Review: Cary Audio Design SA500.1 Amplifier

Category: Amplifiers

This is not so much a review of the Cary SA 500.1 MB’s as it is a comparison with the older Cary CAD 500 MB’s. The comparison is within the context of my system and listening room. See my system page for details. Note however, that the REL sub was omitted for the purposes of this review.

First, some background. I bought the CAD 500 MB’s used about 2-3 years ago. Make no mistake, I love those amps! But last May, I had a chance to pick up an almost new pair of the SA 500.1’s and jumped on it, expecting that the new amps would provide just a bit more of the magic I found in those CAD 500’s. I did an initial brief comparison, then retired the CAD 500’s while giving the almost new SA 500.1’s several months of run in time.

I’m confident the SA 500.1’s are fully settled in now, so today I pulled the old amps out and got everything set up for a proper comparison with the older CAD 500’s. I powered everything up about 7 hours before listening. I selected the following music for comparing the amps:

1. Mahler 3 Honeck and the Pittsburgh SO on Exton and Lopez-Cobos with Cincinnati on Telarc. 4th and 5th movements primarily. If you know this music, you will understand the choice. In addition, I made the trip to Cleveland last weekend for the Mahler 3 Cleveland Orchestra opening night. So the real thing, by a world class orchestral in a world class venue was fresh in my mind.
2. Brahms 3 Makerras/Scottish Chamber Orchestra on Telarc. Selections from 1st and 3rd movements, but primarily the 2nd movement.
3. Bach Mass BWV 236 Kyrie and Gloria. Purcell Quartet on Chaconne.
4. Beethoven String Quartet Op 130, Grosse Fuge and the substitute Finale. Orion Quartet on Koch.
5. Brahms Op 38 Cello Sonata Zuill Bailey on Telarc.

The music was auditioned in the order above with the SA 500.1’s, then in reverse order with the CAD 500’s.
I’ll begin the comparison with a practical consideration. The 500’s run hotter and require more warm up time to sound their best. I have noticed that the 500.1’s settle in after no more than 10-15 minutes, whereas the 500’s should be powered up for about 2-3 hours prior to listening. With less warm up time, the 500’s will suffer from a bit higher noise floor and higher grain than the 500.1’s. This distinction disappears with sufficient warm up time before listening. You have to give the edge to the 500.1’s here, because we don’t always have the option of that much warm up time. The extra heat associated with running the 500’s at idle will not be an issue for most people. They are hot to the touch but you are not going to fry any eggs on them.

Now then, how about the sound? Having run through the music with the 500.1’s, I began retracing my steps with the 500’s. So the first piece I heard from the 500’s was Bailey’s cello. My first thought was “The 500’s are so tube-like in comparison!” Bailey’s cello was presented as one of those warm, wooly cellos. At the other end of the spectrum from Lynne Harrell’s cello, for instance. That also wonderful cello with a bit of bite and a little edge. The 500’s presentation of Bailey’s cello was very much like he himself describes the instrument-- grounded in the earth, when it needs to be. But I have heard Bailey’s cello, and I have to say the 500.1’s got it right. What I heard from the 500.1's was an excellent reproduction of what I heard from Bailey’s cello live. The 500’s were wonderfully musical, but the 500.1’s were more accurate.

Next, the Beethoven. Here the superior spacial attributes of the 500.1’s stood out immediately. There was more air around the instruments and much more precise placement in space of the 1st violin, 2nd violin, cello, and viola from right to left. But somehow, that musicality of the 500’s was obvious here, too. The violins has a sweetness that the 500.1’s didn’t quite match.

Next up Bach. Here it was more of a toss up. The amps sounded very similar will all four soloists. Bass, Tenor, Soprano, Alto, from right to left. No advantage to either amp.

Brahms 3. The 500’s are the best amps I have ever heard with French Horns and brass instruments. The 500.1’s are good, but they don’t capture the magic of the 500’s on brass. The 2nd movement begins with a dialog between woodwinds and strings. Here the 500.1’s distinguished itself as the superior amp. It gets the strings so much better than the 500’s. The 500.1’s drew me into the dialog. The emotional response with the 500’s was lacking. That is until the brass instruments started in again.

Finally the Mahler 3. The 500.1 was again a clear winner. The 4th movement Mezzo solo, “O Mensch! “and the trill in “Was spricht die tiefe Mitternacht?” really underscored the superior accuracy and resolution of the 500.1’s. During the remainder of the symphony the two amps exhibited their respective strengths as expected based on the previously noted attributes.

So there you have it. These are different amps with different strengths and virtues. Both are very good. I find the 500’s a bit more euphonic and tube like with a very sweet top end and upper mid-range. It is really very seductive. It is going to be a bit more forgiving than the 500.1’s. The 500.1’s are more accurate and resolving, and have an advantage with respect to spacial reproduction. In the end, I’ll keep the 500.1’s and probably sell the old 500’s. I guess we can hope that someday, Cary will release the 500.2’s and they will capture the best of both worlds. That would truly be an amp to hold for life.

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