question for SLP05 owners:

Thanks for the feed back on that, @hk_fan .  Does your power supply get pretty hot like mine does?

Thanks @decooney . I would have to email them, because I don’t think they talk to people on the phone anymore unless they want to buy something. The last time I emailed them about something, they were in no hurry to get back to me, but I guess that is what I should do.

As far as stacking, my preowned SLP05 was manufactured back when they were putting those indentations in the top panel of the power supply for the preamp feet to rest its feet in. But I was sort of under the impression that they were no longer building them that way.

I did, just now, consult the owner’s manual Cary provided with my preowned unit, and, as you pointed out, mine says the identical thing under the heading of "IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS."

But then on page 15 under "BASIC OPERATION" it says "You may wish to stack the preamplifier on top of the matching power supply."  Then it goes on to say that either/or is okay. You are right--I should email them and express my concerns about stacking a component on something that gets as hot as that power supply gets. Either that or just not do it. I am thinking more & more of doing option 2.

I appreciate your input, @decooney . I am starting to think that I don’t like the idea of something that gets warm sitting right on top of something that gets hot. When I say hot, I do not mean hot enough to burn flesh, but hot enough to make the palm of my hand feel a bit uncomfortable, and for someone who is not particularly sensitive that way, I guess that’s getting pretty warm. I need to remember to put a thermometer on top of it once to see what it actually reads. It must be those two big caps, huh? I cannot imagine that the 5AR4 is what makes it get that hot.

Anyway, I can find a way to reconfigure without stacking, but thanks again for taking the time to offer input and post the pics.

Thanks for the input, @everyone.  @decooney , as far as the rectifier tube, it came with a Sovtek installed, I tried a Gold Lion for a short time, then a UK Amperex (which I am told is basically a Mullard that was branded Amperex) and recently when I was moving some stuff around to try out a high pass filter in my chain I put the Gold Lion back in.  It gets quite warm, with all of them.

After posting this thread/question and evaluating everything, I am going to continue to find a way not to stack them--for both the possible EMI and the temperature that makes me a bit uncomfortable about the idea.