The Cary Audio DMS 300A Integrated Amplifier Review
By Steve Huff
It’s been quite a few years since Cary Audio has released a solid state integrated amp or should I say an “all in one” offering. The good news is that today I am here to talk about the latest all in one integrated amplifier from USA brand Cary Audio called the DMS 300A. This one is pure solid state and does it all, meaning this is one box that needs nothing else to be added besides speakers and cables to get you started listening to high quality music. The 300A is built to be the main hub of your HiFi system and brings 75 Wats per channel and along with it the full Cary house sound. Yea, this one sounds like the Cary tube sound and I am not sure how they did it but they did.
This one is made here in the USA as well.
Ready, Set, Go.
The DMS 300A was designed to be plugged in, turned on and make music via a variety of streaming services that can be used right out of the box. No separate streamer box required or needed and this is right up my alley these days as I have been enjoying the Devialet Astra all in one for most of this year. These kind integrated amplifiers bring convenience and are for those who want less boxes, less cables and of course to spend less money, yet still achieve high quality audio.
The Astra has been incredible though this gold leaf model sells for $25k new, where the Cary comes in at $5999 new. Quite the difference in price and yes, the Astra brings deadly silence, zero distortion, superb transparency, big transients and a very special way it does a holographic soundstage. The Astra comes with a custom made remote as well, that is world class. So yea, the Astra is a much more high end piece and it shows but not everyone has the funds or the balls to spend $25k on an integrated amp. The Cary fits in this spot quite nicely, for those who refuse to spend $20k+ on a high end all in one integrated amplifier. Yes indeed the 300A does quite bit of the same things that the Astra does (Streamer, Dac, Pre, Amp) but with less power and a Class A/B amp section vs the higher power class D in the Astra.
I don’t know about you but saving $18k or so sounds nice as that can be used for cables, speakers or room treatments if needed.
The DMS 300A First Impressions
I was listening to my Devialet Astra for a week or so before I placed the Cary in so I could get used to what $25k sounds like. I also had a few weeks with my $7999 Cayin SOUL 170i which is my current tube amp reference, so my ears were ready and I believe would let me know instantly how the Cary was doing when it comes to performance.
Before I get there let’s go back to when I unboxed the 300A.
Out of the box everything seemed quite simple. There was paperwork, a remote, a power cable and the integrated amp itself along with WiFi and Bluetooth antennas. I was sent the silver unit and when I placed it within the system I inspected the design and style of this piece as it is quite different from others I have had through these doors. It also has something I haven’t seen yet in an audio product.
AUTO SENSE FRONT PANEL TOUCH DISPLAY
It looks quite old school in some ways yet modern in others. The 300A from Cary features a touch panel of sorts. Not like what we see with your cel phone but instead when you plug this unit in and walk up to it you are recognized! When you get close to the DMS 300A the electric blue display comes on with the lit up power button. Here, you touch the button and the unit will power up. It’s interesting to say the least as I am used to physical buttons on amplifiers but this one is all touch and I think it’s cool that it senses you when walking up and wakes itself up.
Once on you can then select your input. When you go to streaming, this will activate the internal streamer and you can instantly stream to the 300A usi9ng your phone or tablet and any music streaming service app such as Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, Apple, etc. The 300A is also ready to go with ROON. Cary also has an app you can download and will want to do so as it can control the 300A when using other modes such as the USB input for a thumb drive.
Cary says this about the Auto Sense tech in the 300A
“The DMS-300A has a built-in auto-sensing sensor that detects when your hand is close to the front panel when attempting to access a feature. This illuminates the function keys of the front panel (except the center LCD display, which stays on continuously*). The time the function keys stay illuminated can be set to automatically turn off after 10, 20, 30, 45, or 60 seconds, or stay on continuously while powered on by selecting “Always On” in The DMS-300A’ setup menu. The factory default is set to turn off after 60 seconds. *The entire front panel can be turned off, including the center LCD display, with the “BRIGHT” function on the remote. This has a low, medium, high, and off setting.”
It’s a cool display as I love the electric blue color scheme but from across the room the display is very hard for me to see and make out, but I have aging eyes.
On the front of the DMS 300A we see an SD Card slot which can be used to playback any music that is loaded on an SD card. Simply insert the card and you can access the music on it. There is also a USB A input for connecting hard drives and USB thumb drives with music so you can connect all kinds of music here in all kinds of ways, which is nice to see.
There is also a touch button to choose source and also one to change volume. Yea, no physical buttons or dials on this one as it is all used with touch. The remote can also be used and it has physical buttons of course.
So overall the DMS300A has a unique design.
INPUTS of the 300A
The Cary DMS 300A has three RCA analog inputs as well as pre-out jacks to use the 300A as a preamp. There is also a subwoofer out for adding a sub. There is a coax digital in and out as well as an optical input and output. There is a USB 2 and 3 input and an ethernet input for hooking up your router. There is also a wifi antenna and bluetooth antenna.
With the analog inputs you can attach a record player if it has a phono stage, or a phono stage itself. There is not a phono stage built in to the DMS300A as I feel it was really meant to be a streaming machine and this is what it excels at.
STREAM
This DMS 300A, which I call a “streaming music box” is all about one thing, streaming music. This is why I call it a music box as it allows us to instantly stream just about any music we like to the unit. With streaming we have millions of songs at our figertips that can be played instantly. This is modern day hifi here and what the DMS 300a was made for.
The 300A allows you to use wifi or the direct wired ethernet connection to stream music from either the Cary app or the music service app. Yes, it works a treat with Spotify, even with the new lossless mode. Tidal connect works a treat as does Qobuz and Apple. Just set the input to streaming and have at it. I may dump Spotify soon and switch to Apple but can say that it does work with all of these services. The 300A is quite smooth and doesn’t suffer from skips or issues when doing your basic streaming. I no longer use ROON so did not test it in this way but I am sure it works as good as the standard streaming does.
I love music streaming using the apps of the music service as usually apps made by the manufactures are severely lacking. Here with the Cary app I see no different. It works, but looks like it was made in 1999 and is sort of clunky compared to other apps made by gear companies. The good news is I never had to open the Cary app as I was able to stream without it. Again, I streamed mostly Tidal. Qobuz, Apple and Spotify and never had a freeze, pause or issue. I can’t say the same for a fancy streamer I just had in here and sent back without review. The more pricey box was freezing, lagging and skipping. The Cary streamer that is built in here works without issue and sounds quite nice with the built in DAC of the 300A.
It just works and does what is asked of it.
What about the DAC inside of the 300A?
The DAC inside of the Cary DMS 300A is of the AKM variety which is good as these DACs almost always have a more analog sound to them vs ESS Sabre chips. Here is what Cary says about the specs of the DAC, not too much info:
This DAC will also upsample so you can choose this via the remote in real time to find the setting that works best for you. The DAC here is fantastic and I applaud them for making the choice of an AKM as I do not see this often.
The DMS 300A sounds like….
Before we get to the sound here I have to state that I have been listening to Cary amps since the 90’s. I always had their tube amps such as the V12, Rocket 88R, SLI 80, etc. Just recently I reviewed the 300SEI (above) which is their classic 300B integrated amp. I have always enjoyed the Cary tube sound which was full bodied, detailed and rich with a but of warmth added in for good measure. While there is warmth the Cary sound is also about detail and a crispness and clarity that just pops. Carry makes amps that you can rock out to or enjoy intimate soft music with as well.
The 300A is not using tubes but rather is a solid state amp, putting out 75 watts per channel. This is not class D or A but A/B, which many feel is the sweet spot within the amplifier types. Class A runs hot and can jack up your electric bills fast, Class D is about high power but usually has less “oomph” in the midrange, less bass solidity but a very clean distortion free sound. Class A/B seems to offer the best of all worlds as it can have the sparkle and chime of Class A and the speed of Class D with killer dynamics.
Hummmmm
When I tuned on the 300A for the first time after letting it run in for a week or so I first noticed a slight buzz from the transformer, just as I did with the 300SEI in my recent review so the 300A is not a deadly silent amp as it does hum some from the transformer. Well, my sample did anyway. This is heard when up close but at my seat with music playing I do not hear it. BTW, I do have all of my gear running through a conditioner that also eliminates DC on the line. I did try it with and without the conditioner and it was the same regardless.
I Did NOT Expect This
As for sound quality I was not prepped for what I heard as it was much bigger, deeper and impactful that I expected, especially for a 75 WPC amplifier. The sound reminds me quite a bit of that famous Cary Audio tube sound that I have loved and enjoyed for decades. Big bass down below is one of those characteristics. A very snappy and powerful sound is here as well, with drums hitting hard and vocals appearing as if they float in the room in front of you. All signs of a great amp here as there is no sign of lightness yet no sign of bloat either. It’s a powerful sounding amp with impact and balls yet also has some sweetness injected into the sound. It sounds like a Cary, that’s the best way I can describe the sound.
Cary has voiced this amp so damn good that this is truly the star of the show here. The 300A sounds like it has more power than it does and it’s the opposite of wimpy. Sure it can do the “airy highs” like most amps but it reminds me most of the Galion A75 I have here with the P75 preamp that uses tubes. These two sound very close and both have an “alive kind of sound” that can rock the house down.
As I was listening to the Galion P75 and A75 seperate combo and then the Cary I heard the Cary as a bit cleaner and more open but they were very very close and both had a powerful sound to them with the Cary edging out the Galion in bass and the midrange magic by a little bit. The Galion separates are around $3k ish but do not bring with them a steamer, touch panel display or DAC. The Galion are made in China, the Cary is made here in the USA and comes in at $5999 so double the cost for a one box all in one solution that offers a similar powerful sound as the separates that do not have the extras. With the separates you will have to add a DAC and Streamer which can cost thousands.
This makes the Cary seem like it is priced in the right price lane here. While it doesn’t best my $25k all in one in the Devialet Astra or sound as tuby and full bodied as the Cayin SOUL 170i ($7000) it easily stands toe to toe with any all in one integrated within its price range. I’d say for all out sound quality it is 90% of my China made Cayin SOUL 170i when the Cayin is paired with the Fezz Equinox DAC and Eversolo T8 streamer. These come in at a total cost of around $11,500 or double of what the Cary costs.
There is a ton of competition out there in this space of the integrated amp. They are everywhere and finding the “the one” can be a challenge. At the same time, if you are looking for a one box solution that is made in the USA by a well known company that has been in business for decades, the DMS 300A from Cary should be under consideration. As an all in one with a streamer, DAC, preamp and DAC along with the made in the USA pedigree we have a piece that is simple to use and does it all. Just add speakers and speaker cable. That’s it. No boxes, no messy run of cables everywhere, only one power cable. This also comes with no stress as you will not have to wonder what DAC to add, what streamer to add, etc. Of course you can use this Cary with an external DAC if you like but the one inside is fantastic and would be the one I used if I owned the Cary.
FINAL WORD
My final word here is that Cary created a solution that offers up a huge dosing of their tube sound but all within a solid state one box solution that doesn’t get hot nor will it make your electric bill climb to the heavens. The DMS 300A has an interesting design with its touch panel that activates when you approach it and comes in silver or black. It allows you to stream from most all streaming services using their own apps or you can use the Cary app (which does look dated). You can insert a USB drive or an SD card with music and it will play from there as well. This is a modern day streaming machine made to be a music box for your music.
You can buy fancier all in one boxes that offer more but be prepared to pay! My Devialet Astra comes in at $25k and also has a one box solution with a streamer, pre, dac and amp (also a phono stage) but the Cary is $5999, or 1/4 the cost of the Astra, They do similar things but one is made in France using the latest modern tech available and is built to be an exotic high end all in one that has no weakness and it is why this is my reference solid state all in one integrated amp. With that said, it’s $25k then there is tax, shipping, etc. For those who want to spend less and have a lot of this functionality, minus the phono stage and word class remote and design, the 300A makes a ton of sense. This Cary DMS 300A does 90% of what the Astra does in function but costs $19k less.
The sound of the 300A is powerful, rich, deep and offers up the Cary sound which is big, full and crisp at the same time. Super with rock music, dance music or any music that demands high energy, The Cary can also do vocals in a magical way with a holographic stage that has some height to it as well. The remote is large and has a ton of buttons so it’s not the sleekest remote but it does the job. I use it for volume only really but you can use the remote for a variety of things. The 300A uses AKM DAC chips which are some of the most analog sounding DAC chips around, and this is why I feel they have gotten so close to the sound of their tube amps.
Everything here in the 300A was built to work together and sound their best together, from the streamer to the DAC to the amp section. I did hear a slight hum from the transformer when close to the amp (I hear this is maybe 40% of the amps that come in here) but at my seat with music playing I could not hear it at all. Overall this is a solid offering in the integrated amp market and offers up an analog amp section with 75 WPC (Class A/B) and a mix of digital and analog ins and outs. Add a sub with ease as it has a sub out. You can also use the DMS 300A as a preamp into a power anp so this one gives you options to expand later if you so desire.
Overall this is a solid offering from USA based Cary Audio. There’s a reason they have been around for decades and the main reason is the gorgeous sound quality they offer in both of their tube and SS designs. The Cary sound is different from the rest and I like to compare it to an old 1970’s USA made muscle car. Big, bold and beautiful.
