Tubegroover,
IMO, the bass on my Cary V12i with stock tubes is not quite as you described about the Cary house sound in general. Perhaps this is just my experience, but being very focused on the bass in recordings I listen to, I have been happy with the V12i which is fed by sources run through an SLP-98. I use Spendor 1/2e speakers, also known for their mid-range so maybe I'm the exception and not the rule. I will say that once I upgraded the Chinese EL-34s to Siemens and the Chinese 6SN7s with Sylvanias the bass really opened up. However, before then I was still satisfied with it.
IMO, the bass on my Cary V12i with stock tubes is not quite as you described about the Cary house sound in general. Perhaps this is just my experience, but being very focused on the bass in recordings I listen to, I have been happy with the V12i which is fed by sources run through an SLP-98. I use Spendor 1/2e speakers, also known for their mid-range so maybe I'm the exception and not the rule. I will say that once I upgraded the Chinese EL-34s to Siemens and the Chinese 6SN7s with Sylvanias the bass really opened up. However, before then I was still satisfied with it.