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Cary CD 306 SACD player vs newer Marantz SA 10 CD/SACD player

I'm a current owner of an older Cary CD 306 SACD player (non professional version) and have been very happy with the sound quality of it. The CD 306 SACD is Cary's flagship CD/SACD player. This model along with its professional version both have received praises and spectacular reviews from both professional reviewers and users. And the build quality is superb and this player weighs about 45 pounds. The player has been working flawlessly aside from having to replace a new laser assembly last year which was done by Cary Audio itself which is very common with older CD/SACD players or transports. And I think the CD 306 SACD has been discontinued since 2015/2016.  

 

But I'm curious if the newer Marantz SA 10 CD/SACD player, which is also Marantz's flagship CD/SACD player, would sound better or the Cary CD 306 SACD would sound better than the SA 10. Seems like the Marantz SA 10 is most of the time is being offered at discounted price and it makes me want to pull the trigger on one. 

 

What do you guys think? Both the Cary and the Marantz players can used as a standalone DAC and have various digital audio inputs on the back. 

Advises, thoughts, suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.

dilatante
silverlakejim's avatar
silverlakejim
11 posts
 

Your experience makes sense. The Cary 306 SACD Pro, i'm sure, was developed to be used with Cary amplification, which I have owned, which is lovely sounding and  indeed on the warm side. I'm using a Line Magnetic LM 845 Premium tube integrated amp & Dali Epicon 6 speakers. My system is on the neutral to bright side; the Marantz made sense in my system. So much of our impression of sound is system dependent. 

caphill
680 posts
 

Yup, couldn’t agree more. It’s all about system synergy and system dependent. My all Cary system that consists of the 306 SACD Pro, Cary SLP-05 tube preamp & Cary tube monoblock amps sounding smooth, very musical, warm fully fleshed out full body with sweet highs and smooth midrange bloom. I have no doubt that the CD 306 SACD Pro was voiced together using all Cary amplifications (pre and power amps). 
 

When I inserted my friend’s Marantz SA 10 SACD player in my all Cary setup it didn’t sound right to me. The whole system is somewhat obscuring or masking details a bit and sounding too slow lacking speed, attacks, slam, dynamic, scale and authority. The system sounded less dimensional compared to when I have the CD 306 SACD Pro in the chain. 

immatthewj
3,300 posts
 

That's interesting.  I upgraded  to the SA10 a few years ago (I've lost track) in fron of a modded Cary SLP90 and a Cary V12.  A couple of years later (I've lost track of time on this also, which is a bad sign) I replaced the SLP 90 with a SLP05 with "the ultimate upgrade" and to my ears the sound is now a bit on the cool side and I could actually stand it to be a tad warmer.

As far as the SA10, I love it, but I have to remember that I had never heard SACDs before, and they sound great, and the digital front end I was using was 3 separate pieces from back in the '90s, so I am thinking that it was obsolete.

Is the Cary CD 306 SACD a tubed CDP?

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