Cary 306 SACD

Hi, I've had the 306 SACD for a couple weeks now and have not experienced this problem. My rack is fairly well ventilated, but I doubt that would really be a culprit. Is your player hot to the touch? Mine runs luke warm.

As for music making, it is in another league from the Cary 303-300 and the 306-200. Red book CD playback is amazing and SACD blows my socks off.

The sounds is liquid, with the swell and flow of live music. The bass end is sub-terranean and the high frequencies are smooth and extended. Really incredible to hear this level of performance.

The sound stage has opened up with break-in. It is as high, wide and deep as my analog playback.

All the audiophile attributes aside, it is a joy to listen to the 306-SACD.

My 306 SACD does read and play CD-RW just fine, just tried it last night.

My player will consistently switch between SACD and CD, detect the new format and play it. It takes several seconds (about 5) to read the disc, decode the format and then be ready to play (display CD or SACD). You can hear some switching clicks in the player.

I've had flawless operation, you should too.

The practical question is - how to arrange to hear these players side by side in the same system.

The 306-SACD has only been on the street for a month, not too many are around yet. For me, it is sufficient to have this player and I have not had an interest in the other players. As I have had other Cary players, comparing to them is rather easy.

Also, I really don't know anyone with really high end digital gear.

Any suggestions on how to arrange a comaprison?

System: Cary 211 AE mono's, Cary 1610 mono's, Ruark Excalibur speakers, Aesthetix Io Sig w/dual power supplies, AVID Acutus/SME IV/Benz LP. Power cords are PS Audio, interconnects and speaker cables Nordost Valkyrja (Valhalla for the 306-SACD). Digital is Cary 303-300 and now Cary 306-SACD (303-300 is going in second system).

I still really enjoy the 303-300 for CD. I was not at all prepared for the step up in playback of red book CD from the 306-SACD. It sounds more like analog playback than CD. All the typical audiophile attributes got better - air, soundstage, palpability, texture, bass.

The most obvious differences are the soundstage (wider, taller and deeper and extends in to the room) and the bass. The bass on the 306-SACD is really incredible. Thunderous, taut, agile and subterranean. The 306-SACD also has a smoother and more musical presentation than the 303-300.

It is hard to believe that these kinds of improvements are possible.

I used to have a 306-200 and 308T and always intended to have 2 CD players. These 2 are a paradigm shift in CD playback.

Also, SACD is just blowing my mind. It is way better than CD (for well mastered and recorded SACD's) and very close to analog in sound.

Check them out at your dealer and let us know your listening impressions.