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Replace Cary 303/200 with what?

I am considering replacing my Cary 303/200. Cary Audio is sending me a brand new 303/200 (to replace a defect one), I am considering selling it here at Audiogon and buying someting new anyone interested in buying it?). What are some recommendations. I would like to stay at $2,000 and under. Here is what I am considering at this point:
1. Audio Aero Prima
2. Rega Jupiter
3. Ayre CX-7
4. Cairn Fog
5. Moon Equinox
6. Jolida JD100

I am getting these choices after reading various posts here at ag. There are no stores in my area to demo any of these. Will I be down grading by selling the Cary and replacing it with one of these (or other)? I use a Cary SLI 80 tube integrated amp with Paradigm Studio 100s. Any help, advice, tips would be appreciated.
abb9ae7
abb
2 posts
 
I am seriouly considering the Jolida JD100 to replace the Cary 303/200. I can a new Jolida for $745.00. Will I be sorry I did this? Will I miss the Cary?
dlee
11 posts
 
i'm sort of going thru the same thing...i just bot the ayre cx7. the first thing i noticed about the cx7 was its well-defined bass. also, it brings out subtle 'textures' in the music and has lots of detail. actually, in my system (sim i-5 integrated + epos 22 speakers) the ayre provides too much detail; specifically, the vocals sound abit etchy and digital. dont get me wrong, the ayre is a fine player, but IMHO it wud likely sound better with warmer (eg tube) equipment and warmer/darker speakers. so, i'm thinking about selling the ayre and getting cary 303/200 (!) or jolida 100a. fwiw, i've demo-ed the cx7 and 303/200 thru an audio research amp/preamp (all tube) setup and i thot cx7 was superior in every respect than the cary. i'm begining to think that no amount of $$ can make up for the inherent limitations of redbook (44.1khz/16bit) and that at a certain price point, synergy with the rest of your equipment is quite important. i also demo-ed the fog v2. it's a fine player, too, but has some operational quirks and the US distributor (vmax) is horrible, so caveat emptor.
jh2os
244 posts
 
i am a happy owner of a cairn fog CDP. i was so impressed with this player, that i changed my entire system to cairn. the fog now feeds a nanda preamp and two mea monblocks. i have spoken directly with gilles belot (cairn founder) many times via email concerning system suggestions with quick responses. i have also had prompt responses from cairn's US distributor VMAX.
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