Arcam FMJ CD33 vs Cary 306/200

Kw6 / Newmanoc,
If the Linn Ikemi's sound would be described as being laid back, than it doesn't seem to fit my criteria for dynamics and slam. I am looking for a CD player with these particular qualities.

I have recently heard the FMJ33 in my home via a friend's unit and it produced an immediate focused soundstage with tight bass notes, its highs were well defined and had a nice sparkle to them with plenty of air around the instruments.
I have not heard the 306/200, but did hear the new 300/300
with it capability of switching on the fly from SS to Tube output.
I would pick the Arcam for Jazz and especially for rock.

I've never heard the Cary, but I can comment on the Linn and Arcam players. The Linn would be very good for jazz and exceptional for classical music, but it has an almost hypnotizing sound and would not deliver the slam you're looking for. The Arcam is a great player. Very smooth. I also listen to mainly jazz and rock.

But the player I'd recommend is the Ayre CX-7, especially if you can get the "e" verson. I never thought I'd hear a CD player in that price range that would beat the Arcam, but the Ayre cleanly did. It has much more weight than the Arcam. So you'll get more bottom end and slam. Plus it's soundstage is wider and deeper. Something the Arcam is noted for. The individual instruments seem to stand out better. It is better than the Arcam in single-ended mode, but it is significantly better if you can run balanced. In fact, the Ayre running Kimber Heros balanced, sounded better than the Arcam did with the twice as expensive Kimber Select 1011s. Good luck on your search!

I recently auditioned the FMJ CD33 and Cary 303/300 at Sound by Singer both on the same system. CD33 would not do for rock music, sorry to disagree with previous posts. Cary player has better bass and smoother highs with delicious midrange. Arcam is a little on the bright side of things with much more gentle bass than Cary. I'd say it is a little bass shy compared to the Cary player. This was apparent to me. After about 20-30 minutesof switching back and forth and listening to same cds. However, one unit that did take me by surprise was Musical Fidelity A5 cd player. This one, 1t $2500, was so close to Cary 303/300, that it would be very difficult to distiguish between the 2 in the blind test. $1500 difference is a nice chunk of change, that could be spent on something else that needs upgrading in your system. One thing the sales person mentioned to me about the A5 player is that it does not play SACDs. Besides, he said he would discourage you from even puttin a hybrid SACD in there. They had a customer who brought the A5 into the store after he tried to play a hybrid SACD and the thing jsut kept spinning the disc, trying to read it, but the tray wouldn't open to take the disc out. Musical Fidelity is aware and is working on the fix, according to the sales guy at Singer.....for what it's worth.

There's also a lot of buzz over the Benchmark DAC / Bel Canto DAC. A friend suggested I should go that route, by coupling the Benchmark with my Sony NS-999ES universal player. I am not too thrilled to use the universal as a transport. I would rather get a kick-ass Redbook CD Player. Any thoughts on the Benchmark or Bel Canto over the Cary, etc.?