anyone actually compared the cary 805c

I did this comparison at Holm audio in IL. and came away thinking that the 300b's had way more articulate detail and musicality plus much better bass- the 805's are good but only if you need the power and then I would go Art Audio Jota with a true 20 watts single ended and all of the speed of a 300b- it basicly is a 300b amp.

Agree entirely with Mahandave's comments.I own both the Cary 805Cs and the 300B Sigs and to me the 300B Sigs have "the magic", sounding much "bigger" than their rated 13 watts.Use them with B&W CDM1NTs, Ensemble References and Sonus Faber Amatis in a medium sized room to reasonably sane volume levels and they have never shown signs of struggling and have never clipped. Purchased the 805Cs somewhat impulsively about six months after the 300B Sigs hoping for something more, but it didn't take long at all to realise that I had made one of my few expensive audio mistakes.

Mahandave- Do you remember what the rest of the system was when you compared the two different Cary's?

im glad im not the only who noticed that despite its considerable hype, the Cary 805s just didnt do it for me. I bought a pair and thought I was going to be knocked off my seat, I wasnt. I then thought, maybe it was speaker incompatibilty, so I tried another speaker. Still no magic. I sold my Carys, and now that I have an extremely efficient speaker, I still get the urge based on all that ive read, but now realize there is better out there.