Cary Audio DMS-500

[pmctexas]

Hi - I just got word my Cary DMS-500 Network Audio Server ships on Monday. I'm moving from a USB DAC connected Windows 10 Desktop to a Music Server. I have bunch of DSF files and interested to see (hear) any improvements versus current PC running JRiver. I didn't see another thread on this device so perhaps this is a start of one... My current other DAC's are the Lampizator Amber and Gungnir...

Thanks

[Nuz1]

I saw this unit in the CES coverage. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts once you get yours.

[asindc]

So will I.

[pmctexas]

Will do. Not much coverage on the Cary offering. Perhaps due to them just shipping. I plan to start with it acting as streamer, dac, and preamp both with local Dsf files and wireless to my SAN.

[Hoo Fighter]

Will do. Not much coverage on the Cary offering. Perhaps due to them just shipping. I plan to start with it acting as streamer, dac, and preamp both with local Dsf files and wireless to my SAN.

 

Did you ever get the Car unit? If so, what are your thoughts...

 

Gary

[pmctexas]

I had a few issues with the unit. It had annoying clicks between tracks. It took a lot to convince them that it was annoying as they wanted to blame the source files. They eventually did a unit swap stating the first unit was defective. The next unit did the same thing but when I changed it out of pre-amp mode the clicks went away. Not sure why they didn't know that or even ask me to try that on the first unit. Also, a couple of code issues that they fixed with firmware updates (to be expected on a computer based device). I haven't moved it to my big system yet for comparison with the Lampi. Pro's include single box solution, DSD, solid build, and lots of configuration options. I'm still doing sound comparisons with the Gungnir. Overall, I'm disappointed in Cary especially given the price, treatment and what the competition is doing...

[Distinctive]

Do I see the Cinema 11a nightmare emerging here?

All the Cary digital products I have tried and owned have been riddled with flaws and buggy as hell.

Their amps (when quiet) are excellent sounding, though.

[Hoo Fighter]

Please expand more on your thoughts on the unit once the new firmware was installed.

[hlkaye]

I had a few issues with the unit. It had annoying clicks between tracks. It took a lot to convince them that it was annoying as they wanted to blame the source files. They eventually did a unit swap stating the first unit was defective. The next unit did the same thing but when I changed it out of pre-amp mode the clicks went away. Not sure why they didn't know that or even ask me to try that on the first unit. Also, a couple of code issues that they fixed with firmware updates (to be expected on a computer based device). I haven't moved it to my big system yet for comparison with the Lampi. Pro's include single box solution, DSD, solid build, and lots of configuration options. I'm still doing sound comparisons with the Gungnir. Overall, I'm disappointed in Cary especially given the price, treatment and what the competition is doing...

Could you please provide additional comments about your experiences to date with the DMS500?

[pmctexas]

I have my DMS-500 for 11 months now. It went back again for a new screen which was covered under warranty including shipping. Latest software upgrade added MQA which was a nice plus even though I do not have any MQA music. Sound quality is great at least compared to a PC running Jriver. I found some goofy to me quirks which I sent to Cary buy no major interface code changes so far. iOS control works well. I have mixed feelings to recommend given the price point.

[witchdoctor]

Hi - I just got word my Cary DMS-500 Network Audio Server ships on Monday. I'm moving from a USB DAC connected Windows 10 Desktop to a Music Server. I have bunch of DSF files and interested to see (hear) any improvements versus current PC running JRiver. I didn't see another thread on this device so perhaps this is a start of one... My current other DAC's are the Lampizator Amber and Gungnir...

Thanks

 

Hi, have you had the opportunity to listen to MQA through your dms-500 yet?

[pmctexas]

Yes - I have one sample MQA file and it played seamlessly. It sounded great but really have nothing to compare it to...

[Nick-V]

On 4/30/2016 at 6:23 PM, pmctexas said:

Overall, I'm disappointed in Cary especially given the price, treatment and what the competition is doing...

 

I'm curious if there's a product at a lower price point that offers the same features?

 

I was using a windows 10 ultrabook with SSD via JRiver in my main system with my USB DAC, but the motherboard on the laptop fried and now I'm looking for something to replace it. I'd rather go with a stand alone product rather than another computer.

 

I have lots of high res PCM and DSD files and a Tidal HiFi subscription. I'm looking for a network player that can play Tidal MQA, along with High Res PCM and DSD files. Roon functionality would be nice, but I don't currently subscribe so it's not a deal breaker. The Cary seems to have all the features that I want, although I'm more in the market for something 1/4 to 1/2 the price.

 

The Bluesound Node2 is close feature-wise (and cheap $), but doesn't do DSD.

[ahwelch]

I recently purchased the DMS-500 and have enjoyed how it has taken my system to the next level. My prior system was a NAD M51 with Audiophilleo2 SPIDF converter, had excellent sound but couldn't play DSD. I have the DMS directly connected to my MacMini with a CAT8 cable, no switch involved - only the Macmini is connected to the router. When I did the direct ethernet connection by bridging the ethernet ports full internet access was still maintained by both the Mac and the DMS; I also noticed a jump in sound quality. The DMS also upsamples to DSD256 and plays native DSD512. I find the DSD256 files upsampled by the DMS to sound better than DSD512 upsampled by ROON. Add to that the DMS app that streams Spotify, Tidal etc.

 

After months of looking at various configurations involving NAAs, fiber optic converters etc;  this has proven to be much simpler and sounds great. Even the Absolute Sound has recently made the DMS-500 an Editor's choice. 

 

 

[GUTB]

11 hours ago, ahwelch said:

I recently purchased the DMS-500 and have enjoyed how it has taken my system to the next level. My prior system was a NAD M51 with Audiophilleo2 SPIDF converter, had excellent sound but couldn't play DSD. I have the DMS directly connected to my MacMini with a CAT8 cable, no switch involved - only the Macmini is connected to the router. When I did the direct ethernet connection by bridging the ethernet ports full internet access was still maintained by both the Mac and the DMS; I also noticed a jump in sound quality. The DMS also upsamples to DSD256 and plays native DSD512. I find the DSD256 files upsampled by the DMS to sound better than DSD512 upsampled by ROON. Add to that the DMS app that streams Spotify, Tidal etc.

 

After months of looking at various configurations involving NAAs, fiber optic converters etc;  this has proven to be much simpler and sounds great. Even the Absolute Sound has recently made the DMS-500 an Editor's choice. 

 

 

 

Since you have Magnepans you might not be getting much of a soundstage, but do you care to comment on that? How does soundstage and imaging differ with your old system?

[ahwelch]

@GUTB: the Maggies are not known to have a great soundstage due to their planar bipolar design which creates a tight sweetspot.   I do find that both the soundstage & even the VG imaging improve with higher resolution files and tweaks which reduce the background EMI/RFI. Currently I rate the 1.7 soundstage as good and the imaging as VG to near excellent. Check out forums such as AudioAsylum which deal extensively on how to improve the Maggies - tweaking your listening room setup is critical. Search for Jonathan Valin's review on the Absolute Sound also. Beyond that let's keep additional comments to the Cary DMS-500 which I consider a winner for its price,  network performance and flexibility.

[slingshot]

They have this comment on their website. 

 

*For DSD512 playback, Cary Audio uses proprietary DSP techniques that are not compatible with Roon’s clock management and buffering approach at this time. This means DSD playback is limited up to DSD256 when using the DMS-500 and AiOS products inside of the Roon ecosystem. – The Cary Audio Team

 

Is 512  now working with Roon or do have use their software to play 512?

[ahwelch]

@slingshotI saw that same comment on the Cary website so I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that DSD512 files upsampled by Roon could be played by the DMS-500. Make sure that Roon dsp "parallelize sigma delta modulator" is enabled so multiple cores are used, otherwise Roon chokes on anything above DSD64, at least on my Mac mini. 

[slingshot]

20 minutes ago, ahwelch said:

@slingshotI saw that same comment on the Cary website so I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that DSD512 files upsampled by Roon could be played by the DMS-500. Make sure that Roon dsp "parallelize sigma delta modulator" is enabled so multiple cores are used, otherwise Roon chokes on anything above DSD64, at least on my Mac mini. 

Cary makes very good products in general, although they had prblems with their processors. I am planning on buying the new Vega G2 in December. Trading a record collection for a subtantial price reduction.

[ahwelch]

So far the DMS has been playing DSD512 or upsampling files to DSD256 without any issues. The Cary support has also been excellent with their responses to my queries. I was also looking at the new Vega G2 - appears to be an elegant DAC/streamer which I'm sure will sound great, just pricey at $2k more than what the DMS-500 can be purchased for with the mfr discount. The G2 also doesn't upsample or play MQA like the the DMS. I'm sure the Auralic solution with digital processing separates will yield fantastic sound similar to the DCS approach but at a cost; currently more than my budget.

[bunno77]

Looking at this myself as I've now heard it at 2 hifi shows. 

 

How has it compared to other dacs? Still clicks and pops? Roon works OK? Does it perform as a preamp? 

 

Thanks

[ahwelch]

@bunno77Can't compare the DMS to other DACs other than my NAD M51 which sounded excellent with an Audiophilleo spdif converter. Haven't had the opportunity to listen to other newer DACs but the DMS has taken my listening to another level with its hirez file playback capability. Neil Gaber did a very favorable review in the recent Oct issue of the Absolute Sound - TAS also gave it an Editors Choice award. 

 

No click, pops, etc while playing back files up to DSD256 whether upsampled  by Roon or the DMS. Only issue that just popped up was that last week I had Roon upsampling to DSD512 on my Mac mini and the DMS successfully playing the files even tho Cary Audio has stated that the DMS can't do this in Roon/Mac OS due to a buffering incompatibility. The DSD512 files now start stuttering and then just stop, perhaps one of my recent system setting changes caused this ? I hope to figure this out soon cause my system has already demonstrated that it can successfully play DSD512. Bright side is my girlfriend & I both thought that the DMS files upsampled to DSD256 sounded better than The Roon DSD512 files. 

 

Works well as a preamp, in fact both balanced & unbalanced outputs work simultaneously so I can feed my Woo headphone amp at same time as the primary system. 

 

 

[bunno77]

That's all great news. Hopefully the 512 gets sorted in an update. Thank you very much for the reply. 

[ahwelch]

@bunno77  Great news! The DSD512 playback problem was due to a mid-Oct Roon update. The latest Roon update implemented today re-enabled successful DSD512 playback which I'm listening to right now with pleasure. So far I think that the DMS upsampling is superior to Roon upsampling but I have them both at DSD512 for comparative listening. Hopefully a subsequent Roon update doesn't break this again. Cheers!

[plissken]

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