Cary 2A3 opinion


I am starting a 2nd system and am looking at the Cary preamp with their 2A3 mono's. 'Small room, acoustic music, 91 db speakers. The other possibility is perhaps a Mesa Tigris (yes, very different). Thanks for your opinion.

roy c
zbroyc
I have the Cary 2A3's and find them an excellent value. They sound best with the KR tubes which they are supplied with from Cary. So far I have used the Valve Art 2A3's (shit) and a couple pairs of RCA's which are nice but a little rounder sounding. It is about synergy no doubt. The best pre I have mated the Carys with so far was the VAC Standard. For the record source was strictly digital.
I use a Cary 94 preamp with their 2A3 Monoblocks and the upgraded Bel-Canto Dac-1. I tried several hi eff. speakers, 90dB, 92db, 94dB, sound was OK but the 2A3's did not do their magic until I switched to a 98dB or higher speaker. I use a Klipsch KLF 30 tower speaker 102dB. If you can, demo your speaker selection first with the 2A3's.
Good Luck, let us know what you do.
Lak makes a good point Zbroyc, I forgot to mention in my previous post, I use the Avantgarde Duo's
Stick with the Cary combo. I prefer the sound of the 2A3s with the SLP-50B preamp. This little amp kicks real butt. Now, nothing in audio remains for very long. If you want to hear the Cary 2A3 at their best, listen to them with the new Hovland preamp. They tighten up, things become more focused, plus you still get "involved" with the music. Man, do this combination really sing! By the way, cables by Nirvana and Avantgarde Duo speakers. Sorry, you must move to a larger room. Happy listening.