I'm running a CAD 120's with an SLP98P. Match made in heaven. At least try to audition one. Best of luck.
Which amp for Cary SLP 05
Recently I purchased a Cary SLP 05 in nearly mint condition from one of my friends, I own a pair of Vienna accoustic Haydn Bookshelf speaker and intend to buy an amp which matches with SLP, My budget is around 4000-6000USD. I usually listen to jazz,blues,some classics and new age. The listening area is around 20m2.
The choices available in my town are: Bryston,Passlabs,Unison research,ARC,Vincent audio and in near future also moon.maybe in future if I have enough space I will upgrade my speakers to Focal electras 1028 so I think I should spend a little for an amp so that I can use it also later.
What would you suggest to be the best amp for my system?
The choices available in my town are: Bryston,Passlabs,Unison research,ARC,Vincent audio and in near future also moon.maybe in future if I have enough space I will upgrade my speakers to Focal electras 1028 so I think I should spend a little for an amp so that I can use it also later.
What would you suggest to be the best amp for my system?
17 responses Add your response
First, make sure you match your amp to the new speakers. I run my SLP-05 with a Mark Levinson 432, driving Sonus Faber Cremona. I added the SLP-05 to my existing 432/Cremona system, so did not try a lot of combinations. The new combo just worked. You might want to look at how the 432 fits with the 1028. I find that my combination gives plenty of the great tube sound of the SLP-05 while maintaining the ease of a SS amp. I am particularly pleased with the combination of the tube lushness with the detail and the punch of the system - much better than my previous Classe CP-65 pre. |
CAD 120S is fine, I couldn't find any pro reviews of it, can anyone help? Since SLP 05 is the top pre of CAD shouldn't it be matched with same category amps like CAD 211(which is way out of my budget!) or CAD 805? If I want to go CAD route then I have to import it which is very hard for me(maybe i do it if anyone thinks that's the best choice). "Thesoundhouse"; as mentioned i already have Vienna accoustics Grand Haydn stand mounts and they really sound well but what I meant was that I think it's better to invest on a more powerful amp so that I could use it with stronger speakers as well in case of upgrading. Has anyone ever tried SLP 05 with Bryston amps? |
I use an SLP-05 with a CAD 120s, typically with Nola Viper II's. I love the combination, and the ability to switch between triode and ultralinear for different music types is almost like having two systems in one. I have all stock tubes in both at this point, so I'm looking forward to doing some tube upgrades. I can recommend the CAD 120s as a good pairing with the SLP-05. |
I love tube components and the 6SN7 family. My concern with this premap is the output impedance of 400. I question the ability of any preamp with an output impedance that high being capable of delivering the bass correctly (tight with speed and timbre delineation) when compared with a preamp with say a 100 or less output impedance. I have been on a bit of a preamp merry go round recently and have heard the following in my system: CAT SL Ultimate MK2 (output impedance 100), Symphonic Line tubed (output impedance 100), Symphonic Line SS preamp (output impedance 1!), NAT Audio Utopia tubed (current king of the heap, output impedance 50) and a Ming DA 2A3 with I believe about a 600 ohm output impedance. I am betting the Ming DA sounds most like the Cary SL-05. It is a fantasic sounding preamp with incredible presence and transparency but (only) when compared directly to the others do you realize that the bass is sloppy. The difference between the SL tubed (100) and SL SS (1) is audible in the bass. I still like the tubed pres presentation better than the SS but once you start getting above 100 ohm output impedance the bass suffers noticeably. I am still tempted to try the Cary SL-05. I would love to hear a reply to this regarding bass performance from someone that has actually compared it to a preamp with a low output impedance. Bart |
Hi Littleleo, I realize this reply may come as too late but I'd thought I'd pen it anyway. I own the Cary SLP-05 pre-amp and I think the world of it. I have owned the CAD 120S and thought the pairing was just so-so. More recently I have tried a number of solid state power amplifiers and I found particular success with the Sanders Magtech which I wrote about here Hope this helps and you find what you are looking for. |