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Cary Audio Design Superior Quality and Value

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  #11  
Old 01-06-2018, 04:22 PM
decooney decooney is offline
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Originally Posted by timm View Post
Well my pre is off to Cary. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Things were packed pretty well. Once it gets there they will diagnose the current issue and then we will talk about possible upgrades. I'm nervous.
No need to be nervous. In good hands there. You'll love it when you get it back and put some good "break-in" time on the new caps. Don't judge the sound in the first 10 minutes, give it a few weeks of run time before drawing conclusions, but you are talking "Pre-amp" vs. others here referring to Amplifiers.

I've had the Clarity, Jensen oils, and now the latest Mundorf Silver-Golds that Cary is liking so much right now. I was a bit uncertain too on the Mundorfs, but know the main engineer there and he pushed me in the right direction.

The issue around the leakage is still out there, but it seemed to related to a batch of the older 600v coupling caps from Jensen, and since then I've ran the newer Jensen 1000v oil version in my former SLI-80, and now in my SLP98 tube preamp, no issues after good use.

In a hybrid approach, I'm now running the new Mundorf Silver-Golds in my Cary tube amp, and the Jensen Oils in my SLP-98 preamp. I like the Mutdorfs in my big V12R amp quite a bit. Now considering swapping out the Jensens to the Mundorf Silver-Golds (non-oil) in my preamp too.

Agree with statements above. Jensens are a bit slower and more syrupy, and the Mundorf Silver-Gold's are a bit more open and faster in my system. ONCE the Mundorf Silver-Golds were more broken in on my system after the first 3+ weeks of running it, they started to smooth out even more, a tad softer, and NOW to the point where I'm swapping out my beloved Cardas Gold interconnect cables and trying my older Silver Interconnects to brighten it back up a tad. Both sound great either way. It's that much of a difference, worth the upgrade. Of course, once upgraded, then tube experimentation is always in order on the SLP-98.

It's totally a preference thing like different flavors of ice cream, as previously noted. Can't go wrong either way IMO.

Last edited by decooney; 01-06-2018 at 04:26 PM.
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  #12  
Old 01-06-2018, 09:03 PM
timm timm is offline
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Thanks decooney. It really helps with descriptors like this. The eagle is supposed to land on Jan 9 - so I will know more then. I'm thinking of going 'all in' based on the price I thought I heard. .

And yes - tubes will be around the corner. When that happens - I'll open another thread.
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  #13  
Old 01-06-2018, 09:29 PM
timm timm is offline
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Today I have my ps audio directstream going direct - and I know the delta between this and my 98p prior to sending it in. So my a/b after break in will be the 'new' pre vs the directstream by itself. If it is better I will be ecstatic.
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  #14  
Old 01-06-2018, 11:56 PM
timm timm is offline
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Sorry. One more question. I've read a bit about direct coupled vs coupled. Not really sure what this means other than what results you are supposed to get from each. Has anyone had any experience with direct coupled? Nor do I know how this relates to the mundorf caps. I really don't know my cap from a hole in the ground.
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  #15  
Old 01-07-2018, 01:30 AM
decooney decooney is offline
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Sorry. One more question. I've read a bit about direct coupled vs coupled. Not really sure what this means other than what results you are supposed to get from each. Has anyone had any experience with direct coupled? Nor do I know how this relates to the mundorf caps. I really don't know my cap from a hole in the ground.
timm,
I tried to decide this and left mine stock with coupling caps. However, it's another "it depends on what flavor you like" kinda question. I remember Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio had a decent translation, for reference on his site, - quote, "get yours either with coupling caps or direct coupled. The typical SLP 98 you have read about in reviews has coupling caps. If you make it direct coupled, you will get more pop and snap at the top and bottom and the preamp will be extremely fast. While still tube, it will give you better bass slam. Better than any solid state preamp and will kick the snot out of..." [EDIT, removed...] "Want a smoother, more textured sound? Keep the coupling caps and you will be in heaven.", unquote.

Last edited by decooney; 01-07-2018 at 01:32 AM.
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  #16  
Old 01-07-2018, 02:45 AM
timm timm is offline
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Thanks decooney. I do like texture, tone, timbre. I'll talk to Dan or Steve about it at Cary. And I was mostly Interested in what others had done - so thanks for that. Tim
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  #17  
Old 01-07-2018, 02:58 PM
decooney decooney is offline
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Thanks decooney. I do like texture, tone, timbre. I'll talk to Dan or Steve about it at Cary. And I was mostly Interested in what others had done - so thanks for that. Tim
Take it all with a grain of salt. Proof is in the pudding, listening to it in your system with your components, speakers, etc. It's a good question, and worth researching more IMO. While my current pre / amp in my primary system has coupling caps, the designer/builder of another amp I'll be trying soon seems to follow more of the direct-coupled approach in preamp designs. So, next I'll be trying a coupled pre with a direct coupled amp, I guess it is. Will know more in 2-3 weeks. See if you can reach out to the actual (current) designer @ Cary for a more experienced response. He knows.
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  #18  
Old 01-07-2018, 09:03 PM
timm timm is offline
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Well I will let you know how it goes and will report back.

Uh.... my wife doesn't know about the upgrades since it went in for a fix. Is that bad of me????
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  #19  
Old 01-08-2018, 11:58 AM
decooney decooney is offline
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I just try to recall times when wifey "just went out shopping for shoes.." and came home with a few pairs of pants or new blouses too. Upgrades happen
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  #20  
Old 01-08-2018, 02:01 PM
timm timm is offline
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I just try to recall times when wifey "just went out shopping for shoes.." and came home with a few pairs of pants or new blouses too. Upgrades happen
LOL... I love this .... a new phrase for 2018... 'Upgrades Happen'.....
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