HornPenguin Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Well all, I offered to purchase a Cary SLA 70. Hopefully the deal goes though. http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ampstube&1079145122&class&3&4& This will be my first tube amp that I will be using it to replace my NAD 314. Hopefully I made a good choice and that it will compliment my Cornwall's. So, let me have it. Is it a good choice for a first tube amp and keeping in mind that I wanted to stay below $1000. What is your take on the sonic qualities of this versus the NAD? Where can I get more information, a manual, schematic. Any good service technicians in Houston? - Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Naa you did good ! You can almost never go wrong buying Cary ! If you don't like it you can always sell it and get your money back ! I bet you love it. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 That seems to be a good deal on that one. I think the SLA-70 is 35W per ch not 30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 The 35 wpc rating was the original rating, but will not hold true due to the amp being modified to triode operation as stated in the sale ad. Used 203 Orion Audio Blue Book listed value(unmodified)is $541. With the triode mod and extra tubes, it seems a good deal that should sound nice on a pair of Cornwalls. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 In general, I think Cary units can be over-priced, owing to their good name and copious advertisements. This is a double edge sword though. It cuts into your wallet more when buy it, but slices off a higher resale value when you sell it. They are certainly units to be proud of. Hope that 35 tube watts doesnt overpower your big ole horns! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornPenguin Posted January 13, 2004 Author Share Posted January 13, 2004 My offer has been accepted. I'll keep you all posted on my impressions when I've had a chance to use the amp. Hopefully it has enough power for my room/music/listening volume taste. Now in the mean time, if anyone could help me find a manual or other information on the amp, it would be appreciated. Thanks! Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I lived with a Cary SLA-70 Signature off and on for awhile, back when the chassis was all chrome. They actually had two versions with the Signature model offering much better output iron than the standard. The Signature also came with a nice triode/pentode switching option and many times had upgraded coupling caps. These amplifiers did have one attribute that you didnt see as often on the average stereo amp: dual rectifiers. They used the 5UG or 5AQ4/GZ-32 rectifiers. They also used the 6SL7 as the pre-driver - Phase Inverter. The SLA-70 had OFC copper (in trans in sig) and Dale resistors. They usually came with Sideral Caps and the wiring was VERY clean, actually extremely neat - all point to point. You need to make sure the rectifiers are up to snuff. These amps can be modified at Cary as well. Personally, I might have opted for the Signature series for the better outputs but both are pretty musical. I might call Kirk if I were you and talk mods down the line. See how it does. A choke and things wouldnt hurt. I have the complete brochure from these amps as well as the original price list for 1990-91. In 91, the SLA-70 cost $1295 and the SLA-70 Signature cost $1695. Drop me a mail and I'll see if I can scan some stuff. See my page on the companion SLP-70 preamp, a modified unit I still have to this day. Cary Audio SLP-70 Online - Manual - Reviews - Pics See the interior of the STANDARD Cary SLA-70 below with comparison at top between Sig model. See big diff in transformer size (large file download). kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornPenguin Posted January 13, 2004 Author Share Posted January 13, 2004 ---------------- On 1/13/2004 12:59:07 AM NOSValves wrote: Naa you did good ! You can almost never go wrong buying Cary ! If you don't like it you can always sell it and get your money back ! I bet you love it. Craig ---------------- Craig - I noticed that NOSValves does not service Cary. Do you know of someone that you would recommend to service my new amp if need be? Thanks, Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Why not let Cary upgrade them to Signature status? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornPenguin Posted January 13, 2004 Author Share Posted January 13, 2004 Mobile - Thanks for the picture and information. I'm sure that I will be learning a lot about this amp and tubes in general in the coming days and appreciate you sharing. I may have more questions once I set hands on the Cary and have had an opportunity to check it out and use it for awhile. - Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornPenguin Posted January 13, 2004 Author Share Posted January 13, 2004 Good idea. I may spend some time with the amp and if I like it check with Cary about doing the upgrade. ---------------- On 1/13/2004 8:55:09 PM Guy Landau wrote: Why not let Cary upgrade them to Signature status? ---------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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