Funny had the Lumin T2 next to the Cary 600 and the Cary Killed it. Cary much more robust. Lumin would sound good for a half an hour then hurt your ears. In the right system though the Lumin is a great sounding player. You would have to start at the player and work backwards. Lumin T2 is definitely not plug and play. Plus it was a bitch to sell.
I had the Cary DMS-500, and LUMIN T1, at my home, at the same time, and the Cary killed the Lumin hands down. Not even close. I sold the Lumin T1 shortly thereafter.
IMO, if the DMS-700 is only slightly better than the 500, it will be an outstanding value in DACs.
Tough to compare the Lumin T2 to the Cary 700 if the Cary is anything like the DMS 600. You cannot just swap players. They are so different, to get each of their best you have to match the electronics, speakers and cabling. The Lumin is super detailed, The Cary is much more full sounding but not as highly detailed. So if you have a system that sounds great with the Cary it will get tiresome with the Lumin. If it sounds great with the Lumin, you may find it not as exciting with the Cary. Both are great players. The Cary will be much more forgiving in a system, but the Lumin will sound fantastic with properly matched cabling , etc.
Most people dont know about the lumin trans code to dsd setting when appled it sounnded far better then the cary also the t2 needs a few hindred hours of burn in
The lumin had a bigger and more defined soundstage
Benzin the t2 is plug and play it is also easy to sell comparing lumin to cary is laughable lumin is con sidered one of the market leadetrs in streamer hardware and software design
Also do you think in 10 years cary will even still be here? When the companys main designer Dennis had left cary has struggled to come up with winning new products
We found the majority of their produsts to be okay rather then trailblazing it was a shame to see a once proud amarican company be decimated by prima luna in the market
Audiotroy, You are no longer a Cary dealer correct? You are a Lumin dealer though, correct? By meaning plug and play I mean into an existing system SQ wise. Not hardware. Most systems will have to be tuned to fit the Lumin. The Cary will sound good in any system its installed. I had the the T2 paired with the Magico S3 with a MicroZotl pre and Kismet Mono blocks. Audience AU24SX loom for cabling. All pretty decent stuff. 7 out of 10 songs would be great. The other 3 would irritate you. A detailed cable loom for the T2 is not good. Silver would be not be a good match. All I am saying is that the Cary will fit many more systems than the Lumin with out re configing your whole system. Sabre Vs AKM are two totally different sonics regardless of implementation. Sabre more detailed, AKM a little smoother. All depends on what you like and the rest of your set-up.
This is a thread about the Cary DMS 700. Not the Lumin T2 Thank you for respecting that going forward.
Benzmj an we dropped cary as their most prosmising products from a sound quality to price stand point were okay sounding after living with them for a while the dms 500 we had was a bore
As per ess vs akm the chip is just one part of the receipe if you know how to setup a system u can get great sound with either
Benzman we are going to have to disagree we hate magico they do not sound natural or musical so any system that has a user with them means we appreciate different things although it is possibile your system may sound different
Bro are you voice to texting? Do you maybe have spell check? I got rid of the Magico's and I agree they where not a great sounding speaker. Their series II are much better. The DMS 500 is ions ago. 2016 The new Cary's sound much better. The T2 is super detailed so a more natural Dac is going to sound a little boring. I have heard many people say they have bought the Lumin's and couldn't wait to sell them. Its the Sabre dac. To some people its like nails on a chalkboard. Like I said if you have the right equipment the T2 is a nice dac/streamer. Everything else in the system has to be dark or neutral. I have been thru the Aries, Aurenders, Lumins, and the Cary to me is the best sounding DAC/ player/streamer in my system.
$6000 or $8000 more so is a hefty price to pay to find out. And once somebody plunge those bucks he will nit have other choice but to praise it (in order to sell it to the next guy).
That’s ridiculous. I’m sorry and I’m a long term Cary amp and preamp owner too. Uh, $7995 retail ??? for a network-streamer-DAC with R2R. People are using iPads, pads, laptops, not a puny display on front of a unit smaller than a mobile phone. A great example of how out of touch things can get when market moves right past ya.
Bummer. This is exactly why so many people are going in different directions outside of the USA now for streamers and DACs. Schiit made in California or Border Patrol in Maryland both have the right USA approach - quality, fair price, value, competitive sounding, selling products without having to discount. They get it, keeping it in the USA too! Survival of the fittest will prove true in this new digital era of audio. Valid competition is forcing prices down, fast. Voting for those who adapt fast, survive, and thrive.
A $315 Allo.com Digi One Signature Rasberry Pi streamer (euro made with india R&D) with optional power supplies paired with a variety of good $1k to 1.5k R2R Ladder DACs at less than 1/3 the total price, with equal or better result. Hopefully others in the USA (like Schiit has) figure it out sooner than later. Value gets the $ from the majority mainstream audio consumer any more.
Street price will be under 6k and Cary will sell a ton of them. Much better sounding than the Aurender A10 and the Lumin T2. Plus more features I don’t think the Rasperry Pi crowd is their target audience. It’s guys like me that want a one box solution. I have been thru the seperate streamer/ Dac/ uSB/ Regen/seperate power supplies/ system. The Cary is a great looking unit that sounds great and removes clutter.
I have placed a pre-order for the DMS 700 and currently have a Lumin T2. While generally happy with the Lumin, it does venture to the bright side as a kind of side effect of the clarity and detail. Could be chasing my tail here, but I have owned Cary products in the past and have always been a fan since my original SLI 80 days--so I have reason to pursue the comparison and the 30 day trial allows me to do just that. If I can squeeze between what I like about the detail of the T2 and what I'm hearing about the Cary is less of an edge, less brittleness, then I'll keep the piece. I'll be running it with an Audio Research GS 150 amp and Reference 6 preamp into the new Wilson Sabrina X speakers. The comments about the marketing were; however, disconcerting and won't help if in fact details have been misrepresented about the uniqueness of the R2R & tandem approach. But I'll reserve judgement and let the results dictate my decision.
I really liked the Lumin T2 but would have to start over with Speakers and cabling to make it sound good long term in my system. The DMS 600 has a much fuller sound but lacks a tinge of the detail of the Lumin The new 700 hopefully has the best of both. Please post thoughts after a week of warm up. The 600 sounded good right out of the box.
Hi Guys! I'm going to order the Cary DMS 700 for my audio system. I asked for Cary DMS 600 but it is out of stock. So, I have to wait for DMS 700. I have some comparison about these 600 and 700. In dms 600 it has the Blutooth input and output. DOES the 700 one has the same blutooth signals like 600. Thanks for replying me.
This is the Cary claim 6moons disputed: "
Not content using an R2R Ladder DAC alone, Cary says it also
incorporated an FPGA chip that works in conjunction with the DAC to make
sure no crossover distortion is present, “for an extremely coherent and
smooth sound.” While there's several brands employing FPGA DACs
already, and less utilising R2R Ladder DACs, Cary said that “almost no
one uses both.”
Dispute by Ebaen:
"Did you see it? Let's break it down. First, they make a mega fuss over the AK4497 as though they designed it. They did not. They simply bought an off-the-shelf part. The 4-channel top AK4499 version already shows up in the S.M.S.L. M400 we just reviewed. That's $800,not $8'000. You'd expect self-congratulatory noise from Asahi Kasei the chip's inventor, not one of their buyers. Then comes "few companies use FPGA DACs and even fewer use R2R ladder DACs. Almost no one uses both." Either ABC haven't a clue; or they expect their buyers to be clueless. Quite a few companies use FPGA and R2R. In fact, the number of companies using discrete R2R keeps growing. In China alone off the top of my head there are Audiogd, Denafrips and Musician. Looking west, we get to stalwarts Aqua Hifi, LessLoss, MSB and TotalDAC. None of them craw over using an off-the-shelf part. They all roll their own discrete R2R networks. Those of course are controlled by guess what, custom FPGA code. How about Aries Cerat, Audio Note, Computer Audio Design, LampizatOr, Metrum, MHDT, Schiit and Sonnet? Do none of them count? To top it off: "Using FPGA alone as a DAC is not a good idea unless you think company X's local or outside solitary software engineer is more capable than the teams of engineers at giant chip makers not likely." Either ABC haven't heard of Ed Meitner, Andreas Koch, PS Audio, Chord; Co.; or they trash-talk them. Either way, 'twas a sorry day of fake news. Did those belong into our newsroom?Not! It's why I erased the machine's identity. The poor thing is perfectly innocent. It could sound stunning. That's not the issue. The issue is with the copywriter. Promoting a new product with such dubious claims is a sad new low. Hopefully hifi press outlets won't run with this release as is. And since we're still with the current administration, to the copywriter we say: "You're fired!" Now I feel better. Sorry, sometimes spleen just needs venting
We will find out soon enough. Been quite a few units sold. The Aurender A10 is 5500 The Lumin T2 is 4500 Ps Audio Direct Stream w/ bridge is 6899 Mytec Manhattan w/ network card is 6999
Even though Cary will tell you to run a preamp for best results, I ran the DMS 600 directly into a pair of monos for a year. I the added a swarm sub system and it was easier for me to integrate a pre. I added a Rogue RP 7 tube linestage. It added a better bottom ( without the swarm ) and a little more air. It was not night and day,so the Cary sounds damn good as a stand-alone and with the connectivity you can certainly use it as a digital pre-amp.
Street price will be right in line with features and SQ.
I have a 1tb ssd connected with USB. Also a 128 G SD card into its integrated SD player. You can use its digital usb out if you want to use it just as a streamer or any of its digital ins to use as a Dac. Very flexible peice.
I owned a couple of Cary pieces in past. First one was a new tube amp that had design flawed and was charged over 1k to upgrade to “MKII” to correct their mistake. Next I bought their flagship preamp used which turned out to be manufactured out of phase. IT WAS BUILT THIS WAY INCORRECTLY! After multiple calls I had to send back to them at my expense (and return shipping as well) and they finally admitted it was built wrong but I had to pay to repair to get to the way it should have been built. Poor quality control, useless customer support. Only plus is they are built in USA but they behave as if they were from China. I will NEVER purchase any Cary product again.
Looking hard at DMS 700, but not sure if I want all in one or separate pieces. Alternative combination is Aqua La Voce S3 w Evo 432 standard streamer. Anyone care to chime in on what would be the better sounding set-up?
Looks like retail on the Cary and the seperates are real close. Street price will probably be 1500 cheaper w the Cary. Now add in an extra aftermarket power cord a a good usb or hdmi you are adding another 800 or so. 2300 extra but you are getting a ripper and 2 tb ssd. If the DMS 700 sounds as good as that set I would be ecstatic .
I originally purchased a full Cary Audio system when they were just getting started with their direct sales model. Even though I received a nice discount, ever since then, I have been in competition with them when I try to sell one of my components. With their direct sales model, list price means nothing as they discount heavily to move product. This has adversely affected my resale value and initial investment. Also, for those customers that have had to send their units back for service, I feel your pain. Technical Support will not accept any phone calls and has made it very clear to me that e-mail will be the only way they will communicate with me. Not very customer centric. I am able to speak to the Sales Manager for some minor technical issues. Also, since COVID19 hit, their reduced workforce has delayed service repairs as you are put on the back burner as they try to move new product. If you complain enough they will react, otherwise your unit will be held hostage until they get to it. Back on topic. I upgraded from the Cary DMS 500 to the Cary DMS 600 and have been very happy with the sound. With their initial offering of the DMS 700 at $5995, they were only giving me $2,000 for my relatively new DMS 600 on trade. I do not think anyone will be able to justify a $4,000 difference in sound no matter how good their ears are. As was explained to me a while back when the DMS 600 came out, it is Cary Audio's intention to upgrade this streaming unit every 1-1/2 to 2 years.
Like LXGREEN I also purchased from Cary because everything is built in the USA and even took the time to travel to their facility in Raleigh NC and met with the owner. They are very nice people! Just difficult to deal with from a service standpoint. I want to speak to a real human being. When trying to explain a service problem, I have been openly criticized on multiple occasions by multiple Cary personnel for writing too long of e-mails. (Just as I am doing now). So I have had to alter how I correspond with them. Take this as constructive advice for any Cary customer who reads this and has a service problem. I apologize for the lengthy response, but some things about this company need to be expressed.
So has anyone got the 700 hooked up and running yet?I am in the same boat as many, looking at the T2 and the 700. Cary is really running behind as I ordered a slp-05 preamp to audition on 12/23 and still nothing at the door. Currently running Magnipan 3.7’s & Thiel 2.4’s with a Pass X250.8 so I do like detail but hoping the Cary pre will slightly smooth the highs on some digital recordings. If it does then I may be more inclined to go the T2 route as lumin has a decent app as well.
Do not think any have been shipped yet. Hopefully the 700 will have the detail of the Lumin T2 without the etch over long term listening in a brighter side of neutral system. The T2 is a real nice player if you have the matching room/electronics/cabling/speakers. I think a perfect speaker cable for the T2 would be the Silversmith Fidelium. Very neutral thru the mids and highs with detailed bass that needs to be heard. Excited for the 700 though as I enjoy the 600 and it should be a couple of notches better.
For those contemplating or recently purchased a Lumin T2, I recommend patience as the unit burns in. I do not have the T2, but do have an X1. For me I noticed substantial improvement at 200 hours, but even far finer at 400+ hours, which agrees with Lumin recommendations. I have read reports of improvement with the T2 by modification to an LPS, BUT be aware, such modification voids the Lumin warranty, and Lumin will not do repair unless the modification is reversed to original configuration.
Peter Lie from Lumin posts on a number of forums. He is a wonderful source of information and detailed support, plus gives advice on situations not necessarily Lumin. He responds very promptly to postings. Excellent support!
Regarding how Cary is responding via email only, this is quite common among a number of companies, not just audio, these days. The trend had been going on before COVID, but the pandemic truly has stressed manufacturers. The supply chain of needed parts/items to complete assembly and manufacturing has been severely disrupted. Prior to COVID companies utilized just in time procurement models for parts and supplies. Often, they cannot provide accurate fulfillment estimates to customers, because they cannot get accurate estimates from their suppliers.
I just received my DMS-700 today (upgraded from DMS-550). It didn’t take long to install the specially designed spike feet and the the dedicated Cary DMS-700 phone app. The DMS-700 perfoms great right from the 1st minute it was turned on. After 30 mins of playing my favorite tracks in Tidal and Spotify, in my opinion the DMS-700 outperforms the DMS-550 at least 35% better. I hear more details in the music especially impressed with the enhanced instrument separation. And the effect from percussion instruments are amplified thanks to the more accurate and progressive bass. The AKM4499 chipset is much more smoother than the AKM4493 in the DMS-550. I am so glad that i made the upgrade. The upgrade from DMS-600 to DMS-700 could be subtle though.
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