2. amps-preamps
  3. 167240-1112

Where is Cary Audio?

I know Cary Audio is not the flavor of the month these days, but where are the current systems w/ Cary Audio gear?

Their products have stood still since DJH retired, but heck their amps and cdp should show up in vintage systems like other high-end brands. I’ve always had a fondness for their amps and cdp’s having owned 3 of their entry products in the past. I periodically look on ebay to see what might show up in my budget, but it seems like they’ve vanished off the face of the earth.

I'm just wondering.
128x128mjcmt

Showing 2 responses by decooney

decooney
1,908 posts
 
Playing my Cary SLP-98 upgraded preamp with other mono amps at least 2-3 times a week.  Regretfully resold all of my Cary prior amps (SLI-80, CAD 280SA-V12R, SA-200.2ES) to try other local builders. The preamp matches well with many other amps I've found.

@mjcmt  if you feel passionate about it, send a note or call in to owner Billy Wright of Cary Audio.  With dealers closing they chose the route of also offering a competing direct-to-consumer Web Store, and moved to online using Facebook, Instagram and others for collaboration. Hard to say how well that's worked for their dealer network.  Might be good for them to hear from you, and let the know your thoughts or concerns. Best of Luck.
decooney
1,908 posts
 
@luxmancl38, "was getting into Home Theater. The processor was a disaster".

Very true. Same occurred with B&K Components following the integrated HT trend at that time, and it put them out of business. Could not recover. The industry and platform was constantly changing at the time, unable to keep up, Dobly Pro Logic, then Dolby Digital, then 7.2, 9.2, blah....software and firmware glitches, not their core competency. It sounded pretty good though for what it was at the time.  Reflecting back, a big 2.2 ch system was better even for home theater.  

In the past 4-5 years there have been some others good designers within Cary who came up with some nice components not doing too bad, like the SLI-100 KT150 amp. A colleague worked on that design project. I would like to demo the newer CAD-805RS monos some day to see how good they might be in comparison to some of my other mono amps.
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