Amp for Focal 806V Speakers..

[Anonymous]

Reading about the Cyrus and that does sound like an interesting amp, especially if I can get it cheapish.

It concerns me that your choices appear to be purely based on reading lobbied opinions instead of listening yourself - you should really listen to some of the stuff first

Having said that Focal are an excellent make, but I would not partner with any cheap harsh rubbish, I'd buy a tube amp such as the Yaqin MC-10L, which will bring the best out of those speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

I think the Rega set-up will be superb so will be interested to hear how you get on

The Cyrus is a very good amp indeed but it does need to be partnered with the right speakers. A good pair of QUAD 12L2's or Rega RS3's would suit the amp well; again with the Rega Apollo. The M/A RX1's or 2's could be considered as well, with the Rega Apollo and good cabling (i.e. no silver) you wont suffer from the brightness that Cyrus can sometiems bring out. I wouldnt use the older M/A RS range though as that will suffer from top end fatigue

 

[CnoEvil]

Reading about the Cyrus and that does sound like an interesting amp, especially if I can get it cheapish.

It concerns me that your choices appear to be purely based on reading lobbied opinions instead of listening yourself - you should really listen to some of the stuff first

Having said that Focal are an excellent make, but I would not partner with any cheap harsh rubbish, I'd buy a tube amp such as the Yaqin MC-10L, which will bring the best out of those speakers.

Globs makes a very good point here (which he does from time to time ), in that the best I have heard Focal sound is on the end of valves. Another make to consider is Icon Audio (see Audio Affair for range).

If you don't want to go fully Valves, check out the Unison Research Unico range (Divine Audio).

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I demoed some equipment today. Unfortunately, they didn't have all those specific items available for a demo, so what I listened to was:

CD Player: Rega Saturn

AMP: Rega Brio-R

Speakers: Rega RS3 then Rega RS1

I was impressed. I think I was expecting to be wowed, so at first I thought it was a little strange I wasn't... but when I realised I'm used to listening to very decent headphones so I shouldn't expect moving to speakers to be a step forward but rather a step sideways (the most fundamental changes are the loss of close-intamacy and gain in sound stage - a fair trade), some highly enjoyable listening followed.

Listening to the RS3's, it was hard to fault them; everything sounded so very balanced, great detail, and great soundtage. Overall, all the equipment was very musical I thought.

The RS1's impressed me too. I was impressed how it kept most of what made the RS3's so good. However, the was one very noticeable difference: the fullness of sound the RS3's provided. I noticed this straight away when playing Muse's Knights of Cydonia right after I listened to it on the RS3. On, say something like Bridge Over Troubled Water, the difference didn't matter much. Anyway, because the RS3's were clearly better suited to 'heavier' songs, I realised I floor standers most likely suit me more than stand mounts.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to demo the RS5's at a difference place, and hopefully the RS3's again, so I can compare. I'm not sure if they'll have the Brio-R, so the amp might be the Mira 3. And the CD Player should be the Apollo.

Anyway, one thing I 'm now quite sure of is that I I'm after floor standers.

 

[CnoEvil]

Great stuff. Things are narrowing down nicely.

Rega gives a musical sound that is fatigue free. Other systems can impress initially, but then annoy after a couple of hours.

Will be interested to hear the next installment.

 

[Anonymous]

I listened to the Rega Apollo, Dac, Brio-R, and both the RS3 and RS5 today.

The RS5 definitely packed more of a punch at the low end. And when you turn the volume up, the bass became quite overwhelming in the modest sized demo room. I don't say that as purely a criticism however, as those who like or need (for their room size) a lot of bass output, will probably find the RS5 the more preferable speaker. But given the room I'll be using, the RS3 seemed enough for my needs as it had a more balanced bass (for the room) and it could be played at higher volumes with the bass kept under control.

Apart from the low end, I didn't think there was much of a difference between the two speakers.

I'd definitely describe this system to be on the warm side, which I felt a little disappointed in. It just seemed something was missing. Near the end of the session, the guy pointed out that the DAC wasn't plugged in (I was under the impression it was). Unfortunately, I only had the time to listen to one song at that point. So after just hearing Radiohead's 'The Tourist', I said I'll listen to that one with the DAC. However, he insisted was listen to it again without the DAC and then with the DAC (hooked up to the Apollo). That was perfectly fine with me. Well, the missing part had been found. The song sounded smoother and more cohesive. I praise the DAC with some reservation however, as I only used it with one song, although it's a song I know very well. The employee thought the song sounded more open and airy with the DAC; more light reverb with the plucking of the guitar strings.

So, as it stands, the RS3 is very high on my list, as well as the DAC. The Brio-R is certainly a very good amp, but I'm considering that Cyrus VS2 to help the sound lose a little warmth. I'm not sure.. First, I cannot demo the Cyrus so it'd be a blind buy, which is damn risky. And second, I wish I heard more of the Rega sound with the DAC because the sound from that last song was pretty hard to fault, which might mean the entire Rega setup is what I'm looking for.

Edit: I forgot to say, the DAC also added very noticeably bass; in fact it was quite a nice extension. I'd say with the DAC, the bass was between the RS3 minus the DAC and the RS5. Despite the above, I was pretty pleased with this extra.

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you've had some good demo's there

The Rega RS3's and RS5's certainly are superb speakers

See how you go with the Cyrus amp (you'll only be able to demo the 6 or 8XP of the current range but they're not that far different from the 8VS2 amp but a lot better than the 6VS2 amp Cyrus did).

Are there any other amps youre going to demo/able to demo?

 

[CnoEvil]

I've heard very good reports of the sound with the addition of the DAC.

I think it is essential that you get a demo in your own house, where the acoustics could be quite different...never under estimate how different a system can sound in a different environment.

If the system is still too warm, I would try a change of speakers rather than amp (eg. Focal/ATC/Triangle)

 

[ear]

How low can the rs3 and rs5 go? anyone knows?

 

[Anonymous]

Exposure 2010S2 will be a good choice

 

[Anonymous]

I'm going back to the store tomorrow to demo the Rega Dac properly. I'm pretty close to buying this Rega system. After tomorrow I should know if I'm going through with it or not.

What kind of cables do you recommend for this setup? Rega Couple Interconnect? Or would it be more sensible to buy something cheaper like the Chord Crimson Plus?

With regards to speaker cables, I was tempted by the Rega SC42 but they've been discontinued. So I was thinking about the Rega FSC Quattro, but the guy in the shop recommended the Chord Carnival Silver Screen..

 

[Anonymous]

The Chord CrimsonPlus or Cobra Plus interconnects will suffice as would either Chord Carnival Silverscreen, Chord Odyssey 2 or QED Revelation speaker cable

Regas cables are good but IMO the above are better suited (save the Rega cables for their higher end stuff)

 

[CnoEvil]

I'm going back to the store tomorrow to demo the Rega Dac properly. I'm pretty close to buying this Rega system. After tomorrow I should know if I'm going through with it or not.

What kind of cables do you recommend for this setup? Rega Couple Interconnect? Or would it be more sensible to buy something cheaper like the Chord Crimson Plus?

With regards to speaker cables, I was tempted by the Rega SC42 but they've been discontinued. So I was thinking about the Rega FSC Quattro, but the guy in the shop recommended the Chord Carnival Silver Screen..

What did you originally hear them with?

Cables are such an individual thing, that you should try a few and go from there. Personally I prefer Atlas and Telurium Q.