Cary Audio Design CAD 300SE Monoblock Amplifiers

Cary Audio Design CAD 300SE Monoblock Amplifiers 

DESCRIPTION

12 watts (pair)

USER REVIEWS

Showing 11-11 of 11  
[Jan 05, 2001]
Sam
Audiophile

Strength:

Beautiful Chrome look. No comparason on midrange.

Weakness:

Very hard to find good high sensitive speakers to match.

I have had these monoblocks for about a year. I have been playing around with 300B single ended amps for a while, started out with kits(SF Assemblage and AES, and finally to these Cary monoblocks.
I just cannot describe the midrange with any words I can think of. These 12wpc monoblocks have been playing very well with Kef 104/2 reference series speakers. These amps had speaker load switch which made it easy to compare speakers with different load(8ohm nominal and 4ohm nominal). I liked the sound of Soliloquy 6.3, Silverline Audio Sonatina, and ProAc(forget the model number, small monitor) but I just couldn't believe the sound when I tried KEF 104/2's. KEF can be found used for less than $1K in good condition. 104/2's have 93dB sensitivity and pretty much flat 4 ohm load which made it easy to drive even with 8wpc SE amps like Assemblage, Goldentube, and Audio Electronics. Actually, volume level for some reason is little lower with Cary's even though these are rated at 12wpc(I still wonder why).
I highly recommend AVVT 300B-SL in C37 glasses with these amps. These are wonderful tubes. IMHO, AVVT(Vaic) sounds much better than WE300B's.

Similar Products Used:

SF 300B SET, Golden Tube 300B SE, AudioN 300B, Audio Electronic Supply AE1

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 11-11 of 11  

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