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Amp recommendation: Cary SS vs. McCormack vs. Ayre

I am building a system with a limited budget. I have some Sehring 703 speakers (86db sensitivity at 8 ohms) and a Manley Shrimp preamp on the way. I have limited space in my A/V cabinet, so do not have room for a tube amp. But I am looking for something that when paired with the Manley Shrimp will have a tube-like sound.

My budget is max $1,600. These are the three amps I am considering.

1. McCormack 125 -- the 500 gets good reviews, so this probably sounds pretty good as well (right?)
2. Ayre V3 -- also gets good reviews. Only concern is that it has been out of production for a long time and if it breaks it won't be serviceable.
3. Cary A-2 -- Cary has a very good reputation for their tube amps, but I can't find much on their "lower-end" solid state 2-channel amps.

Any thoughts/recommendations would be much appreciated.
mcondon

Showing 3 responses by wireless200

wireless200
415 posts
 
I was in the Cary factory the other day and was told they don't even make class D amps anymore. I was also under the impression they made mostly if not all their SS amps class D. I often thought that class D amp they did make for a while hurt their overall SS amp reputation. Class D is basically a plug and play module.

Another misconception about Cary I've often read on the 'gon was that only their tube amps are made in the US. I was told that some of the preprocessors and DVD players are made overseas (at Cary Hong Kong). All their SS amps and pre-amps and I think their CD players are still made in Cary, NC.
wireless200
415 posts
 
I'm going back over there tomorrow or the next day. I'll try to remember to ask about the concept series.
wireless200
415 posts
 
I was over there today. We were taking a look at something else and when I asked the service guy, he was pretty clueless about the Concept series. He's just not that familiar with some of the product line. I would have like something more definitive but I guess they depend on the sales outlets for that. I'd like to hear more Cary stuff. I know their CDP sounds great and the 120S tube amp I have sounds quite good. I'm wondering how the SS stuff sounds.
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