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Cary CAD-572SE MK2

I have Vienna Acoustic Beethoven Grands, with a BAT VK-31SE pre. I am in the process of purchasing this Cary SET amp. Am I going to have a problem with synergy? I have never owned a tubed power amp, just pre-amps. It will be replacing a BAT VK-200, so it seems like it's going to be a huge drop in power. I called Cary today to check on whether or not this amp would drive my speakers and in the middle of the conversation, I realized I was talking to Dennis Had(DAMN!) Anyway Dennis said that it would drive my speakers with ease.
I guess I just want some reinforcement from other Gon'ers that, I am not screwing up too much.
jdodmead
jdodmead OP
241 posts
 
I fired them up and listened for only an hour last night so these observations are preliminary. My pre has to be turned up to 110, where it used to be 65 to acheive the same listening level. I don't know how far it goes and if it is harder on the pre.
I can tell that I have lost some bass and I was expecting a little more airyness. This was only with a couple of cd's, I will try the tt when I get home today. So far,I am a little disappointed, but I am in no hurry to make any decisions(I may just fall in love with them over the week-end).
Maybe my expectations were too high in the first place.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Your BAT goes up to 140, I know, I've owned a 31SE and a 50SE. It shouldn't hurt the preamp to run the volume all the way up.
These amps are not the best mates for your speakers. It's not the amps fault or the speakers fault, it's just a mismatch. The Zero's may help, but I would think, in the end, you'll have to change either amp or speaker to a more compatible mate. Keep us posted.

Regards,
John
jdodmead OP
241 posts
 
So much for being disappointed. I have done a lot of listening and I now am very pleased with my purchase. These amps are awesome. I think I was trying to play too loud to start with and I think they may have been sitting a while without any play time. I have plenty of bass and the soundstage is to die for.
I still am concerned about the heat and tube life, but I think I will hang on to these until I upgrade and then probably still in the Cary line. I love the Cary sound, not that I don't like my BAT products, but there is just something about the Cary sound that draws me to it.
tomryan
794 posts
 
As a former owner of 572SEs (about 5 years ago) I suggest you quickly buy as many output tube pairs as are available. I don't think they are made anymore and the life expectancy tends to be about 9-10 months. Get 'em while you can.

By the way, I also thoroughly enjoyed the music making ability of these, my 2nd SETs. They properly and loudly drove ProAc 2.5s in my small (11 x 13 x 8) listening room and had good bass control, extended highs, real musicallity, etc.
jdodmead OP
241 posts
 
I did receive an extra set of 572's when I received the amps.
Dennis Had also mentioned around 9 months would be the anticipated life span of the tubes. He also suggested sending in the amps to be upgraded to a different tube for a $1000. I thought I would wait until these went and then I would sell the amps(with the spare set of tubes)and then upgrade to one of the newer models.
If I did want to buy extra tubes, any Idea what they cost?
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