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How good is a Cary PH302?

Hello

I have a Cary 302 and would like some input on how good or bad it is. I am from Australia so I don't have much opportunity to compare phono stages.

I have the upgrade bug and have been eyeing on amps from Artemis, Tron, mod wright etc.... All of these amps are not much more expense than the Cary, but they all seem to have a great fanbase.

Am I going sideways with the above options or are they a Huge improvement?

I was thinking of upgrading mainly because I would prefer a bit more fain for my zyx .24mv cartridge. Another option I was thinking was to buy an external sut.

Thanks for any advice.
128x128petng

Showing 2 responses by petng

petng's avatar
petng OP
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Cam the modwright be converted to 240v by a techican, or does it have to be returned to the factory?

Overall I am happy with the Cary, but deep down I know having another 10db oh gain will decrease the noise floor level.

The Cary sounded terrible for the first week. Flat lifeless, no dynamics etc... I really eas dissapointed. But I found out that the lundhal sut needed a lot of hours to burn in. Deep down I thought it was BS!!! But I bought the cary so I had to suck it and see . Well it's been 5 weeks now with about 80 hrs on it and indeed the amp has transformed. It's owned up with great dynamics. The strangest thing is that it sounds a lot louder. I have never had any equipment take sooooo long to break on!

If only the Cary had the extra 10 db!!!

petng's avatar
petng OP
0 posts
 
Billy from Cary audio somehow heard of my plight. He has contacted me directly and has already asked one of the engineers at Cary to come up with a solution to give me more gain.

That's great service! I never thought of contacting Cary USA because I had bought this in Austalia.

Will keep you guys posted with the outcome,
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