Digital Drive: Cary CD 303/300 And AC Outlets by Luminator

I'm still scratching my head why Naim would advocate using throwaway powercords, and plugging the gear straight into the wall. Here in the SF Bay Area, and at my relatives' homes in Honolulu, plugging Naim gear straight into the wall is about the worst thing you can do.

I have the Naim CDX2/XPS2. The combo sounds best when plugged into a good PLC, such as the World Power Power Wings.

It is obvious to anyone that powercords wield remarkable influence over Naim gear. But the trick here is to find powercords which do not introduce negatives and trade-offs.

Likewise, the worst thing I can do is plug the Cary CD 303/300 straight into my wall with throwaway powercords.

The first thing you should do, not just for your CD 303/300, but for your entire system, is to select the right AC outlet. Do this BEFORE you futz around with powercords and PLCs.

The Wattagate 381 has been a long time audiophile favorite. It's easy to see why. With stereotypical warm, bloated, loud audiophile gear, the 381's mid-treble emphasis is complimentary indeed. And in some ways, the 381 helps the CD 303/300 (especially if you're using the EH 12AU7) get some much-needed bite.

With the generic hardware outlet that came with my house, I find the 303/300 to sound like, well, a glorified Discman. That's all. It's like a melted candle, after the wick's been all used/burned up. The music is garbled and scrunched up into a little ball, some nebulous area behind the speakers.

I vacillate between the Oyaide SWO-DX and SWO-XXX. The DX is like a good outlet on steroids. The music takes a few steps forward. The imaging? It's like when you go from a relaxed state, to one where you're flexing your muscles. The CD 303/300, when used with the DX, simply sounds less feeble and insecure.

The XXX is, in some ways, harder to pin down. I think it has a freedom from coloration. That allows gear to sound the way it should. But that's an elusive character. The XXX dissipates that electronic mist or haze that clouds your view of the music. But once that mist disappears, do you like what you see? I think the XXX is the most honest-sounding outlet. It works that way, regardless of what I plug into it. But if you listen to less-than-stellar recordings, sometimes that sonic faults distract from getting to the core of the music. The XXX's brutal honesty can, at times, lessen the enjoyment of the musical experience. You get caught up in the 90% that is wrong, rather than the 10% that is right.

Yet, when I'm using, say, the Wright Sound WPA3.5, I adamantly insist on the 6SN7 that doesn't shut down the top end.

From an overall perspective, with my local PG&E power, I have a mild preference for the XXX. My #2 choice would be the DX. A distant #3 would be the 381, and after that, I'd go with PAD, PS Audio, and Shunyata's outlets. I have not tried Oyaide's red GX outlets, which are supposed to have a warmer, more luxurious sound. That's the opposite of what my system needs, so I skipped it. You, however, should not overlook it. And who knows? If I were to keep a 303/300 in my headphone (AKG K1000) system, maybe the GX would be optimal.

Okay, so AC outlets are important from a whole system perspective. But as I learned from plugging the Cary CD 303/300 directly into the wall, this is just the start. You won't know what the CD 303/300 can do, if you're merely plugging it into the wall. This is just a glimpse. I shall address powercords and PLCs next, at a later date. After that, I plan on reporting my interconnect and tube-rolling experiences.

-Lummy The Seahorse

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