Cary SLI-80 Thoughts?


I am currently strongly considering the Cary SLI-80 integrated tube amp because I love the sound of tubes and have heard so many great things about CARY amps. This one also fits my budget on the second hand market (around $2000-2500). My question is, are there better options for this size amp in my price range that I should consider? I could stretch my budget a bit if there were considerably better options. I am driving a pair of Harbeth Monitor 30s and listen mostly to an analog source, but also have tons of CDs so I still listen to those as well. I currently have a cheap Chinese tube amp that sounds great but lacks some features I want. I would also like to have a higher grade amp to enjoy a higher level of sound quality, of course. I should not fail to mention the look of this amp is dead sexy. Have also considered Primaluna but since the Cary amps are U.S. made I feel a bit more confident in getting support, which I know I will need with owning tubes. Thanks for your opinions.
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All I can say is that I did the same thing you are doing. I spent a lot of time researching and went with the Cary. In that price range (sig. version) you will be very happy. Also I am running EL34's in triode (about only 25 watts) and it still sounds great.
I can't advise about that particular amp but I can highly recommend Cary's customer service.
I have Cary and Primaluna amps among others. To my ears Cary is the winner but the Primaluna integrated is a well-built, good sounding integrated with many pluses including the auto bias feature that makes tube-rolling a snap, easy to tailor your sound.