Airtight ATM300 vs. Cary 300SEI


I'm going to mate a SE tube integrated with some vintage Spendor LS3/5A spkrs. Had decided on the 11W Cary 300SEI (with WE's; I'm not a KR fan), but then see Gindi's review of Airtight 8W ATM300 in Ultimate Audio mag raving about the Airtight with, would you believe, these same 15 yr old speakers. Being the societal pawn and audiophobic guy that I am, or seem to be at the moment (we never admit it until that moment) now I'm intrigued about that combo. Cary is plentiful on used market at about $2K and, given the $6300 retail and newness of Airtight piece, it would be a minimum of $3500, so there is a difference. Anyone think its worth it? For context, system will have some type of CD player (Sony, Metronome,etc.), Audio note(Kondo) interconnect, Mapleshade Planar spkr cables, Well Tempered TT w/Koetsu. Thanks for the feedback.
asa

Showing 2 responses by asa

Thanks, Terry, for the great feedback. Yes, I've considered Sun...Now you have me really going. Is there a qualitative difference between the regular and OEM Tamura Transformer? I would assume not, but your mentioning it has me wondering. What do you consider to be the best film capacitor for this application (Audionote Tantalus?)? Internal wiring is a tough one. My experience with Cardas internal, phono & spkr wire is that they tend towards the richer end of the spectrum, sometimes losing dynamic contrasts. With that said, XLO and the like make me run from the room screaming. I use NBS & Kondo AN, depending on the application, but really dont have the experience to comment extensively on internal wire. Anyone's opinion on these more esoteric aspects would be appreciated (Come on, where are you die-hard SE folks!)Thanks Asa.
Thanks guys, you really helped me deal with my latest (but not greatest) audio psycho-pathologic attachment. I've got an AirTight ATM 300 on the way - should have in 2d system by end of June. If you are interested, this system comprised of Sony XA7ES to AudioNote Vz IC, to Supratek Syrah preamp through NBS Pro IC to AirTight (Aleph 3 sub-ing now)to AudioNote's new copper spkr cable (on the way, supposed to equal former Vz series at $50/ft - loaned Kimber on there now)to Spendor LS3/5A's all on Rix Rax stand. Will get Well Tempered w/ Koetsu later. I'm also throwing in outtlet strip & conditioner by Quantum to see what that does (I need a strip in this location).Main system is TNT4/Graham2, Joule pre, etc. All NOS tubes, all hard wired - the only way to go, in my humble opinion.

So, another question: what PC for the AirTight. Electraglide sounds good on amps, but I hate the inflexible, fist-sized stuff. Creates a real cable bottle-neck behind the rack (I place cable carefully). A lot of people like the Shunyata KV MkI. What do you guys say? Thanks again. Regards, Mark