All saved up and ready to Purchas....but need help....lots of it!

[admin_exported]

Please help I have been out of the loop for some years now but once owned Roksan, Copland, Sonus Faber set up. Anyway I now have 6k to go at after 5 years of torture.

I have been looking at Cyrus set up with some xdem stuff:

prevs2,2xpowers,2psxr for cd&pre,cdxtse/dacx,spendor a6,van den hul orchid,chord odessey 2.

I was hoping someone could advise if the CD is a bit top heavy and therefore wait and get the better pre amp due out soon, but then are the x powers not big enough to fill a room 5m x 3.5m.

All you advice is appreciated, and if there are better set ups for the money let me know.

Cheers

 

[Frank Harvey]

It all depends what price you're getting the equipment you mentioned for. Going by normal prices, I'd rather save a little more for the Mono X's, as they're only a little more than the X Powers. With 80 amp peak current/1500w peak output, these will have no problem at all filling any room. Also, I'd rather put the money for the DACX into a DACXP, as this sounds better than the separate combination, and will still be better than the newer products.

 

[Anonymous]

I would take a different approach...

You have £6k in your pocket so get the best bits from the start. Separates like you list are popular common because they allow the cost to be spread through different upgrades, but having the money upfront gives a better option.

I would spend £5k on a big pair of active loudspeakers, and the remaining £1k on a DAC/pre.

For example, ex-demo I've seen ATC Active 50s @ £5k (from £8k), and Cyrus DAC XP ex-dem at £1,200 (from £2k+).

Use a laptop as a source and you're away.

That system will be in a different league to the Cyrus/Spendor combo listed, and even better than What HiFi's reference, which uses the passive ATC 50s.

 

[Anonymous]

Edward,

That is a different option and you seem to know your onions. But shelling 5k on some speakers would kill me. Can you think of an alternative option than the Cyrus which is more on the shelf: ie Myrad, Meridian etc!

 

[Anonymous]

Stew,

The best thing would be to go and demo some systems.

They all sound different and might be personal preference at the end of the day.

Maybe ask a shop to set up a few one-make systems, take a listen, and see which flavour you prefer.

 

[Anonymous]

Stew, I'd recommend that you go the route that FrankHarveyHiFi recommends partly as its where I've ended up.

The monos will give you more power and reserve on transients and are far less bulky as they don't benefit from PSX-Rs (so two boxes vs 4 for 2 x-powers with PSX-Rs).

The DAC-XP is also a winner in that its a DAC and pre in one (again you only need 1 PSX-R saving on the box count again). You benefit from the fully balanced design and can control the inputs on the DAC in a much more convenient way. As far as I know you cannot select inputs remotely on the DAC-X.

If you then go for a CDXTSE + PSX-R your box count will be only 6, you'll have the benefit of the best pre that Cyrus make and have amps with plenty of grunt and a fully balanced system if you choose to use balanced interconnects.

 

[Anonymous]

Grimaldi,

Finally a man after my own heart....just to confirm

DAC XP ( 1 psx-r), 2 mono x ( no need for psxr's ) CDXTSE ( 1 PSXR ), that leaves room for the tuner on cryus hark at a later date.

I am a bit thick and out the loop, the DAC XP will run alongside the transport CDXTSE, therefore no need for the DACX to make an intergrated CD Player?

Tell me is the the best set up Cyrus offer? and please tell me what speakers you recommend. I love the look of the Sonus Faber Concerto Domus at 2.5k, but the Spendor A6 everyone says to get 1.8k. The GS20'S are too bright??.

I like my speakers to souund controlled, dynamic...

What Interconnects and cables would you use with your speaker choice, and have you heard which ones work with Cyrus to Sonus?

Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

stew31:
Grimaldi,

Finally a man after my own heart....just to confirm

DAC XP ( 1 psx-r), 2 mono x ( no need for psxr's ) CDXTSE ( 1 PSXR ), that leaves room for the tuner on cryus hark at a later date.

I am a bit thick and out the loop, the DAC XP will run alongside the transport CDXTSE, therefore no need for the DACX to make an intergrated CD Player?

Tell me is the the best set up Cyrus offer? and please tell me what speakers you recommend. I love the look of the Sonus Faber Concerto Domus at 2.5k, but the Spendor A6 everyone says to get 1.8k. The GS20'S are too bright??.

I like my speakers to souund controlled, dynamic...

What Interconnects and cables would you use with your speaker choice, and have you heard which ones work with Cyrus to Sonus?

Cheers

Yep that's right, 6 boxes in total as you describe.

The DAC-XP is a pre amp and DAC all in one. It has two analogue inputs and 6 digital (4 coax and 2 toslink optical). You basically connect the CDXTSE via either coax or optical with plenty of inputs for other sources (for example I also use an apple airport express to stream music from my computer/NAS to the Cyrus system).

The DAC-XP is the top pre-amp and also the top DAC that Cyrus make. There are new integrated amps and pre-amps which incorporate DACs coming out soon (you can see details on the Cyrus website) but the DAC-XP is still the top of the range).

Re speakers I haven't heard any Sonus Fabers so very difficult for me to comment. I haven't listened to much since I auditioned the Spendor S5E which I have now. At the time I listened to some Monitor Audios RS (I would therefore be a bit prejudiced against the GS20s but some Cyrus owners find them very good) which I found way too bright and grating and some Dynaudios 42s and 62s which I found too ugly and too difficult to drive for my then amp (8VS2).

I would have liked some larger Spendors like the S6Es or the S8Es but had to keep to the smaller size due to size constraints. I really like the Spendor sound with Cyrus gear as its mellow enough to cope with the detailed well timed Cyrus sound. I haven't heard the new A series Spendors which are supposed to sound a bit different but I would still think that theoretically they would make a great combo (particularly if you want a dynamic sound).

On interconnects Missing Link offer tremendous value - I haven't heard them myself but many Cyrus owners rave about them claiming they outperform ICs costing many times more. At the moment I am using Townshend Isolda DCT300s for their neutral qualities and am pretty happy. Overall I would stay away from silver ICs as imo they are a bit too grating with Cyrus. On the speaker cable front Kimber 8TC is also a favourite of many Cyrus owners (or the cheaper 4TC) and can be found often on eBay. I've gone the Townshend Isolda speaker cable route and am happy with the neutral treble and deeper bass I seem to get now.

I recommend checking out the cyrus unofficial forum (once the april fools Miley Cyrusunofficial spoof forum reverts back to the normal one) as you may be able to get better speaker advice re the Sonus Fabers.

Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for taking the time out, appreciated