Had the SLP98p for one week. Sounded great on some recordings and very muddy on others. Strange thing. I did reverse the speaker wire at the speakers as directed in the manual (+ to _, _ to +) but actually preferred it the other way. wire phase coherent it was muddy and muffled but inverse phase was much more clear however lacked low end. Also noticed the "terrible" vol pot which was so grainy I only used it to about 9 oclock on the dial.Barely move it which large vol jumps. Of course Cary has a paid service where they will fix that as a "custom upgrade". Didn't see the need to spend 5k for the SLP98. Maybe the one I took home was a dog I dont know but it was brand new in box from dealer. Sounded really good on slower stuff but fell apart as soon as thing got busy.
Cary SLP-98 vs. other high end preamps--C-J, etc.
Has anyone compared the SLP-98 to any other preamps like the C-J 17LS (or any other C-J), Joule Electra, or any of the VTL preamps? I guess I'm basically trying to get an idea of how good it really is compared to others I might purchase in the $2 to $3K range, new or used. I've owned a VTL 2.5TL, would the Cary be an upgrade to that? Right now I'm using a CJ PRF (SS), so I realize the Cary is probably opposite in many ways to that. Asking because I don't see the SLP-98 discussed as often. Rest of my system: C-J MF2500A amp, Cary 303-200 CDP, Fanfare tuner, B&W M802 SIII speakers. A C-J preamp is probably an obvious choice for me, but I've gotten intrigued by the Cary. Thanks in advance for any info!
Steve
Steve