best cd between cary or raysonic

all right Dave, your 128 sound warm ot neutral?? im searching for a transparent tube cd player....

Slightly warm, detailed but not "analytical," and I always confuse "transparent" with "threadbare," so I'm not a good one to talk about it. Cables and tube rolling definitely affect the sound, but the stock tubes aren't bad at all.

i owned the raysonic, although i did not compare it with the cary.

my brief comments refer to the raysonic.

if i recall, the raysonic used 6 volt tubes--6dj8 or 6922, probably not 6fq7.

i found the player closer to truth than beauty, closer to transparency than euphony.

perhaps one could find some mullards to alter the frequency response, however, if i were looking for a "warm" player , raysonic would not be it.

One thing I neglected to mention about the Raysonic, or at least the 128. It hates passive "preamps." When it was new, I took mine to try in a friend's system which uses a very fine passive controller/attenuator, and I could hardly recognize the Raysonic. "Bleached" is putting it mildly. IMO, If ever there was a CDP that really needs an active preamp to sound its best, this is it. Dave

Wow..........how many different threads on this.

I have bought and used on Audiogon with Mcintosh amps and int amps Esoteric, Rega, Naim, Mcintosh, Cary, Pioneer Elite, JAS, Raysonic, Musical Fidelity, NAD Masters, Jolida, Cambridge and Meridian to name a few.

You really need to use this site and start experimenting on what is best for you. How many cd players have you tried? You will always get a different answer. I TRUST MY EARS AND WHAT I LIKE.

If you keep good feedback you can try some different things from Audiogon. Make it fun!!!!!