Anyone familiar with Cary 805AE mono blocks and 211FE/AE mono blocks?

MartinLogan Audio Owners Forum

Help Support MartinLogan Audio Owners Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Joey_V

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 17, 2005
Messages
4,380
Reaction score
1
Location
Dallas, TX
Anyone familiar with the 805 or 211 mono blocks by Cary?

I'm looking to buy either pair but wanted to get some input. I don't listen very loud, I probably hover around high 80s, to low 90 db when listening at most.

I have a Cary 05 Preamp running. Speakers will be at least 90db efficient.
 
Have you listened to them and if so, what are the differences between your room / ancillary gear and the room / gear you heard them in?

Trying to keep you out of the financial merry go round black hole.

Also, be careful with the "synergy" issue.

Some speakers "like" an SS amp, others like tubes.
 
Difficult to audition them in my neck of the woods since I have no Cary dealer that handles the speakers I want.

What will probably happen is I'll start with 1 then move and purchase another to audition against the other. Other amp I was considering was plinius ref or sa103 since I had great results last time.

Just difficult to audition around Dallas.

Most people here have mcintosh, audio research and classe.

I only ask because I recall some people on this board running lots of Cary gear into their summits and I can relate 100% since I owned those summits in the past. I think someone was looking to buy the 211 and he already had the 05 pre.

I think it was jwtrace?
 
Last edited:
Sweet amps, both for sure, but as Gordon says, not knowing your speaker choice………… yeah I know you said at least 90db efficient but what if something else trips your button……….well you know the drill, 50 watts of SET power does have it's limits.

Are you focused on a all tube system ? it kinda sounds like it
 
Joey, if there are no Cary dealers in TX, why don't you take a trip to Cary, NC, so that you can listen to them? If I recall correctly, it's a 2-hr flight.
 
I've seen Cary's at Munich and Silverstone but never heard them. Really annoying.

Just go to RMAF Joey and have a good listen around. Show conditions won't be ideal but you'll learn more in a day than you do at any dealer.

Just because kit is current also doesn't mean it is any better than older stuff. General consensus at Munich was some horns from the 1920s made the best system there.

211s run hot so room ventilation is a factor during hot months. I'd wager the Cary's will sound killer with the right speakers, whatever they may be.

Good advice from all above.

I reckon Tidal make very good dynamic speakers. Try and hear some. Better than B&W to my ears by a good long stretch,
 
Last edited:
You need to be choosing your speakers before you settle on an amplifier to drive them.

I'm pretty set on Montis or legacy Summits for downstairs and BW 800 Diamonds for upstairs.
 
Last edited:
I've seen Cary's at Munich and Silverstone but never heard them. Really annoying.

Just go to RMAF Joey and have a good listen around. Show conditions won't be ideal but you'll learn more in a day than you do at any dealer.

Just because kit is current also doesn't mean it is any better than older stuff. General consensus at Munich was some horns from the 1920s made the best system there.

211s run hot so room ventilation is a factor during hot months. I'd wager the Cary's will sound killer with the right speakers, whatever they may be.

Good advice from all above.

I reckon Tidal make very good dynamic speakers. Try and hear some. Better than B&W to my ears by a good long stretch,

Never heard of tidal but will look into it.

Regarding speaker choices... 800 diamonds have sounded pretty good. I heard their 804 with my Cary pre and it was a sound that I could live with. Especially with Wilson raising their prices... And being that I enjoyed the Alexia's but they're 50k+... Probably not going to happen.

Though I am setting up auditions for rock ports and magico.

Either way, the one thing I know... I am getting a pair of ML.
 
Hmm.. great... I just saw a Plinius SA-Ref on the 'gon. $9000. Why does everything that sound good have to be so expensive?

Can't sneak this by the wife either, freaking behemoth.
 
Difficult to audition them in my neck of the woods since I have no Cary dealer that handles the speakers I want.

What will probably happen is I'll start with 1 then move and purchase another to audition against the other. Other amp I was considering was plinius ref or sa103 since I had great results last time.

Just difficult to audition around Dallas.

Most people here have mcintosh, audio research and classe.

I only ask because I recall some people on this board running lots of Cary gear into their summits and I can relate 100% since I owned those summits in the past. I think someone was looking to buy the 211 and he already had the 05 pre.

I think it was jwtrace?

Not me!



Hmm.. great... I just saw a Plinius SA-Ref on the 'gon. $9000. Why does everything that sound good have to be so expensive?

Can't sneak this by the wife either, freaking behemoth.
It doesn't. You really should look at a pair of Hypex NC400's.
 
Hmm.. great... I just saw a Plinius SA-Ref on the 'gon. $9000. Why does everything that sound good have to be so expensive?

Can't sneak this by the wife either, freaking behemoth.
Joey, instead of attempting to get the best of everything at the start, have you considered getting something like the CLXes to begin with, and compromising on something else, then moving up over time?

BTW, I gave you the link to the tube matcher just FYI. It's not really necessary, unless you have a drawer full of unmatched tubes.

You haven't yet mentioned a source. I hope you're looking at a music server instead of a standalone CDP.
 
Joey, instead of attempting to get the best of everything at the start, have you considered getting something like the CLXes to begin with, and compromising on something else, then moving up over time?

BTW, I gave you the link to the tube matcher just FYI. It's not really necessary, unless you have a drawer full of unmatched tubes.

You haven't yet mentioned a source. I hope you're looking at a music server instead of a standalone CDP.

Source was going to be Cary 306sacd with digital inputs for a server.

Also vinyl but that's later.

Regarding clx - I don't think I have the room.
 
Here's an old thread discussing the Cary 805C driving Vantages to refresh your memory...
Bought some Vantages

The 805C, due to its simplistic design, exhibit more of the sweet SET magic. The 211 being a push-pull design, has more bass grip, and more power. They are both great amps and I'm splitting hairs with their differences.

Good Luck
 
Here's an old thread discussing the Cary 805C driving Vantages to refresh your memory...
Bought some Vantages

The 805C, due to its simplistic design, exhibit more of the sweet SET magic. The 211 being a push-pull design, has more bass grip, and more power. They are both great amps and I'm splitting hairs with their differences.

Good Luck

Wow... Thanks spike!! It echoes my hopes that this will be a killer amp.

I assume you've heard both the 211 and the 805?
 
I've heard the Cary 805C driving a pair of Summits, pumping out glorious mids and highs. It was apparent that there was a sense of organic tonal coherency, while maintaining the clarity in the mids. Compared to the 805C (unfairly, of course) it was as if my SixPacs have a couple of layers of veil in between me and my system. That should give you a hint as to what the 805C brings to the table as far as SET sound is concerned. The 211 are too rich for my blood!! Based on what Dennis Had can do with my SixPacs, I would expect the 211 to be a great amp without compromise. Sorry, I can't be of any help with regards to the 211.
 
Great to hear spike... great to hear.

I'm trying not to dip into my savings or my monthly checking and would like to keep my audio expenses coming out of my audio account. Saving some more cash for the amps. There's a really nice pair of 211 Founder Edition on 'gon for $8750 and it's a local pick up for me. There's also a 211AE that ends tomorrow for $6750 but it needs to be shipped and is from 2008 rather than the 2013 FE.

No 805AE amps for sale just yet. Probably around $2-3K less for a pair of monos is my guess, from the used price of the 211.

I have already spoken to Cary and they said that with either speaker choice - either amp will work. They said that the 805 would probably have better mids but that it would be really splitting hairs in that region of sound reproduction. They still maintain the 211 to be the better choice overall.
 
Last edited:
Heads up!! I just spotted this post with regards to the tube sockets of the 211. This tube socket could also be used on the 805C as well since they are the same 845 tubes. Please check with Cary to see if this problem has been addressed or what can be done as prevention measure. Better to be safe than sorry!

Tube socket issue on Cary 211 AE

Another item to keep in mind when considering between the 805C and the 211 is the...cost of tube replacement. It's doubled for the 211 vs. 805C.

Good luck
 

Latest posts

Back
Top