Does Cary stack up to ARC

Well, I have had a Cary SLI-80 for about a week now. I have been going back and forth between the Cary and the
ARC, it is like nite and day. Late at night with Chet Baker and the Cary. On Saturday morning with the Sub Dudes and the ARC.

I have to agree with Tubegroover about the differences between the two sounds, and that it is a matter of taste.

I am going to put the ARC gear away for a few days and then come back to it. I may be suprised how the ARC sounds after a steady diet of Cary. I will report back in a few days

By the way Bmrl, what tubes did you roll in the pre section?

Thanks for all of the great comments

Mark

I would imagine that the Cary would fare much better at lower listening levels as it would still sound relatively full-bodied and quite lush. As you know, most systems tend to thin out as volume is decreased. On the other hand, the ARC gear will typically sound more articulate, punchier and up-beat, which is great for high level listening.

Are you sure that you want to get rid of one or the other ??? : ) Sean
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Kettle have you experimented with upgrade AC cords? If not, then you might realize sonic signature closer to desired by trying out some different cords. No two sound exactly alike & the right cord for your source component isn't necessarily the same cord that you'd prefer on the pre or PA so be sure to try a number of different combo's.
Also try out some different interconnects, speaker cables, cones, shelving, isolation products. Likely that you can tweak what you already have (nice stuff BTW) to the sound that you desire.

Kettle,

Not sure which is the best tube amp; but, I would like to comment on your thoughts about getting away from the long balanced interconnects. All the information that I have read indicates that long preamp interconnect cables are a better option than long speaker cables. This is due to the much lower current levels present in the interconnect cables. Fifty feet shouldn't be too long due to the superior common mode rejection intrinsic with the balanced design. My vote would be to stay with the interconnects and separate mono amps if you can.