Cary 805 vs Viva Solista

Tonib; No problem - here's my experience with Cary 805 and AG. Let me start by saying that I have spend almost a year auditioning many different amps in the search for the sound that i want. There were many great amps but in one or more areas they didn't quite perform at the level i wanted. For me the Cary 805 combines the best from many of the different amps I tried into one; musicality, intimacy, presence, size of performers and instruments, dynamics, harmonic presentation, level of detail, drive and control. Some of the amps I tried lost control when the music got complex and the sound level was high even though AGs should be a piece of cake to drive. And only one other amp made my Duo's play bass like the Cary 805! I had to change the input tube before the bass fell into place (mine is the 805C mkII that uses 6SL7 not the 6SN7 used in 805AE so I don't know if you need to do it here as well). When it comes to noise it's 100% silent. If it makes noise it's either the tubes or the pre-amp. The amps I have tried are these; Ancient Audio Single Six, Border Patrol SE300B, Cary CAD300B, Cary SLI80 Signature, Cary 805, DOXA 61, EAR 8L6, EAR 861, EAR 890, Leben CS600, Pass Labs XA30.5, T+A V10 v1 and VTL ST85. Hope this helps :-)

Hi Mohano,

I have the SLI 80 that you said has passed through your system. Can you tell me a bit about how you would say it compares to your 805?

A am contemplating my next upgrade and wonder how much of a jump the Cary 805 is from the SLI 80.

Thanks in advance...

Juggernaut850; The SLI 80 is a great amp but the Cary 805 is in another league! Depending on the rest of your system you will hear large improvements in allmost all areas. If you have the budget I can only recommend you to go for the 805s! Good luck :-)

Mohano is exactly spot on. The 805's will give you more dynamics, better top and bottom extension, more depth of soundstage and be able to exact finer details in the music.

The SLI80 is a very, very good integrated. The 805's are flat out awesome!

***Cary dealer disclaimer***