Replace Cary 303/200 with what?

i am a happy owner of a cairn fog CDP. i was so impressed with this player, that i changed my entire system to cairn. the fog now feeds a nanda preamp and two mea monblocks. i have spoken directly with gilles belot (cairn founder) many times via email concerning system suggestions with quick responses. i have also had prompt responses from cairn's US distributor VMAX.

i'm sort of going thru the same thing...i just bot the ayre cx7. the first thing i noticed about the cx7 was its well-defined bass. also, it brings out subtle 'textures' in the music and has lots of detail. actually, in my system (sim i-5 integrated + epos 22 speakers) the ayre provides too much detail; specifically, the vocals sound abit etchy and digital. dont get me wrong, the ayre is a fine player, but IMHO it wud likely sound better with warmer (eg tube) equipment and warmer/darker speakers. so, i'm thinking about selling the ayre and getting cary 303/200 (!) or jolida 100a. fwiw, i've demo-ed the cx7 and 303/200 thru an audio research amp/preamp (all tube) setup and i thot cx7 was superior in every respect than the cary. i'm begining to think that no amount of $$ can make up for the inherent limitations of redbook (44.1khz/16bit) and that at a certain price point, synergy with the rest of your equipment is quite important. i also demo-ed the fog v2. it's a fine player, too, but has some operational quirks and the US distributor (vmax) is horrible, so caveat emptor.

I am seriouly considering the Jolida JD100 to replace the Cary 303/200. I can a new Jolida for $745.00. Will I be sorry I did this? Will I miss the Cary?

Thanks for the tips and advice. Cary's customer service has been excellent so far, they have replaced each faulty unit with no questions asked. Very friendly. I am just inderested in other options.

I went through a similar experience with my Classe CDP that I’d purchased as a demo from a local dealer. Classe repaired it after one month of use and then it failed again so I can certainly understand your frustration. The dealer pushed Classe to send me a need CDP and they did. The new Classe CDP sounds better, tracks better, and hasn’t skipped a disk so I kept it.

While I was waiting for the Classe CDP the dealer lent me a Cary 303/200 and I liked the Cary a lot. I demoed about 10 different CDPs and the 303/200 was my favorite under $3k by far. Let us know how the Cary replacement works out and if you liked Cary’s customer service. The CDP is one component that I do not plan on purchasing used.

good luck, Al

With Cary's nice customer service and willingness to replace your defective unit; why not stay with the 300/200? You have synergy with your SLI80 and seem to like your CDP. Just my opinion for what it's worth.

Good Listening,

Steve Bachman
Phoenix, AZ

The Arye is very good, although I thought it ran slow, or rather not as quick or dynamic as the Cary 306/200. Not completely satisfied with the 306, I decided to audition a Resolution Audio Opus 21. Excellent player -- I suggest you do some research on it as well. In comparison to the Cary 306, the Opus is better, no question. There's a pretty good review of it some where on the the Gon. Used I think you can pick it up around $2000