I got a chance to play around with it this weekend at a friends place. We also did a quick comparison with the Naim CDS2.
The Cary player sounded pretty good -- detailed, open and lively sounding. The tube output option sounded less bright and not as open and airy on top, but I am sure that too might be a reasonable tradeoff depending on the system it is in (a true comparison is made a bit difficult by the apparently lower output of the tube output).
If you are into tweaking, the multiple upsampling options could be a source of endless fun. For me, I was less enamoured with this feature, particularly because no one particular option seemed best to my taste for all CDs. The top rate 192k sounded the most open and airy, in a similar manner to SACDs, but it could also sound a bit dynamically soft. Also at 192k, the image would sound wider and have more front-to-back dimensionality, but the image seemed a bit ephemeral and not solidly placed. Both qualities, are what I also here with many SACDs. I tended to prefer the second and third step to the highest step up in upsampling.
Overall, I preferred the sound of the Naim CDS2 player to the Cary in the particular review system (Naim preamp and amp, Spendor S8 speakers). The Naim has a richer upper bass/lower midrange that made the music sound meatier. The sound seemed to bloom into the room more with the Naim. The Cary did sound a bit rough and brash in the upper range and did not have as rich a midrange. But, this is probably an issue of system matching -- the Cary certainly sounded very good, just not as good in this system. The advantage of the Naim player increased substantially when it is supplemented with an optional external power supply, but that puts the combination well beyond the price range of the Cary.
The Cary player sounded pretty good -- detailed, open and lively sounding. The tube output option sounded less bright and not as open and airy on top, but I am sure that too might be a reasonable tradeoff depending on the system it is in (a true comparison is made a bit difficult by the apparently lower output of the tube output).
If you are into tweaking, the multiple upsampling options could be a source of endless fun. For me, I was less enamoured with this feature, particularly because no one particular option seemed best to my taste for all CDs. The top rate 192k sounded the most open and airy, in a similar manner to SACDs, but it could also sound a bit dynamically soft. Also at 192k, the image would sound wider and have more front-to-back dimensionality, but the image seemed a bit ephemeral and not solidly placed. Both qualities, are what I also here with many SACDs. I tended to prefer the second and third step to the highest step up in upsampling.
Overall, I preferred the sound of the Naim CDS2 player to the Cary in the particular review system (Naim preamp and amp, Spendor S8 speakers). The Naim has a richer upper bass/lower midrange that made the music sound meatier. The sound seemed to bloom into the room more with the Naim. The Cary did sound a bit rough and brash in the upper range and did not have as rich a midrange. But, this is probably an issue of system matching -- the Cary certainly sounded very good, just not as good in this system. The advantage of the Naim player increased substantially when it is supplemented with an optional external power supply, but that puts the combination well beyond the price range of the Cary.