I dont have any experience with the Cary but I owned the VTL 2.5 for a short time. In my system it was uninvolving at best. I traded it in for a 5.5 which was better but not great. Now I have a Supratek which for Linestage only retails for $2100.00 (if I remember corectly)and in my opinion is in a completely different league than the 5.5 and this is going to be hard to believe but I also prefer it to the 7.5. It is possible that I just dont care for VTL pre's. I do however love their amps. Good luck.
