2 CH Rig Started - Proac coming North

janmike

The 2CH rig has finally started. I have just secured a deal to purchase a pair of Proac Response 2.5's. I have had this plan for a while now and I basically know what some of the gear will be behind these sought-after speakers. The pre will be a Simaudio P5 and the amp will be Cary 805C or B monos. These two will take a little time to acquire; well, not as long as perhaps my wife would think. HA HA. Thanks a lot Jesse, I could not have done it without your help.

As well, I wanted to experiment with my source a little. I currently have a Marantz SE67 CDP and just purchased last week a Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 21 DAC. It should be here this coming week. This will be my first exposure to any tube gear and I am hoping that the results will be favourable. Maybe a SACD player will happen down the road.

Now comes the question that I am hoping some of you tube guys can help me with, especially people with Cary gear exposure. I have seen both the Cary 805B & 805C advertised on Audiogon. The main reason why I am selecting these monos (805c’s) is because of the feedback I received from many owners and reviewers on the Proac 2.5’s. A lot of people have indicated that there is real synergism between the 2.5’s and the Cary 805C’s. I did demo that exact combination in Vancouver this past January and they were real sweet. The question is: would the 805B’s be comparable to the 805C’s? I did see a pair of these for sale on Audiogon last year and the dealer indicated that the 805B’s with the 300B tubes (I hope I quoted that right) would keep pace with the 805C’s. Now that is a dealer talking. I just wondered if any of you folks had any experience with these two. There is a considerable price difference between the 805B’s and 805C’s. I have time to do my homework on this and I want to do this right. Thanks a lot everyone.

PS – Some of the cables have been selected. The speaker cables and IC’s will be MIT Shotgun S1’s. Power cords – who knows.

reeltrouble1

Great news Mike, I got the heads up today from that ole crumudeon himself, way to lend a hand Jesse. Nothing quite like the Polk Pony Express pick up service. You bagged quite a deal, the Rig sounds like it will be something special when you finish, enjoy yourself.

RT1

schwarcw

Wow Michael! Some nice stuff that you have coming together there! I have heard that Simaudio with a Digital amp and a pair of NaO II DIY speakers and I was very impressed. The MF gear is first class as are the MIT cables. I have not heard those Cary's so I can't give you any input there. Congrats and good luck!

janmike

So folks, any words of wisdom regarding the Cary 805B's versus the 805C's. Thanks.

janmike

Where are all you big time tube folks. Surely you have had the chance to evaluate the 805's in your day, at least I hope so. Thanks.

dorokusai

I've owned a bunch of Cary gear but not those particular monoblocks. That being said, almost every piece of Cary gear in-house(7) has had to be repaired(5) by them for something or another.

I love 'em and the SLP-98 F1 I owned was probably the best tube pre-amp I've heard to date....but I'm not planning on buying another Cary product. I'm sure your experience will be more positive.

PS: Save your money and buy the MIT S3. If your going to spend that kind of money on the S1, just get the Magnum M3. I find no internal series benefit to the other models but that's just me. It's all about your rig, not mine.

janmike

Thanks Mark. I have never owned MIT and heard from numerous people that the S1's would have better bass control than the S2's or S3's. The Proac 2.5's will go down to 20hz and I wanted to really take advantage of that. this is quite new to me and really appreciate the info.

The Cary thing has me thinking as well. I am sure that all your Cary purchases have not been lemons. Hmmmmm!

dorokusai

Cary Audio makes kick **** products, it just hasn't been a walk in the park for me. I'm probably one out of hundreds, if not more. Don't count my singular comment into a final decision, as CP has multiple, CA owners, that's on you.

In response to the MIT comment, YMMV and I'm sure the feedback you've received is solid. I'm just posting my comments as I've found no benefit in the higher series with MIT. Be that as it may, MIT cables are the absolute bar for me overall and if you subscribe to the upgrade cable idea, at least you know where I stand.

It's a win win for you either way, good luck.

janmike

Thanks Mark, I appreciate your feedback. I am sure you know that I ask a lot of questions from a lot of people when searching for an audio product. I evaluate ALL of the comments. Thanks.

jm1

Hi Michael,

Great to see you are building a two channel system. You should get lots of enjoyment from it.

When I was in the market for two channel components, I preferred the Simaudio Moon series over Bryston, Krell, Musical Fidelity, Mark Levinson and any tube based components I could listen to in the local market.

For my utilization, I purchased a P-5 and W-3 to go along with Dynaudio speakers. Separately, these Simaudio components are solid performers. Together, they are outstanding in their ability to reproduce music.

I was wondering if you considered the P-5 / W-5 combination. The pair is stunning together producing the smoothness of tubes with the dynamics of solid state. I have listened to this combination many times with a variety of speakers (Dynaudio, Joseph Audio, Monitor Audio, Totem, Wilson Audio, Definitive Technology and a few others I can not recall at this time). Each component/speaker combination produced sonic characteristics I could live with at home.

The Limited Edition of the P-5 and W-5 has a more refined sonic signature. The new Evolution series further builds on this.

If and when you do decide to purchase the Simaudio gear, inquire to determine if it has the latest circuit topology. Improvements were made during the course of its life to further improve the sound.

Happy hunting.

janmike

Thanks jm1. One of the reasons I have been looking at the Simaudio P5 and the Cary 805's is due to the research from independent audio reviews and actual people you own or have owned the Proac 2.5's. A common them theme keeps surfacing. The Cary 805's. Of those people leaning toward the 805's a large percentage of them indicate that over the years they had tried different combinations (pre & amp) and the Cary and Simaudio combination products incredible synergism. The P5/W5 combination is a much more economical route to go and surely worthy of a look. This will take some time to put together so I can do a little more research. I really appreciate your input as it is reinforcing that the thought regarding Simaudio. Thanks.

janmike

Another person I know suggested I look at the Audio Research gear for the Proac speakers namely the LS5 Line Stage and the VT100 amp. Any folks out there familiar with this gear and I wonder how it would compare to the Cary & Simaudio combo?

Ricardo

Audio Research does not get much talk in this forum, but they produce great gear, some in the 5 digits arena.
Probably not in the same level of gear you are talking about, but I went from an AES AE-3 Signature pre (basically a Cary) to an Audio Research SP16 (bottom of the line AR pre) and the difference in built quality and sound was huge (soundstage and definition were the major improvements). All I know now is that if I ever change my pre it will be for an AR higher in the lineup.

I think you should just pick one of many alternatives and go for it; good speakers and good gear will probably sound good

JimBRICK

ok wheres the pics already

janmike

Ok, here are a few pics. The room is a WIP at this point. The Proac Speakers are not here and just as well as we are totally rearranging the room, putting new shutters on the windows and moving all the gear. The 36" TV now becomes a gaming screen in another room as the Plasma will be here at the end of the month. This is going to be one busy room.

schwarcw

Very nice Michael! The room and system look great!

janmike

HTrookie wrote: »

Audio Research does not get much talk in this forum, but they produce great gear, some in the 5 digits arena.
Probably not in the same level of gear you are talking about, but I went from an AES AE-3 Signature pre (basically a Cary) to an Audio Research SP16 (bottom of the line AR pre) and the difference in built quality and sound was huge (soundstage and definition were the major improvements). All I know now is that if I ever change my pre it will be for an AR higher in the lineup.

I think you should just pick one of many alternatives and go for it; good speakers and good gear will probably sound good

Actually I am looking at some used pieces that retail in the 5 digits. More specific, the Reference Series for the tube preamps and/or the new hybrid HD220 amplifier and the VT200 amp. Mind you the used price will not be 5 digits. The synergy between Proac and ARC from what I can gather is awesome. I believe that Proac "voiced" some of their speakers with ARC gear.

del44

Looks like you're getting off to a good start. I'll be interested to see what roads you take, as I am also getting ready to start my 2 channel rig. But I still don't know what speakers I want to build the system around.

janmike

I guess everyone has their own method but for me synergism between components is key. The Proacs obviously work extremely well with tube gear so it is a matter of a little research to find out what other people have used and what type of success they experienced. I am not really one to experiment with loads of high priced gear. This method works for me.

JimBRICK

I heard a pair of Totem Forests when I went on my road trip and these will definitely be in my 2 chan rig. But as you did Janmike I'm going to have to do ALOT of reading cause I dont want to waste money having to change out stuff cause I'm not happy with it. From what I've been reading it looks like most guys here spend more on the electronics in their 2 chan rigs than they do their speakers.