Cary 805s or Atma Sphere M60s?

Eric- Did you ever get to make the comparison? I own AtmaSphere MA1s and remember hearing Cary 805s at CES in 2006 and thinking they sounded fantastic (in the Cary room, with all Cary stuff, including speakers (single driver horns, maybe, not sure)). There was a definite magic there, but not sure if it was due to SET amps or single driver speakers, or what. If I were rich, I'd buy a pair of 805s and have both just for fun.

It's a bit dangerous to overgeneralize about OTL sound. The AtmaSpheres sound much different than the Juole-Electras; the J-Es sound very rich, to the point that I htought they were colored. Very unlike the AtmaSpheres, adn very unlike the demo I heard with Cary 805s.

Gopher - I can't comment on the Shuguangs, having never heard them, but I can see not liking the Atma/Daedalus combination. I did get to hear a recent pair of Daedalus in someone's home (they did not have the upgraded caps in the crossover). I found them to be very bright and aggressive in the highs and upper midrange. This was a surprise, as I had read very good things about them on line, and had heard one of their pro stage combo amps with an electric violin, and it sounded phenomenal (but that was in comparison to other stage gear, not high-end home gear). I would say they definitely need something that will warm up the sound, and the AtmaSpheres won't do that.

Eric - What did you do with your Carys? Do you ever go back to them for variety? Is there anything they do better than the S30 (other than put on a really cool green light show)? If you ever get the upgrade itch, seriously consider the update to 3.1 on the Atmasphere. I got it on my MA1s, and have been very happy. There was a touch of upper mid agressiveness before that is gone with the update. I think it's quite affordable, too. The only drawback is handing your precious amplifier over to Fedex for a round trip to Minnesota.