Cary amps, especially the ones made in the 1990s, are extremely easy to fix. Any competent and honest local tech who works on tube gear should be able to fix it in no time.
Cary SLI 80 crumped
OK guys and gals. Looks like one of my switches got stuck on the cary and when i tried to switch from triode to ultra linear the whole unit powered down and well now it won’t turn back on. So I am guessing I need to send the unit back to cary so here is the question I have a belles Hotrod 150a power amp in my closet but the arc line stage LS-7 is in the repair shop here locally for toggle switch repair. So please rate the following:
1. buy quicksilver line stage and use the hotrod 150a for time being and then up grade to mid mono quicksilver amps or mono 120s, I love tubes!!
2. Buy belles aria pre amp pair with hot rod 150a probably stop there or maybe eventually upgrade to aria monoblocks
3. Buy belles aria integrated call it good
4. Consider luxman class A integrated but this is a long stretch because I don’t know about price
5. naim 152 and 155xs separates but again not familiar with he sound or how well this works with vandy however i quite enjoyed my rega DAC and rp3 when I had them.
Thanks folks
Current system is handy 2ce sig II, EAT Csharp MC turntable, McIntosh MP100 for phone pre, audio quest type 8 cable in biwire configuration, audio quest king cobra interconnects. I will probably move on this purchase in a few days
1. buy quicksilver line stage and use the hotrod 150a for time being and then up grade to mid mono quicksilver amps or mono 120s, I love tubes!!
2. Buy belles aria pre amp pair with hot rod 150a probably stop there or maybe eventually upgrade to aria monoblocks
3. Buy belles aria integrated call it good
4. Consider luxman class A integrated but this is a long stretch because I don’t know about price
5. naim 152 and 155xs separates but again not familiar with he sound or how well this works with vandy however i quite enjoyed my rega DAC and rp3 when I had them.
Thanks folks
Current system is handy 2ce sig II, EAT Csharp MC turntable, McIntosh MP100 for phone pre, audio quest type 8 cable in biwire configuration, audio quest king cobra interconnects. I will probably move on this purchase in a few days
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BTW, This new Quicksilver sixty watt mono would be a nice fit with the Vandersteens! http://quicksilveraudio.com/products/sixty-watt-mono-amp/ |
So it was the AC fuse that blew thats fixed but the switch for triode to ultra linear is still stuck. To answer the question why naim and luxman because there are some good deals on naim separates right now and the luxman class A i have heard and found it to sound very nice for solid state. My SLI-80 is a more recent model from 2016. probably easy to fix yes but the local repair shop here for all things audio is currently back logged for 4 months and I have not really been happy with the cary in terms of bass response. Hence the question of moving forward with the listed options. heard great things about the quicksilver line but mostly I thought hey I still have the hotrod 150 A and that amp provided nice punch with good soundstage and though solid state sounded less analytical. Make sense? |
I completely agree with the idea of having a local tech do the work if there's one within driving distance. If you're confident the problem is in the switch it's likely something you could do yourself. When the small circuit board in my SLI 80 failed I convinced Cary to sell me one, after a little prodding, and doing the swap was very simple. Shipping the amp back and forth to Cary will be an expensive proposition, likely as much as the repair. |
"Shipping the amp back and forth to Cary will be an expensive proposition, likely as much as the repair." I agree 50lbs ruffly boxing packing insurance etc. I need to fix it any way you look at it because I want to sell it eventually. Love the mid and highs but the bass response is anemic even with KT 120s. |
I went from early Cary gear (slp94 and slm 100 mono's) to a Naim system and music died in my life, don't go that way if you like the Cary's you wont be happy with the Naim gear in my experience, totally different sounds. Luxman on the other hand was easy to like after tubes specially their class A amps. Get it fixed |
“Sorry I meant to say dual pole dual throw. Heck you can buy the part even at Home Depot or Lowes.” Yes I am sure I could get it at Home Depot but I don’t want to bother with it and as I said earlier I have been thinking about switching the Cary out for over a year even with KT 120s I am not impressed. Done all the tube rolling I can for the low end. And not satisfied. It was never about fixing more so about any Rex’s or expierence with the other gear combinations. Spoke Ken with John R. From audio connection who has tremendous experience with vandersteen who recommended either the belles combination highly for the steen’s. He agreed with my on the Cary miss and highs are pretty but after that it leaves a lot to be desired in the low end. So I am moving on. We did discuss the quicksilver and he has nothing but praises for the company but I think for the cost the belles combo comes in at 1K less. The preamp is already shipping. |
If you do plan to get it repaired before selling it and can't find a home audio repair shop to do the work, look for a shop that works on guitar amps. Amps is amps. A capacitor failed in a Jolida EL84 amp in my office and while I could have replaced it myself I couldn't diagnose what was wrong. A friend who owns several electric guitars recommended a shop that had done work on his amps. The tech at the shop was happy to have something new to work on, diagnosed it perfectly and did a very nice job at a reasonable price. |