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Cary 303/300 vs. Audio Aero Capitole CDP

I have been considering auditioning tube CDP's, as much of my music collection is poor quality 70's/80's rock recordings.

I was thinking that tubes at the source may help smooth out some of the harshness that forces me to only want to listen to many of my cd's in the car.

On my audition list has been the AA Capitole, as it seems to be very highly praised.

However, new to the arena is the new Cary, which offers both tube & SS output stages, as well as selectable sampling rates. This one-chasis flexibility seems very attractive to me.

I was wondering if anyone has compared the Cary to any of the different versions of the Capitole CDP?

Any shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.
barrelchief
georgemg
69 posts
 
I think AA capitole is very superior, but I heard the two players with diferents equipments.
amperidian
67 posts
 
The AA capitole MKII SE is vastly superior to the CARY in either output. The Cary can sound very clinical in SS and definitely sounds better in tube output mode but it really is no match for the AA player which can sound much better if using the Symposium Rollerblocks series 2+ in double stacked configuration with the grade 3 tungsten superballs or the SRA Ohio XL base as an alternative. Only downside in the AA player is that it takes over 1000 hours to fully break in and it sounds best when left turned on all the time. One session with the Capitole and I knew it was the one! ... never replaced it!
larryi
3,988 posts
 
The comments above, versus my own opinion, reflect differences in taste and system matching that makes it hard to say how you will react to any component in your system.

I like the AA Capitole player a lot. It is quite musical and has a remarkably clear and grain-free presentation. But, in the system I heard it in, it was a touch lean in the midbass which made it sound a bit dry, and with poorer quality sources, this can translate to a harsher sound. I found this lean quality to be exacerbated by using rollerblocks and/or a Symposium Ultra shelf under the player. But, don't misunderstand me, this is one of those players that had that hard-to-explain, something special about it that makes it a joy to listen to for extended periods.

I found the Cary player to be MUCH better through the solid state output than the tube output. True, the tube output does smooth out the sound a little, but it sounded muddled and lifeless in comparison to the SS output. I also tended to not like the highest levels of oversampling with that player.

If you are looking for smoother, relaxed and musical (vs. detailed and hyper kinetic) you might want to look into a transport coupled to an Audionote DAC. This can be a bit pricey, but they do sound wonderful.

I don't think you necessarily have to have a tube output to get a smoother, less edgy sound. There are some pure solid state candidates to look over. The Esoteric DV-50 sounds like a candidate, as would be some of the current Linn line and Ayre line.
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