Cary Audio CD 306 SACD player (non Pro version)

@bigkidz 

The only and major upgrades with the CD 306 SACD pro unit over the the CD 306 SACD non pro unit were in the power supply and power supply capacitors as well as the DSD upsampling filters and HDCD decoding chips. Everything else remains the same. Both pro and non pro 306 SACD players have identical analog output stage, disc transport mechanism and exact same DACs and DAC configuration and implementation, etc. same grounding implementations, etc. Oh….and the pro version has ventilation slots on the top cover whereas the non pro 306 SACD version dos not. Mine is the non pro version of CD 306 SACD and doesn’t have ventilation slots on the top cover and runs somewhat hot after couple hours of use because the analog output stage of both the non pro (like the one I have) and pro units run in class A. 

And the price difference between the CD 306 SACD non pro and the CD 306 SACD pro version was between $1k to $2k. 
 

And you mentioned that the sonic improvement after you modified and upgraded the parts in the power supply section was only when playing Redbook CD, and SACD no real improvements. How so? My understanding is if you upgrade the power supply it should have improved sonic qualities when playing everything (both Redbook CD & SACD) as well as when used as a standalone DAC since both these units (both pro and non pro) have digital audio inputs on the back : AES EBU, coax digital spdif (RCA single ended) and optical digital, therefore can be used as a standalone DAC. But it can only receive PCM digital audio signals through its digital audio inputs, it doesn’t support DSD when used as a standalone DAC. But both non pro and pro versions of the 306 SACD players have 4 DACs dedicated for PCM playbacks and another separate 4 DACs dedicated for DSD for SACD playbacks only when playing SACD disc but not when fed DSD signal through its digital audio inputs on the back. They don’t accept DSD signal through their digital audio inputs when used as a standalone DAC. 

@bigkidz 

Would you be able to upgrade the power supply section of my Cary CD 306 SACD player (non pro version)? I can send it in to you if you can and you can let me know the costs. Thank you. 
 

FYI, Cary also made CD 302T SACD player (pro version) with tube analog output stage and the front faceplate of this CD 302T SACD player looks the same as those CD 306 SACD players (both non pro and pro versions) but the top cover is different. There’s a small section of the top cover of this CD 302T SACD player that we can remove in order to roll in tubes. The CD 306 SACD players (both pro and non pro) still have superior overall build quality compared to that of the CD 302T tube SACD player. But they share same disc transport as those of the CD 306 SACD players. 
 

And from what I’ve heard from reviewers who have reviewed both 306 SACD and 302T SACD tube players that the 302T with tube analog output stage sounded warmer fuller and more lush than those SS 306 SACD both pro and non pro units. They sounded different. The 306 SACD (both non pro and pro units) sounded more resolved but a bit leaner compared to the 302T SACD with tube analog output stage. According to the reviewers they both sounded great, just a matter of personal tastes and preferences. 

One note of caution on the Cary 306 PRO. I owned one and it needed repair. Cary could not fix it and the impacted new board had to be shipped from China. It took well over a month and cost me around $1000 many years ago. I doubt these boards are available any longer. Before spending a lot of money upgrading these older players you should take this into account. Power supplies can be bypassed or repaired, but the DAC and other board issues may not be repairable.

@grannyring - everything is repairable, well almost.  Depending on the damage to the board, we have been successful running wires under the circuit boards to connect broken solder traces.  It is work but it can be done.  Bill reach out to me regarding your preamp project if you want.

@dilatante - yes I can do yours.  The two we did were awesome sounding.  I have mine because of doing the first one upgrade.  Replaced the laser and 100 parts.  I will take a look at the parts to see what they cost and get you a quote.

Peter

I understand pretty well what can be fixed, but Cary themselves could not even fix the board. They designed the unit and repair their stuff. Certainly reason for caution!