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Time for new CDP, replacing Cary 306/200

Well my Cary CD player finally broke the gears that operate the transport tray. Cary no longer has parts for these 15 year old players so it is time for new equipment. I moved to bum funk Idaho where the local 'hifi' shop has no Cary products but is a dealer, go figure. Unable to hear or demo a CDP in my home, I am gonna take a chance and order a new Cary CDP that happens to be on sale:  https://carydirect.com/shop-now/dmc-600.html
I am not sure exactly why they are clearing out the DMC-600, but I was told by Cary that this newer unit should sound even better than my older player.
I can't find any forum topics on any site for this player. I find plenty of magazine 'reviews' with cut and paste wording directly from Cary. Has anyone heard this player, and what did they think of the features?
bigwavedave
jond's avatar
jond
3,400 posts
 
That's quite a discount and a very feature rich player you can use it as a cd player or a dac and it has bluetooth if you have any compatible devices. It's also pretty cool you get both tube and ss outputs. I can't comment on the sound, I had a 303/200 but that was many years and system iterations ago. I remember it being a solid performer but that's about all I can recall. For the price it looks like a decent buy especially if you are a Cary fan. Good luck!
jl35
2,244 posts
 
Lots of very good reviews   Skip the Cary website and go directly to the full reviews. Cary is a very different company since your CDP was introduced 
stfoth
435 posts
 
OP- The clearout price is great.  I don't know if it would necessarily be "better" for CDs than the 306/200, which has a very good reputation, but I think the 600 is a good player.  My only criticism, as a CD player, the spinner is a bit noisy, compared to some other players.

The upsampling options (does multiples of both 44.1 and 48k) and tube/ss stage are a tweaker's delight.  I still have the stock tubes, but I don't find them to make a huge tubelicious difference.  General tone stays the same, but adds just a tick and can take the edge off a bad rock recording--to my ears with just a slight loss of detail.

The main benefit, though, is that it is a good DAC, too.  I think it's really good, but not quite as good as the similar DAC200ts.  I haven't used it for DSD, with USB, or with BT, so can't comment there.

I'd have to double-check, but I think, like the DAC200ts, it has a volume control, too.  Tried using the volume control on the DAC200ts, but, whether it actually "bit-strips" or not, I recently found it preferable through a passive preamp.  I assume the DMC600 is similar.

So, my opinion, it's a fantastic value at the close-out price, especially if you need a decent/good versatile DAC or other features, and/or enjoy pushing buttons, and/or are considering eliminating a preamp or going with a passive. Strictly as a CD player, I think it probably gets to be a closer call on other options.

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