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RE: Cary synergy -explain this

Posted by jsm71 on February 18, 2017 at 09:17:06:
tim, I also have the Cary SLP98P. When I first bought it I was running wih an older McIntosh SS amp. The age of the amp notwithstanding, all Mac SS amps have in input impedance of 20k, so you are in a similar territory.

A Stereophile review by Art Dudley back in 2004 showed the frequency responses at various loads in the measurment section of the review. He also pointed out that amps with lower input impedance might exhibit roll off at frequency extremes. Bass roll off is easier to judge.

I didn't feel that I was getting the full value from the preamp either and changed amps. I switched to a Sanders Magtech at that time and Roger Sanders changed the standard input impedance of 50k to 100k, similar to to what tube amps have. This preamp not surprisingly works great with Cary tube amps, all with input impedance of 100k.

I then due to a speaker change switched to a couple of non-Cary tube amps and the Cary was right at home. I now have Linear Tube Audio ZOTL040, which is a David Berning design. This tube amp has a 50K impedance setting, but the match is still wonderful.

From my experience I believe 100k is best, but 50K may also be an acceptable level. My ZOTL40 is the best amp I've ever owned and the bass blows away the other tube amps because of its linearity.

The Cary SLP98P is a very nice preamp and mine has survived 5 different amps. I also upgraded to NOS tubes a few years ago and that was a major improvement to the sound. I'm thinking of having Cary upgrade my caps and power supply diodes. They offer that now on their web site.