Rather than the slightly soft, sweet, voluptuous signature that many other Cary amps exhibit, the 88 is open, reasonably taut in the bass, and possessed of a magical upper midrange/low treble register than positively glows with vivid transparency and a grainless texture. The harmonic structure of music is faithfully rendered and coloration is low, more so than in any other Cary amp I have heard. While not a powerhouse by any means, the 88 does have enough reserves, especially in ultralinear mode, to drive easily all of the speakers I had on hand (with sensitivities that ranged from 89-94dB/watt) to peak levels over 100dB, more than enough for my needs.

The FREE AVguide review includes a survey of the Clearaudio Balance MC Phono Stage and Van Alstine's Fet Valve 550EX Hybrid Stereo Power Amplifier