Herman,
I agree with your input, as far as it goes. However, conducting a systematic random sample of Cary users would be very difficult.
As with any potential purchase, I try to gather as much information as possible and weigh the reliability and validity of the information sources. I like the sound of the SLI-80, but when I was told by a somewhat biased friend that Cary had reliability problems, I wanted to gather additional information. One of the difficulties of this hobby, from a cynical perspective, is that many dealers, distributors, and manufactures have a self interested point of view and do not provide trustworthy information. Many end users have a narrow perspective regarding function and form - either a produce works well or it doesn't, and either it meets a subjective ideal or it doesn't. End users are not usually aware of the percentage of product failures. The end result of this is that there is not any way to find good information.
However non-statistical a thread of this nature may be, it does pull together a general feel for a product which I find useful. From what I can glean from the few responses is that the Cary service has been good. This is a plus! Also, out of the 17 responses (not counting the 2 by Herman and one by Tarsando), it appears that most people who responded have not had problems with Cary equipment, some over a long period of time. This is also a plus. One person did have some problems with tubes and sold the amp. Not all of these responses have been about the SLI 80, which narrows the utility a bit. I am a believer in the human capacity to complain, and so few moans (thus far) is, again, a plus for Cary.
Thanks to all who have responded so far.
John
I agree with your input, as far as it goes. However, conducting a systematic random sample of Cary users would be very difficult.
As with any potential purchase, I try to gather as much information as possible and weigh the reliability and validity of the information sources. I like the sound of the SLI-80, but when I was told by a somewhat biased friend that Cary had reliability problems, I wanted to gather additional information. One of the difficulties of this hobby, from a cynical perspective, is that many dealers, distributors, and manufactures have a self interested point of view and do not provide trustworthy information. Many end users have a narrow perspective regarding function and form - either a produce works well or it doesn't, and either it meets a subjective ideal or it doesn't. End users are not usually aware of the percentage of product failures. The end result of this is that there is not any way to find good information.
However non-statistical a thread of this nature may be, it does pull together a general feel for a product which I find useful. From what I can glean from the few responses is that the Cary service has been good. This is a plus! Also, out of the 17 responses (not counting the 2 by Herman and one by Tarsando), it appears that most people who responded have not had problems with Cary equipment, some over a long period of time. This is also a plus. One person did have some problems with tubes and sold the amp. Not all of these responses have been about the SLI 80, which narrows the utility a bit. I am a believer in the human capacity to complain, and so few moans (thus far) is, again, a plus for Cary.
Thanks to all who have responded so far.
John