Price Paid:  $650.00 from From Original Owner

Summary:
I purchased this amp on the advice of a friend. Me, MR Solid State, has had brief flings with toobs in the past but am not (yup still) a big maven of therm-ionic devices. Still I was talked into giving it one more spin. So here's what I find. Preface: This amp is substitued into a system using a T-Hold 300 II for the top and a Muse 160 II on the subs. The Cary did a very cerditable job of driving the 4 ohm load that my monitor present to the amp. The highs were not overextended but very very accurate. Not toob sweet but just dean neutral. Hmm this amp sounds good. The bass in full range no sub, doesn't plumb the bottom like the subs with the Muse, but the then I didn't expect a pair of 6.5" drivers to do that. The mids a not lush and sweet. Just plain neutral and accurate. So it doesn't sound all that tooby, but --- it didn't sound all that tooby either in a good way. The sound was crisp, not hard, and never sluggish. The cymbals are near perfect. So what's missing: The dynamic punch of a great SS amp. Can a $1500 retail amp compete with a $5000 SS brute. Pretty much. I was frankly surprised and amazed. 95%/110% of the Threshold. 95% in that it sounded right, only missing a minor amounts of microdynamics, and macrodynamics. That is the little changes in loudness of the music, and of course the ultimate SLAM just wasn't there. However, the Threshold can some times present a soundstage depth that is a touch hemispherical in depth. Width is stellar but the depth can sometimes be just a tad less defined in the rear corners. The CARY flushed out the corners, there was a touch more depth and information back there. Conclusion: Was it a competitor for the super expensive Threshold, well, actualy yes. Will I go back to the Threshold. Yes. My point: Thresholds and other great SS amps, and there are a lot of expensive ones but only a few great ones, can present a sound that is riveting. However you might have to pawn your car to make the entrance dollars. If you haven't got 1000's or even if you do, you may want to seek out and hear this little gem. Those 30 tube watts are huge. I'm still amazed at the sound of this little amp at the price. If you find one in good shape in the $600 range and pass it up, it's your loss. Rush thy bleeding hardened ears from you low buck SS amp out there and pick one of these beauties up now. Time to

Strengths:
Depth, soundstage, high frequency accuracy, overall sound is very balanced and true to the music. Just a great low $ amp in the used market. It's no longer made by Cary.

Weaknesses:
Dynamics into my 4 ohm load. But hey it's only 30 watts!!

Similar Products Used:
Threshold S300 II, Muse 160II, B&K 442, Roland A120, Sota TT, Kontrapunct B, Chamelot Lancelot, MSB link, quad 15" subs, and custom designed monitors based on Excel mag drivers.

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Cary, NC

Summary:
Like Bryan Ruben, my SLA-70 has been modified a bit. MIT caps, silver wire, TKD pot, etc. Mine, too, was an early model and a bit experimental. I bought it in Cary, NC. Until I had this component, I never appreciated the effect of interaction among components. That aside, I''ve heard and owned really big name amps (Adcom, AR, Mark Levinson) in systems that were priced in multiples of my modified Cary-amped system (power amp is a Cary Sweet 807). I don''t have quite as deep bass response, but for hearing the real beauty of music and clarity of sound nothing I''ve heard even comes close for it''s price. The sound has been literally breathtaking to people who hear it. I don''t recall what I paid for mine, but if you take the time and spend the money to make the mods, you will be amazed at what this component will deliver. You will have a giant killer at one-third the price and a very satisfying piece of equipment that will please you for years. Now that''s a bargain!

Summary:
I finally went tube. Replaced my Aragon with the Cary. Was concerned with the lower power rating. The Cary sounds just as loud. The difference is that the Cary sounds more real, more relaxed, no treble edge like the Aragon (and I thought the Aragon was good for solid state!). The bass is fuller sounding on the Cary. The mids are much more 'there' and the treble is very natural. This amp is great and allows me to listen into the music and enjoy it without feeling like upgrading. This is a feeling i am not used too. For that reason alone it was worth every penny! I also think it looks beautiful, as well. Thank you Cary for producing a wonderful product for me and my whole family to enjoy! Five big stars!!!!!

Summary:
I know that this amplifier is not offered by Cary any longer but I thought it was still perntinent since they are readily available on the used market. I bought this amp used from a "audio guru" who didn't like the amp much, it didn't make a good match with his Spendor 100 (obviously). I had traded in a C-J MV 52 that had recently blown up the right side of tubes (yes, all of them, including the fuse). I never liked the C-J to begin with, my old tweeked Dynaco sounded much better. Well anyway, I made an even swap for the Cary after hearing it for a couple of minutes on a crappy pair of speakers. A little backround on this amp. This is a 1990 unit that was somewhat of a prototype for Cary in thier early days, it was pure Class A, internally wired with Kimber Silver, had a passive potentiometer on the front, and had Siderealcap by-basses. Great parts for a $1400 amp, others that I had owned for twice the price didn't have as good. After a year I decieded to upgrade some other parts and tubes to the max, ended up spending $350 on parts and did all the labor myself.
Reviewing the stock unit: This little amp is a killer!!!! Every system that I could plug this thing into killed whatever was hooked up before it, C-J, Audioprism, Mccormack, Aragon, Krell, everything. Everyone who has heard it has offered to buy it!!! Even for more than I paid for it($600). This amp is just right, I have never heard transparency, timbre, imaging and soundstaging like this on any other amp/system, even $50K systems. This is still the only amp that makes me almost believe that there are people in front of me singing, not 2 boxes approximating some recorded entity. Four stars easily at any price point.

Reviewing after upgrades: New Mullard rectifiers, Amperex triode pre drivers, Mit and Black Gate caps, more silver wiring, Arargon volume knob for looks and feel, new TKD pot, KT88's, etc....

Luckily, the sound of the amp only got better, more kick, more resolution (didn't think that was possible) and 5 morre watts to a total of 45 per channel. It is pretty obvious I am in love with this thing, I have had it for four years, the rest of my system has come and gone 5 times since, 10 speakers, but the Cary remains. Whenever I start thinking about more power, I just take it over to a friends house and a/b thier 5k amp against it, they always say "hey, do you want to sell that thing?" I always take it home happy. You guys on a budget looking for that killer cheap amp have just found it, if you are looking for a stunningly musical and detailed amplifier which is also beutiful and WILL NOT BREAK or blow up tubes. Five Stars (the only five star rating I have ever given)

p.s. It has great bass bloom and extension and can drive 1.9 ohm loads (M-L's) and sound GREAT doing it. Paradise baby!!!