Cary 300SEI vs Art Audio PX-25


Currently have the Cary. Considering the AA. I'm driving a pair of AKG K1000 headphones ONLY now. Worth the change? Nothing wrong with Cary just looking for different experience. Just didn't want to fidelity for new experience. Any comments greatly appreciated. Thanx
pawlowski6132
I've had the 300SEI and currently own the PX-25 in my system(Cain&Cain IM-Bens) and the two are totally different approaches to SET, sonically.

As pointed out, the Cary is ultra-lush, warm, rich sounding. Whether too much so or not is a matter of personal taste(way too much for me). An analogy might be that the PX-25 is fine silk and the 300SEI rich, blood red, velvet.

That's not to imply that the PX-25 is reserved or delicate sounding, just that it is more refined in every aspect while still delivering a musically vivid presentation. As one reviewer said "It's as if notes, instruments, are lit from within". It is also has amazing current drive capabilities for a SET, meaning some of the best bass response I've ever heard out of any SET amp. The PX-25 is truly one of the great SETs made.

As for the 300SEI, it lives for the midrange. A sort of hyper-reality in that band, but I can understand why loyal Cary fans love it. Unfortunately, I found it's low frequencies loose and poorly controlled.

I'm tired right now, but I'll try and be more descriptive tomorrow.
Art Audio always struck me as having a family sound that is a bit more linear and a bit more detailed on top (air) as compared to Cary. I love both though.
Yes, of course, Audiofeil, you are correct. It was a slip on my part. I realize the AA PX-25 has KR PX-25 tubes and not 300B! But it needed to be corrected, for which I thank you.
>>I know the AA PX-25 uses KR output 300Bs<<

Actually the Art Audio PX-25 uses KR PX-25 tubes not 300B. They are not interchangeable. Good luck.
This is exactly the choice I'm making right now, although I'm planning on matching whatever SET amp with a pair of Cain & Cain Super Abbys. I have an SLI-80 that I love and have preferred the lush, warm sound for most things, but have also tube-rolled the input (Siemens & Halske) and driver tubes (Sylvania 6SN7GTA and GTs, Tung-Sol roundplate) to create a more resolving sound, which works well with some choral and orchestral music I listen to (mainly, I listen to Renaissance choral, symphonic orchestral, and Romantic Italian opera).

Can anyone characterize the differences in these two SET amps and what their relative flexibilities might be re tube-rolling? I know the AA PX-25 uses KR output 300Bs, but I don't know how much the other tubes affect the sound. And I plan on using Western Electric 300B tubes with a Cary 300 SEI, if that becomes the choice. I assume I can play with the 6SN7 tubes it takes?

Finally, I have a Cary 303/300 which I understand can work very well with the AA PX-25 (becasue the 303/300 produces up to 3 v output via the RCA connections, it's feasible for the player to drive a power amp directly--the AA PX-25 has a .7v input sensitivity).

Can anyone elaborate on your assessment and knowledge of the differences between these two amps?
I don't know about use with phones, but, with speakers, the two are quite different in sound. The Cary is extremely warm and lush sounding. The PX-25 is much more neutral and nimble sounding. I really like the PX-25 on speakers much more, but again, it is a matter of taste and application.
I think you can split the diference sonically and have a bit more "drive" with a set of Audio note 300b monos. If you're just driving cans the Audio Note P3 or P3 Silver would be ideal.

The US importer for Audio Note uses AKG's I believe and he turned me on the the idea. I use the P3 Silvers as my main amp.