Have some (re)discovered Klipsch Heritage for serious 2 channel??

Cary SLI-80 ....as much as I love Rogue, this was the best tube amp I have heard. Someone else can chime in as to whether it might be too syrupy for the Cornwalls.

 

my bad . . . you're right -- they're $8k . . .

 

No worries, as stated earlier I've done crazier things I do like Lux gear though...

The Primaluna you mentioned and EVO 300 I'm going to look at further too - I looked at Prima 3 years ago when deciding tube vs SS then. I actually was out in LA in'19 and stopped by Upscale for a couple of hours of Primaluna looking and sampling one.

Have you heard the CMIII or Pharoah?

 

no, i haven't. i know you mentioned integrated, but i recently "found" quicksilver. i picked up el34/kt88 mid mono amps and a tube line stage for less than $2k -- very good. even better when you think about the price.

 

I recently sold my Chorus II's and like most others who sell their Klipsch's, I miss them. I have a sound I love so no regrets there, but there is something special in those old horns.

 

Snippets from the Stereophile review on the SLI-80:

With the Klipsch Forte IIIs
This was a nigh-on saintly pairing, the rich timbre and mountain-sized bloom of the Cary creating juicy, lifelike images via the Forte III ($3998/pair) and its horn-loaded tweeter and midrange, 12" woofer, and 15" passive radiator.

The soundstage was larger than that of the DeVore Fidelity O/93s, with deep bass that sounded clear, detailed, and reasonably extended. The Klipsch/Cary combination generated the greatest number of Hallelujah! moments.

Conclusions
In my system, the tubed SLI-80HS sounded great with conventional loudspeakers and horns alike, and with all styles of music. It provided an uncluttered pathway to musical satisfaction, LP after LP. Most important—and here's where it shares more than just wood-finish choices with Klipsch—it's tremendous fun.

So flowery statements we all love but I think he's trying to say he really liked the pairing with Klipsch. I didn't catch a Cornwall mention though, but probably a given...

I'll keep this one on the radar for sure.

 

I love my Cronus Magnum III, which is $3,500. I have no desire to change, but if I got an insurance check to start over, I’d look hard at that Cary. Consider buying an amp under budget (both the Rogue and Cary are thousands under), and use that cash for some nice NOS tubes once you get a feel for the amp.

 

Thanks Harris. I've been checking it out periodically today, one step ahead of you. And a couple others. Certainly gets some nice reviews.

The CMIII is duly noted too though! Already on the radar from yours/others offerings!! Plus price is sure nice.

I should add right now on my Accuphase SS, I'm using four inputs (three phono pre's and a CD) so maintaining that would be nice. Even adding one input.

Nice to have: A "main in" where it acts as a bypass and has unity gain to share main speakers would be a huge bonus too. That's one reason why I added a couple grand too, not sure how many will accommodate. BUT that's not a showstopper requirement!

 

I remember talking about your 3-phono Accuphase - that got me looking (drooling) at them for a week. It looks like you switch between the TTs on the phono pre, and only one set of interconnects goes to the amp. You should be good with basically anything then, right? Or do you have more TTs going to other inputs? HTB is available by request from Rogue for little to no upcharge. You just sacrifice one of the inputs to get it. Cary can probably fix you up like that too. Worth an email.

 

I just want to add:

1. I only sold the CM3 for the Pharoah 2 because I have a serious sickness with this hobby. I always feel there is something better and have to chase it once I hear about it. I could have been perfectly content with the CM3, it's that good and that includes the headphone and phono stage.

2. I got the CM3 pretty close to the Cary sound by swapping tubes. That wasn't cheap in and of itself, but I got close. However I did not get there 100%. Try as it might, the CM3 could not replicate the syrupy portion of the Cary's warmth. It will give you nice mellow warmth all night long, but that sloooooow, smoky jazz nightclub hidden back on some lone street is what it will not do like the Cary will. Hopefully you get that reference.

 

Ahh... don't underestimate or assume my level of crazy... I also have a JC3+ and Lounge Gold+ hooked up too... the Accuphase has two now, down from three as had only the JC3+ running in addition for a while.

Variety my friend, different TT's / phono pre's / carts it's like four systems in one, plus any era LP I can choose, etc.

But fully understand most think this is When someone asks me "why do you run multiple TT's" I ask "but how can you run only one if your really into vinyl"

But that's a different discussion. I did get counseling though, it helped as I went from six TT's to four. (no ****)

 

BTW, get the C-37, not the C-27. I wish I'd have been more patient.

Not that the C-27 is a slouch but the C-37 did make some nice improvements... Davey approved.

 

Hey Mike, hope you're well. Did you ever try different power tubes with the Rogue or Cary?

I ask because I've read the same comparison between the two, and my understanding is that the Cary has more of the tube goodness than the Rogue, but the Rogue has more dynamics/slam than the Cary. I've always wondered how, say KT77s vs KT120s would affect that in both amps.

 

I did not. Wish I had with the Rogue. But what you read is absolutely true.

 

Haha! I'd give you the card for my shrink, but I'm already looking at ways to go from two to three TTs in my system. I've got an AR XA that needs to get fixed up before I have to worry too much about that. Interesting timing and company in this thread - the Herron I have now was inspired by (and almost bought from) @mike catucci . I called Keith Herron to inquire about it and he had very complimentary things to say about Mike.

 

Thanks Mike. Sorry to hear about the sickness my friend

You do bring up another interesting aspect though... it'd be nice to get something that doesn't *require* NOS tubes to sound good how does the Cary and / or CMIII do with things that aren't super hard to find or going to eat into the retirement fund?

Yeah, went there, but it is an elephant in my room anyway... some marketing points on some integrateds with tubes are now featuring that aspect too...

 

I've got a set of 66, 77, 88 and 120s for the Rogue and there's definitely a gradient of syrup-to-slam there. I settled on the 120s as daily drivers, but it's nice to have the option to tailor the sound. Makes me wonder if 66 or 77s in the Cary would be too much.

 

Honestly, I like to participate in the "deranged" banter but if anyone is spending more than they have, becoming ill.... then don't do that!

I've always had and continue to have enjoyment.... I've stated before that journey can be as fun as the destination many times.

I've been enjoying what I have for 16 months since getting the Cornwall's, took a break not buying anything.... I also came to the SS vs tubes fork in the road about three years ago, the thread is in the archives where I bought the C-2410 Accuphase line stage, and it was up against a Conrad Johnson 17 LS2 and Primaluna at the time.

But when I took the fork in the road, I've always wanted to try tubes with a sensitive speaker. Why not? Like Yogi said "when you come to a fork in the road, take it!"

In complete control of my finances, wife, sensibilities... I know some will be troubled to hear that... all else slides off like Teflon, but it's fun to joke I guess!

 

CMIII and CWII combo is a winner!

 

As far as the Cary, it does appear to be one of those that reviews very well.... from both users and reviewers!

 

Man of few words!

S**t. That means I gotta sell my IV's now and get the II's.

 

Same here - no sickness, strife, or debt of any kind except the mortgage (I want that debt). We're fortunate souls. Let's indulge in the derangement.

And I'd argue the journey is more fun than the destination. I have zero desire to change anything in either of my systems, and even still I just bought a little pair of Wharfedales a few weeks back so I could have something to mess around with. And @Slimwhit33 's Luxman caught my eye recently too...

 

btw, you serious with that one? It came right after the shrink so I first read it as a joke!

 

Hey, I've seen you're room (as have others) I'm under the impression you have your situation well under control! (that's a compliment!)

Now I have to get off my butt, make the audio / entertainment racks I'm working on designing (which keeps changing) in my woodshop, re-do the couch set up.... then I can take pics like yours!

Actually, like anything those projects compete with many other things, including too much time here at times...

 

Realistically, I'll probably pull the Project that's in the rack now and replace it with the AR XA. I like having two tables because I've got some junky pressings from my punk rock days that I didn't treat very well, and it's nice to have a 'beater' table and cart to play them on. The Project that's in the system now works well for that. It's got a 2M Blue and the push button speed control, which is handier than moving the belt on the Spacedeck when I want to listen to a crappy 45. I run that into the CMIIIs phono stage.