Streamers — Cary Audio DMS-650

The Cary Audio DMS-650 is a network audio player with its own DAC, placed below the DMS-700 and DMS-800 PV in the Cary streaming range. It was introduced together with the DMS-800 PV and uses the AK4497EQ VERITA converter chip, the same part fitted to the earlier DMS-600. Cary announced it in January 2022 as the replacement for the DMS-550, at a retail price of USD 5,995. The faceplate carries no silkscreened logos, and a swoosh shape is cut into the groove on the right side.

Key specs that matter

The DAC accepts native PCM up to 32 bit and 768 kHz and DSD up to DSD512. Frequency range is 2 Hz to 22 kHz at 44.1 kHz sampling, dynamic range is 121 dB at the XLR output, signal-to-noise ratio is 115 dB and channel separation is 107 dB, all at 1 kHz. Total harmonic distortion is 0.0004% at 1 kHz. The RCA output delivers 2.0 V RMS at 220 ohm at the 0.0 dB setting or 3.0 V RMS at +8.0 dB, and the balanced XLR output gives 2.0 V RMS at 440 ohm or 3.0 V RMS at the higher setting. Its aluminium case is 95 mm tall, 438 mm wide and 413 mm deep, weighs 13 kg and draws 45 W, and is supplied for either 110-120 V or 220-240 V operation.

Engineering and use context

Digital processing includes a 32-bit 8x oversampling filter, a third-order Bessel analogue filter, TruBit PCM upsampling in seven steps up to the maximum rate, selectable PCM to DSD conversion with three DSD upsampling steps and OSO re-clocking. Streaming covers TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify, Spotify Connect and vTuner, and the player is Roon Ready and MQA certified. AirPlay and aptX HD Bluetooth in both directions are supported. The player joins a home network by cable or by dual-band Wi-Fi. Files can also be played from a NAS, storage on the three USB-A sockets or a memory card slot, in formats including DSF, DFF, FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, APE and MP3. Black units have a black display frame and power button.

Pairing

Four digital inputs - two coaxial, one Toslink and one AES/EBU - let a CD transport or TV use the internal DAC. A second DAC or recorder can take the signal from the coaxial and Toslink outputs, with the coaxial socket carrying up to 384 kHz and DSD128. A 12 V DC trigger input and IR control allow switching and operation together with a Cary amplifier, and iOS and Android apps are available.

Alternatives

The Cary Audio DMS-800 PV is the higher network player in the range, using AK4499EQ converters in a dual mono layout.