My system was designed for blues, jazz, vocals, acoustical guitar, etc. It was not designed for the ground pounding bass that some people want. If you are looking for an un-natural bass sound then solid state is your answer. However if you are looking for true natural sound and bass, then my system has it.

When I started my search for a simple high-end system I walked into some of the biggest hype ever. Very few businesses sold tube audio and all stated that solid state sounded as good and all of the reviews I read all compared solid state to tube. My big question was if tube is the comparator for SS why not just buy tube?

One day in Seattle, Washington I was system shopping and listened to a Musical Fidelity flag ship system with B&W speakers. Price tag about 30k or maybe more, it was the 1KW system. By the way Musical Fidelity uses tubes in this preamp stage, again why? I then went up the road a few blocks to a small shop, Audio connection, owner John Zimmerman. There I found someone that was more interested in a system that sounded real then my credit card and how much was available on it.

The system that John had put together was the Cary SLI-80, Cary CD-303/200 and the Jamo speakers. I was in complete awe after hearing it. I had just listened to a 30k system, which sounded great but missed the fine edge of realism, warmth and character.

After my purchase of the Cary components I had a small issue with the CD player. Then the owner of Cary Audio Design, Dennis Had, stepped in and presented me with customer service that is unheard of these days. He was willing to stand behind his product until I was a completely satisfied customer. The only reason that anyone would go this far is due to the fact that the product is some of the finest built and any problem that makes it to the customer was unacceptable to Dennis. This is customer service at it s finest and I truly believe that anyone else purchasing Cary products can also feel safe knowing that Dennis Had and his team really do care about you the customer.

My final step was to add some good cabling without the hype. The owner of Echo Audio in Portland, Oregon helped me to clear up that issue. I added LAT International cables to my system at a price that I consider to be at the edge of diminishing returns. I believe I am getting the maximum value at a good price. The best thing about LAT cables is the fact that they build them to remove two factors, RF and EMI signals. I believe that it is not what you hear rather then what you don’t hear, that is RF and EMI signals through your cables.

I then placed the components on a Standesign rack system. I replaced the wood with granite slabs to give it more stability.

The sound just keeps getting better and better as I pass the break-in point.

Special thanks to:

John Zimmerman of Audio Connection, Seattle, Washington

Dennis Had of Cary Audio Design

The good people and owner of Echo Audio in Portland, Oregon