ProAc Response 2: CJ CAV45, Cary SEI 300B, or Cary Rocket 88?

[@Leahy] When your ProAcs were new and you were originally comparing with "Cary 300B "monos" and a separate AI-3 preamp", well... thats a slighty different setup compared to the three amps you listed to pick from now. I bet that first system you heard sounded nice. You got bit by 300b mono tube amps and a very nice preamp. Not easy to forget :)

The good news is the P2s are 8ohms and while any of these amps you selected might do the trick at low listening levels, each will sound different in their own ways.

Hey, are you looking at integrated amps or separates? you’ve listed both types.

fyi, the Cary Rocket 88 is a straight amp, will need a preamp, and a good one to sound its best. What preamp to use there? The Cary SEI 300B and CJ CAV-45 are integrated units with built in preamp/controls; right? When you restated in the 2nd post that you want "authority", none of these amps will give real authority at low listening levels. The original separate mono 300Bs you heard, yes, maybe. If you can tolerate a little plush mush at low listening levels, all three of your listed amps will work and sound nice. Re-read @jjss49 's  description if it helps, similar to my thoughts about the result from each amp you listed. Best of luck.

@leahy Nice, can't go wrong with that. Its the one I would have picked in your situation and with your particualr speakers. Nice little integrated amp and easy resale later if you choose to upgrade again down the road.    

@leahy ... I’m sure the RM9 II with AI3 would be a great system...

 

Story: It is a fantastic combo. A really good friend who passed on a few years back had this setup as his very last system. He enjoyed it thoroughly. Same Roger RM MKII and Audible Ilusions Modulus 3 combo you noted, with specific MIT cables and upgraded CD player. Wow it sounded so much higher-end than its total cost.

Paired only with smaller Totem Model One Signature 87db sensitivity speakers on stands, No furniture in the room, just a small chair. Clock and refrigerator unplugged during early a.m listening sessions. Moved it to five diffeent rooms in the house too. He was over the top obsessed, and memorable listening it was. Sound was huge, deep, layered, textured and quite interesting. That little system bested many systems we heard in our area of colleagues and audio stores. We ran around comparing his setup to others for fun.

The Audio Engineering Society (AES) made their rounds back then and awarded him a 4th place award for his system with a nice writeup. There was a comment how it held its own to some systems at 4x the total cost. He managed to nail it with an amazing combo and was very proud of it. 

@leahy a friend bought one of my former fully upgraded Cary strapped triode/ultralinear amps (el34s), and right afterwards he sent his other CJ  tube mono amps (6550s) and CJ mosfet ss amp out for full upgrades; selected a real expert master level tech.  Upgraded all caps, resistors, diodes, and more - same as the Cary units had. He just had to know if upgrades really made a difference in the units. Both the Cary units and CJ units were brought to an entirely different level.       

In all cases the fully upgraded preamps and amps won over one brand vs. the other. Another consideration path for your CJ45 if its not already upgraded. I'm a Cary owner myself, if you go 300B Cary's plan on higher sensitivy higher impedence speakers too in order to get the most out of the amps and pricey 300b tubes, fwiw.  Other fleawatt owners may chime in for other references if you go this route.