Cary Cinema 11 Quirks?

Hi, the analog 7.1 bypass input on the Cary Cinema 11 nd Cinema 11a have the same quality I think (I have had the 11, now have the 11a). And by that I mean very good. I use an Oppo BDP-83 SE into the 7.1 input on the 11a and the sound is absolutely wonderful. I have Rowland amps and Aerial speakers. Check out my system if you want.

You should upgrade to the SE version on the Oppo if you haven´t. Believe me, that is night and day difference. I use analog output from my Oppo BDP-83 SE this way with Wireworld Gold and Silver Eclipse rca. The analog section is so good in this player that I find it sounding better than running the DSD signal via HDMI to the 11a. Beat that!

If I had the Oppo BDP-83 SE at an earlier stage I don´t know if I would have upgraded from Cinema 11 to 11a. The Cary Cinema 11 is a very stable product, still more stable than the 11a with all the HDMI bugs that have been, but finally sorted out.

I have a Cinema 11 and it makes a terrible popping sound when I switch to my Oppo BDP83 while it's playing. I sent it (the C11) back to Cary for repair and the said it's fine and they can't find a problem. They said to check for ground loops.

Switching to any other source makes no sound so how can it be a ground loop?

The one I have has more problems. The knob on the front doesn't change the volume all the time - just if you turn it very very slowly it might change the volume. My remote died after about 1 year. Also, if you use the headphone jack it will switch to 5.1 when you pull the jack out even if you were on 2ch before you plugged it in. And, then there is the LOUD popping noises when switching between digital inputs. This can be controlled by changing all digital inputs to 44.1kHz sample rate. Bugs abound. And, Cary Audio Design service says it's fine. "no issues found"

I have had the 11a for about a month, and I am very glad I purchased it. Before purchasing it, I auditioned a Parasound Halo P-7 Multi-channel preamp for a couple of weeks, and then conducted an A/B comparison between the two.

I was very impressed with the Parasound Halp P-7, as it was a major upgrade in SQ over the Onkyo PR-SC885p that I had owned for 2+ years. There are many more features in the Onkyo, but with two different 7.1 inputs on the P-7, I did not miss the lack of video processing. I chose the Halo P-7 because the analog performance is the most important aspect of an AV preamp, as I now have one system for audio and video. I was very happy with the performance of the P-7....enough that I was planning to purchase it.

The Cary is more expensive, but it also features HDMI inputs and high quality DACS and DSP. I liked the P-7 so much, that I expected the Cary's analog section to be similar (at best), since a significant portion of the preamp is dedicated to digital processing. That is, once you get a clean, quiet, musical, and engaging signal throuh an awesome preamp, it is difficult to imagine anything being much better.

Well, the Cary's analog section was significantly better than the Halo P-7. In addition, the DACs and DSP in the Cary are outstanding, so this is one helluva great A/V preamp! My wife said that she was tired of the Onkyo - she found that she didn't want to listed to it anymore. With the Parasound, she was much happier and listened to some of the CDs I put on. With the Cary, she started playing her own CDs again. I have been with my wife since '85, and this is the first time she has exhibited listener fatigue. We are both MUCH happier with the Cary, and we independently felt it was well worth the price (vs the Halo P-7 and the Onkyo). FYI, with the latest FW upgrade, there have not been any connectivity issues at all.

Good luck!
Dave

I have had two Cinema 11's over the past 4 years - sold first silver only to get a black one. Sound and performance was identical, and very very good. Thoroughly satisfied with functions, features, and most of all sound quality. Only quirk I have ever seen (heard) and this is with both processors I have owned, is on rare occasions the volume will just start climbing until it maxes out. Very disconcerting when it happens, but it is rare enough that it is tolerable to me. I have never had any popping, cracking, or any other noises/issues with either of the Cinema 11s I have owned. Highly recommended, especially at their used price of @ $1000 if you do not require HDMI, but still want a full-featured processor with excellent sound quality...