Cary Audio CD 306 SACD player (non Pro version)

@dilatsnte correct. I have never had the pro model but it would have to sound a whole lot better the the non pro unit as the non pro unit was nothing special to our ears. Not sure what the price differential is either. Once we got one in yo upgrade that's when I found one for myself 

@bigkidz

Which non pro unit were you referring to? Because Cary had made several different CD 306 models prior to the CD 306 SACD player (both non pro and pro). The earlier models prior to the CD 306 SACD non pro were just called the CD 306 that can only play Redbook CD and not SACD and these were completely different design internally compared to the CD 306 SACD (both non pro and pro models). And these earlier models that cannot play SACD were inferior design and did not sound as good as the ones that can play SACD. They are completely different machines.

So, I don’t know which one you have? Does yours play SACD? The 306 SACD one has SACD logo on the front faceplate. And aesthetically they look different as well.

@dilatante - The two we modified were Cary 306 SACD players. I have never had the pro version or any other version you mention.  Cannot imagine that the difference would be that significant to what we did to the non pro version.  In stock form that unit was ho hmm, nothing special.  Once we upgraded the parts in the power supply section, it was WOW.  A huge difference on Redbook only.  SACD no real improvement.  I purchased the second unit for my personal usage in a second system.  Keep in mind that we manufacturer R2R DHT DACs.  I am not a big fan of SS gear but this was exceptional once we upgraded the unit.  If memory serves me correctly, 100 parts went into the unit.

Happy Listening.

@bigkidz 

The only and major upgrades with the CD 306 SACD pro unit over the the CD 306 SACD non pro unit were in the power supply and power supply capacitors as well as the DSD upsampling filters and HDCD decoding chips. Everything else remains the same. Both pro and non pro 306 SACD players have identical analog output stage, disc transport mechanism and exact same DACs and DAC configuration and implementation, etc. same grounding implementations, etc. Oh….and the pro version has ventilation slots on the top cover whereas the non pro 306 SACD version dos not. Mine is the non pro version of CD 306 SACD and doesn’t have ventilation slots on the top cover and runs somewhat hot after couple hours of use because the analog output stage of both the non pro (like the one I have) and pro units run in class A. 

And the price difference between the CD 306 SACD non pro and the CD 306 SACD pro version was between $1k to $2k. 
 

And you mentioned that the sonic improvement after you modified and upgraded the parts in the power supply section was only when playing Redbook CD, and SACD no real improvements. How so? My understanding is if you upgrade the power supply it should have improved sonic qualities when playing everything (both Redbook CD & SACD) as well as when used as a standalone DAC since both these units (both pro and non pro) have digital audio inputs on the back : AES EBU, coax digital spdif (RCA single ended) and optical digital, therefore can be used as a standalone DAC. But it can only receive PCM digital audio signals through its digital audio inputs, it doesn’t support DSD when used as a standalone DAC. But both non pro and pro versions of the 306 SACD players have 4 DACs dedicated for PCM playbacks and another separate 4 DACs dedicated for DSD for SACD playbacks only when playing SACD disc but not when fed DSD signal through its digital audio inputs on the back. They don’t accept DSD signal through their digital audio inputs when used as a standalone DAC. 

@bigkidz 

Would you be able to upgrade the power supply section of my Cary CD 306 SACD player (non pro version)? I can send it in to you if you can and you can let me know the costs. Thank you. 
 

FYI, Cary also made CD 302T SACD player (pro version) with tube analog output stage and the front faceplate of this CD 302T SACD player looks the same as those CD 306 SACD players (both non pro and pro versions) but the top cover is different. There’s a small section of the top cover of this CD 302T SACD player that we can remove in order to roll in tubes. The CD 306 SACD players (both pro and non pro) still have superior overall build quality compared to that of the CD 302T tube SACD player. But they share same disc transport as those of the CD 306 SACD players. 
 

And from what I’ve heard from reviewers who have reviewed both 306 SACD and 302T SACD tube players that the 302T with tube analog output stage sounded warmer fuller and more lush than those SS 306 SACD both pro and non pro units. They sounded different. The 306 SACD (both non pro and pro units) sounded more resolved but a bit leaner compared to the 302T SACD with tube analog output stage. According to the reviewers they both sounded great, just a matter of personal tastes and preferences.