Arbuckle,
I would say the 840 has the deeper soundstage by a hair but either unit will be clear and present well-defined instruments and vocals. The 840 is just better at giving you the resonance of a guitar body while the Cary seems to have sharper leading edges and a less "full" sound (shorter note decays?). We have to talk about "different" as opposed to "better". Both are great. Better than either of these at defining instruments in space was the Marantz 8001, but it was too "cool" for me.
Raul
I would say the 840 has the deeper soundstage by a hair but either unit will be clear and present well-defined instruments and vocals. The 840 is just better at giving you the resonance of a guitar body while the Cary seems to have sharper leading edges and a less "full" sound (shorter note decays?). We have to talk about "different" as opposed to "better". Both are great. Better than either of these at defining instruments in space was the Marantz 8001, but it was too "cool" for me.
Raul