Hi, I had auditioned both units together EMC 1 MKII, 306/200 in my home system at the same time. My system is CAT MK III preamp, VAC 100/100 amps, Soliloquy Speakers, Cardas cables. The main impression of both units was that the Cary was more laid back, softer sounding, some of the music transients were slower, sounded little on the dark side. The Electrocompaniet revealed more information, but didn't sound bright or fatiguing, the sound was as they claim more analog. It was a sound comparable to my VPI/Benz turntable. The sound quality of both units was great. The ergonomics are different, since the Electrocompaniet is a top loading unit with slide drawer to insert the CD's, Cary is the standard drawer mechanism.
The cosmetics are different, the Electrocompaniet has a Plexiglas front, which looks cool, but if you use other brands pre amp the finish is different. I was impressed with the upgrade ability of the Electrocompaniet, local dealer can change the boards, with Cary need to send to factory and cost twice as much, Cary usually prefer to introduce a new model. Reliability is also important to me, in the past I have had a Cary SL-98 pre-amp, 805C amps, PH 301 phono amp and a I-75 intergraded, even though I bought each one new, all the component had to be repaired while I owned them, I don't know if this is common or I was just unlucky.
The cosmetics are different, the Electrocompaniet has a Plexiglas front, which looks cool, but if you use other brands pre amp the finish is different. I was impressed with the upgrade ability of the Electrocompaniet, local dealer can change the boards, with Cary need to send to factory and cost twice as much, Cary usually prefer to introduce a new model. Reliability is also important to me, in the past I have had a Cary SL-98 pre-amp, 805C amps, PH 301 phono amp and a I-75 intergraded, even though I bought each one new, all the component had to be repaired while I owned them, I don't know if this is common or I was just unlucky.