1592 for both movies and music. But if you use this Sonus Faber system for predominantly listening to music you should definitely get a much better stereo integrated amp or better stereo separates for the SF Olympica 3. Those are great sounding speakers especially for music. For movies (home theater) I found the B&W to be better than the Sonus Faber Olympica series or any Sonus Faber speakers.

Last edited by Dilettante; 08-09-2020 at 05:01 PM.
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