Cary CAD-211AE tube rolling

I thought I would bump my old thread with a report on rolling the 845's. I have compared the standard Cary supplied 845 with the Shuguang Psvane 845T, and the KR Audio 845's.

Cary no-name 845's: rather thin sounding with the most lacklustre tone of the three. Good dynamics, especially good microdynamics.

Shuguang 845B: AVOID! DO NOT USE THIS TUBE IN YOUR CARY! I have tried this tube on two occasions and each time, the amp blew up. The first time, it actually burnt out a resistor and the bias pot. The second time, the fuse exploded and took out the fuse holder. That's right, the fuse did not just blow - it exploded. I had to remove shards of glass from the fuse holder. It was not a faulty tube - these were 845B's supplied by different people. The base is physically thicker than any of the other 845's, and it is a bit of a tight squeeze to get it into the socket. The internals look to be better built than its more expensive cousin, the Psvane 845T.

Shuguang Psvane 845T: sounds horrible out of the box. Needs 100 hours of burn-in, then this tube REALLY opens up. This is an exciting sounding tube, with excellent dynamics and a wide, deep soundstage. Tonally it is richer than the Cary 845's in the midrange, but the top end can be a little glaring. This is an impressive looking tube - it is physically larger than most 845's, is heavy, and glows very brightly.

KR 845: also sounds horrible out of the box, and needs 100 hours of burn-in. Tonally the best of the lot - the bass, midrange, and top end are incredibly lush and rich, with no hint of the brightness of the Shuguang Psvane. The sound is simply beautiful - going back to the Psvane after listening to this tube is a bit of a jarring experience. Dynamics are not as good as the Psvane. These valves glow very dimly - the Psvanes shine like a 20W lightbulb. The KR 845's emit a dull orange glow.

Best tube of the lot: KR 845 if you like tone, Psvane 845T if you like dynamics.

I realize this is slightly off topic, but I was wondering if you could characterize the differences between the Cary 805 and the 211M.

Thanks much!

Hi No Regrets - certainly.

The 211AE comprehensively beats the 805 when it comes to bass, macrodynamics (though not microdynamics), and versatility. Beyond that, it is much of a muchness. The 211AE's bass is more plentiful, and it is much better controlled. Because there is more power on tap, you can use it with more types of speakers. With my speakers, the 805AE always seemed to run out of juice, and it would sound compressed whenever the orchestra reached a fortissimo. The 211AE is a much more impressive sounding amp.

In the midrange and top end, you can take your pick. The 211AE sounds richer and fuller, but the 805AE sounds more transparent, ethereal, nimble, and light. The 805AE also has a beauty of tone that absolutely kills the 211AE in the midrange. Not to say the 211AE is bad, but the 805AE is better. Microdynamic shading is better on the 805AE (provided it is not being run too hard).

With the 211AE, tube matching is critical. If you use a pair of mismatched tubes, you will run into all sorts of weird problems. The soundstage will never sound centered - adjust it to center with a mono disc, and it will pull to the left or right with the next disc. Carefully matching tubes is essential.

Both are fine amplifiers, but for me the 211AE won out because I can listen to more types of music with it. The 805AE is a small ensemble / vocal specialist - if your music is of this type only, the 805AE will slaughter the 211AE. But with anything bigger, the 211AE has it all over the 805.

Thank you for the excellent reply. Your comparison between the two amps was very helpful!

You are welcome, No_regrets :)

For everyone else - I am curious what 300B's you are using in your 211AE's or 805AE's. Surely the sample on A'gon can't be that small. What 300B are you using, and how does it compare to the standard Cary 300B's?