Conrad Johnson Classic 120se vs. Cary Audio Design CAD120 MKII?

Correction. input not inlet.

BTW I have a Pass XA25 and CJ Classic 120SE, Merason DAC1, and Innuos Zenith.

@cellorover - Thank you for your reply. 

I have QLN Prestige Three speakers (8 ohms, 87.5 sensitivity). My room is large - it's a combination of a dining room, kitchen, living room - modern open layout. The ceilings are high, as well. 

I also have the Innuous Zenith, Merason DAC1 and LTA microzotl preamp. I've been using a 100 watt Audio Hungary tube amp, which has produced fantastic sound with the other components. Given the large space, I feel anything less than 100 watts just might not be enough... 

I realized I actually liked my own system more than the Pass Labs xa160.8 amps I demoed a few weeks back. I am, however, keen to have a US-based tube product to more easily deal with repairs, hence my desire to purchase the CJ or Cary tube power amp. 

I'd welcome your thoughts and advice! 

@bluethinker66 I actually went and demoed the xa160.8 amps (they didn’t have the xa60.8 amps available to demo, the xa160.8 are too expensive for me), and wasn’t terribly impressed. I was expecting to be blown away, but I wasn’t. Maybe they were not warmed up sufficiently?

Can you share a little more and describe what was missing for you with the xa160.8 amps? Did you bring them home or hear them somewhere else? How long did you let them stay powered up before sitting down doing any critical listening? (yes, if they had been sitting a while that first warmup for 24hrs helps, a lot). I checked out your speakers. Reading above about your larger room space to fill, high ceilings, open room setting, and the desire to stay away from mono amps - makes me think you’re going to end up needing a fairly capable and robust stereo amp to fill the house if that’s what you really want. Helps to know if you like a more open/large and detailed sound or something a bit smoothed over, not so forward or detailed. Also helps to know if you have carpeted areas or lots of hard floor surfaces in these large open spaces adjacent to your audio system listening space.  

It is good that bluethinker66 can get the feedback he is looking for. Given your system and room, the Pass XA 25 probably would not work, albeit maybe Pass’ best sounding amp. The reviews doing not do it justice. I agree that the xa160.8 is not for everyone, including my ears. I have heard older Carys so I cannot comment on the CAD120, but I liked their older products. The CJ has a purity and musicality that is hard to beat, saying that after having sold 2 and still went back to it (on #3 now) and will not sell it. I doubt you would be disappointed. But to give you another option, I will go out on a limb and suggest the Atmasphere Digital amp. It will have the power you need, it sounds wonderful (almost bought it but had to rethink everything when we moved and have not done anything since), and meets your requirements for new, US made, and budget. Hope this helps.

@decooney - I demoed the xa160.8 amps in downtown Portland at one of the local hifi stores. I'm not sure how long they had the amps on prior to actual demo. Maybe 24 or less would be my guess... In terms of my impression, I just didn't hear much air or spaciousness, which was a big surprise. Compared to my own set-up, they just sounded sort of pedestrian. I mean, they sounded "very good," but I would not feel compelled to purchase them given their price tag relative to other offerings. 

As for my own space, there is lots of reflective surfaces - wood floors, bare walls, a large set of sliding doors on one of the walls. It's a clean and modern aesthetic. We don't want to do any acoustic treatments, however... In terms of sound, our preference is on the warm/smoothed over side. My wife is sensitive to sound, so anything remotely bright immediately sets her off, unfortunately. 

@cellorover - I'm happy to hear you feel the CJ is a solid bet. And thank you for the Atmasphere suggestion. Folks seem to hold that company in high regard!