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Cary 805 C or 805 AE?

I have decided to buy the Cary 805 monoblocks and now have two used on the hand.

One is the Cary 805 C mk II which is about 10 years old and with the 6SL7 input tube (only one) and without the possibility to change between the 845/211 tubes (this feature is not important to my since my speakers have a sensitivity of 107db and I don’t need the extra power that the 211 tubes can give).

The other is the Cary 805 AE which is about 2,5 years old with the dual 6SN7 input tubes.

There is a 2000 dollar price difference and I’m wondering if it’s worth the extra bucks. Instead I would rather spend the money on buying quality tubes like Sophia Electric.

So if anyone has experience in the difference between the two with 845 tubes please share.

Thanks,
Mohano
mohano

Showing 6 responses by brf

brf
1,715 posts
 
I like the simplicity of the 805C and the use of the higher gain single 6SL7 as oppose to the dual lower gain 6SN7. If you do not need the flexibility of the 845/211 tube, then the 805C at the lower price is the way to go. Take the money saved by going with the 805C and reinvest the money with better caps (Mundorf Gold/Silver/Oil or Cardas Teflon) and resistors (Riken Carbon) for an amp that will sound better than the 805AE. Both the 805C and AE benefit with upgraded tubes.
brf
1,715 posts
 
Lewhite, the dCS Debussy dac has an adjustable level with a digital-domain volume-control. In a system with only digital sources, you can use the Debussy as a preamplifier.
brf
1,715 posts
 
Yes, there is space for the Mundorf gold silver oil caps. I put them in both my 805C and 805AE amps. I believe my tech replaced all the resistors. Not sure how many there are, sorry. If you need the info really bad I could look up my receipts.
brf
1,715 posts
 
Bert, send me a pm and I will send you the info requested.
brf
1,715 posts
 
Bert, under the old Audigon system members could pm one another. I can't find that feature under the new Audiogon. If you feel comfortable about posting your email on this thead, I will respond to you directly.
brf
1,715 posts
 
Charles1dad, I will reiterate what a Cary "insider" told me. Cary had taken the 805C as far as they could, but the marketing department wanted an "Anniversary" edition of their fabled 805. Cary did not want to change the 300B driver nor the 845 tube as they found the 300b to be the perfect driver for the 845. Cary decided to change the 6SL7 for dual 6SN7 and added a switch to increase filament voltage for use of a 211 tube. Some will argue that the AE sounds better than the 805C and vice verse, but both are definitely within the same family of sound, which is excellent. Marketing departments within audio companies seldom loose arguments.
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