Cary SLI-80 or SLI-100?

i have been a proac fan for 20+ years owned 8-9 pair over time, still have 4 pair on hand, ranging from tablette 2000s to response 3.5 to d30rs to d15’s

i have always felt relatively modern audio research tube gear does especially well with proacs, using 6550/kt88 and later gen more powerful successors - vt50/100 and reference series especially... just a slight bit of tube warmth, tremendous gain in imaging (a notable proac strength) but ample control and drive in the bass frequencies

el34 amps, other than the brilliant linear tube audio zotl40 (a significant exception to the rule, given its special design) sound a little too soft and do not drive the proacs well enough imo...

i have not heard push pull cary amps... back in the day i had the 805c and 300b models... they were indeed very rolled off and lush sounding, at the expense of impact and transparency (same with the slp98p pre, which i also had)

of course this is all a matter of taste... one person’s dark and lush and smooth is another person’s ’just right’

my 2 cents

@ozzy62 yes with the stock tubes, stock caps, no upgrades or no hexfreds and stock rectifier tubes on the older generation pre/amps can be less exciting. A buddy who bought my big Cary V12R had the older F1 version Upscale had sponsored years ago on the SLI-80s and 98 preamps. He sold it and bought a new model, and modeled my SLP-98 build and upgrades and raved about it trying that preamp with several different amplifiers, liking it a lot. He compared it to his other $20k CJ preamplifier and liked the upgraded 98 better, commenting selling the CJ pocketing the difference.

Fast-forward to the current upgrades on the Cary amps and preamps with Mundorf EVO Supreme Silver-Gold coupling caps, hexfreds, and move to solid-state rectification, it’s a different and faster sounding amplifier. That rectification upgrade is now incorporated in the new SLI80-HS. Testing with different 6SN7 tubes, TJ, PSVANE can also make a difference, even better than my very best NOS black plates. Running my upgraded SLP-98 now with two mono tube amps with KT150s and all the same amp upgrades, and its pretty damn good for the $.

LMs are cool, neat amps, a buddy with horns seems to like the sound. Thought about trying the LM-845ia version a while back but doing okay with a local amp builder instead. Enjoy the LM!

Here's a reply I got from Billy at Cary Audio half a year ago when I asked him about the difference:

"The SLI-80HS is a versatile amp. You can switch from triode mode to UL mode on the fly. A lot of people cannot discern the difference in sound quality between the two. To me, triode does sound better but it is subtle. UL is more powerful. With the SLI-80HS, you have the ability to tube roll. You can use different tube types like the EL34, 6550, KT-88, KT-120, etc. You can also use different brands. A number of people enjoy doing this.

 The SLI-100 is a more powerful amp than the SLI-80HS. It only uses the KT-150 tube.

 Both amps are excellent. Sound quality and performance are outstanding. Just depends on what you want."

Well you wanted opinions, here’s mine.

I bought a used SLI-80 Signature a couple of years ago and only kept it about a week. It was just slow and uninvolving, no snap, no life. And this is with horns. I should have known since I had owned an SLP-98 many years ago that had a similar character.

Now maybe the F-1 mod addresses the issues of the stock amp. But that’s the way I heard it. I was directly comparing it to a Line Magnetic 518ia and the LM was much better in every way.

Oz

Great post by decooney and I totally agree the EL34 tube sounds like more of what you're looking for soundwise and the SLI-80 will drive your Proacs no problem. Also you can use the fantastic Gold Lion KT77 in the SLI-80 an amazing sounding current production tube. Good luck whatever you decide!

Hi Jim, @river251
A colleague and friend helped lead the design on the SLI-100 and incorporation of the KT150. I use to own the SLI-80 Signature in stock and highly modified forms. The ability to run KT88s and other tubes in UL or Triode mode was intriguing, until I needed solid state rectification and more power to drive my speakers how I wanted. Sold SLI-80, it was a great amplifier after all the upgrades, and deserved the right speakers.

Seeing you are a former 8B owner and Music-Ref owner, and I’ve heard both a number of times on different speakers. They offer a different sound, what I’ll simply refer to as an "EL34" type of sound, more lush and laid back as you well know i’m sure. The SLI-80 will keep you closer to that same type of sound with a tad more clarity than 8B or MR, retaining some of the "midrange" you refer to.  Its a plush sound, know it very well  The SLI-100 will transition you a bit more to your desire for more "power, transparency, air, soundstage, strong clean bass", and a bit less of the midrange forward sound you are more familiar with from the 8B, MR. Its a tradeoff, but can be helped some in other areas of tuning.  

I’m playing with this situation now over the past year on my current [other brand]KT150 monos amps, they are clean, flat freq, powerful yet I wanted some of that svelt midrange back. Still use my Cary SLP-98 preamp in front of them. Owned multiple Cary amp too. So, I’ve been rotating all sorts of different input tubes and different type copper RCA cables at the source to get there again when paired with KT150s. Real close now on getting there. 

Knowing your ProAcs (I use to try and copy and build them for home use) a general guidleline would be for: Lush tubey sound, go SLI-80. Cleaner, more open, and more powerful, SLI-100 +input tube and cable tweaks to get some of that midrange lushness back. Hope this helps some for basic thoughts and picking a direction in some way. Good Luck.

@river251,

you only posted a day ago. Give it a chance.

Well, I must have done something wrong. My misfortune, it would have really been helpful to get opinions here. Thanks....