Cary SLI 80 Signature Upgrade?

Live with the unit stock before you contemplate any upgrades. You need to understand and appreciate the unit's sound signature for a period of time before you attempt to modify the unit. Not all "upgrades" are sonic improvements.

I asked for cap recommendation for my Sli-80 F1 on the amp forum at the Audio Asylum site and got quite a range of recommendations. It's an interesting group with a lot of DIY experience that hangs out there.

I went with the Cardas caps, which are no longer in production but can probably still be found. The Audio Connection in Seattle had them a few months ago when I had the work done. I don't know if they sell them, though, John may be saving them for his repair business. He likes them a lot and recommended them very highly. He'd bought a large stock of them when he heard they would no longer be produced.

I agree with the recommendation to just listen for awhile before you start upgrading. I did the swap because one of the original Jensen paper in oil caps failed, not because I was unhappy with the sound.

I would just suggest that you live with your new gear for some time. Remember that you upgraded well beyond your initial budget already. As a newcomer what you may not be aware of is the fact that there is no end to this chasing of the carrot. You will never have the resources to take this pursuit to its ultimate conclusion because there is no such thing. There is always more to achieve or obtain. Take your time. Stretch it out. Move from one plateau to another slowly and deliberately. Remember you are buying this stuff to listen to music and try to keep that as your focus. Becoming too involved in the pursuit of perfection will only get you in trouble. And that treadmill leads only to dissatisfaction, which is clearly counterproductive.

All good advice.

Yeah, John at Audio Connection is my guy! He’s the one who recommended I consider upgrading to those old Cardas Caps he has but of course he told me I can wait to do it IF I want to do it. I really I want to be satisfied with what I’ve got from the get-go and not fall down the slippery slope of obsessing about upgrading and tube rolling in the future, which is why I asked you all if I should switch out the Jensens now.

Since it was mentioned, I never had a budget…I just spent more than I originally thought I had to in order to achieve GOOD sound. This is actually just a part of “furnishing” a new home from almost scratch and I like nice things and I’m paying for it all with cash so I haven’t completely lost my mind!