Ayre C 5xe Universal vs. Cary 306 SACD

I haven't done a comparision in the same system but have listened to both. The Cary thru McIntosh Pre-amp and amp with JM electra speakers. The Ayre through Ayre Pre amp and amp with Linn Akurate Speakers. I had a Linn Ikemi which I just sold and the Ayre was much more detailed than the Ikemi which I felt was a great redbook cd player.
I currently have the Ayre on order. I just couldn't get to like the harmonics of the Cary, is didn't have the open or detail tha I felt it should. The Electras are a good sounding speaker and they sounded less involving with the Cary. Music was a Patrica Barber, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music and what ever they had at the stores.
Hope this helps

Thanks, Theo. For whatever it's worth, I just did a comparison of the 306 SACD on Red Book CD with my own CD-only Ayre CX-7 (not what I started the thread for). On just CD's, the Ayre sounded just as good as the Cary 306 SACD did. There were differences, but their overall tonal balance and performance qualities are closer to each other than not. This makes me wonder about the Ayre C-5xe Uni-2-channel player even more.

Of course, on SACD, the Cary 306 sounded just great....really fantastic, actually.

The comparison was done in the same system, one player right after the other with the same CD’s in the same order. System: Cary SLP 2005, Cary 805 AE edition, Ruark Solstice speakers, Audience Au24 cabling throughout. Mostly Reference Recordings of classical, Joni Mitchell’s “Travelogues,” Bobo Stenson’s "Serenity." This system is better than my own; so it was a pleasure to hear all of this music this way.

Kalan,

To further build on your last repsonse I just received the evolution version of the CX-7 which replaced the non evolution unit. There is a noticable jump in improvement especially in the blackness of the background....if the C-5xe betters rebook by the same amount of improvement that the evolution version provided over the non evolution CX-7, I'll begin saving today!

Kalan
If you already ownthe CX7 then have grown to appreciate the Ayre sound. I think you would be happier in the long run with the C5xe. I know I am patiently waiting for the C5xe to hit my doorstep. 5 week wait. I do know my local dealer just received another one that the customer didn't take. It is available for quick sale. I am waiting for a black face one or would have one already.