Amps and watts

[Anonymous]

Well I have lent my A3 to a mate at work and borrowed his Cyrus 8 XPD. Just got it powering the TOYs at the moment. WOW! A huge step up from my A3. Will try it with the KEFs later and report back. At the moment I'm hearing parts in the music I've not heard before...

 

[Anonymous]

Just had the Cyrus driving the KEFs for the last couple of hours. Whereas I loved the Cyrus with the SFs it was less convincing with the KEFs and to be honest I think I prefer my A3 to the Cyrus when partnered with the KEFs. The cyrus still has the edge when it comes to detail but overall my A3 sounds a fair bit more muscular. Bass is quite a bit leaner with the Cyrus but to me seems no more under control than with my A3. I was quite shocked how when the volume went up the Cyrus sounded a bit compressed at volumes where my A3 would still be presenting a pretty wide soundstage. I am still by no means completely happy with the way my A3 drives my KEFs but I am however left with a feeling that for the £250 that I paid for it it has stood up amazingly well in comparison to the £1500 Cyrus. I recon the A3 is a better amp than I give it credit for...

 

[CnoEvil]

Just had the Cyrus driving the KEFs for the last couple of hours. Whereas I loved the Cyrus with the SFs it was less convincing with the KEFs and to be honest I think I prefer my A3 to the Cyrus when partnered with the KEFs. The cyrus still has the edge when it comes to detail but overall my A3 sounds a fair bit more muscular. Bass is quite a bit leaner with the Cyrus but to me seems no more under control than with my A3. I was quite shocked how when the volume went up the Cyrus sounded a bit compressed at volumes where my A3 would still be presenting a pretty wide soundstage. I am still by no means completely happy with the way my A3 drives my KEFs but I am however left with a feeling that for the £250 that I paid for it it has stood up amazingly well in comparison to the £1500 Cyrus. I recon the A3 is a better amp than I give it credit for...

Always worth a go, but I would have been amazed if that combo sounded really well.

Cno

 

[Anonymous]

Just had the Cyrus driving the KEFs for the last couple of hours. Whereas I loved the Cyrus with the SFs it was less convincing with the KEFs and to be honest I think I prefer my A3 to the Cyrus when partnered with the KEFs. The cyrus still has the edge when it comes to detail but overall my A3 sounds a fair bit more muscular. Bass is quite a bit leaner with the Cyrus but to me seems no more under control than with my A3. I was quite shocked how when the volume went up the Cyrus sounded a bit compressed at volumes where my A3 would still be presenting a pretty wide soundstage. I am still by no means completely happy with the way my A3 drives my KEFs but I am however left with a feeling that for the £250 that I paid for it it has stood up amazingly well in comparison to the £1500 Cyrus. I recon the A3 is a better amp than I give it credit for...

Always worth a go, but I would have been amazed if that combo sounded really well. Cno

To be honest I had no idea what to expect but seen as a mate at work let me borrow the Cyrus while he was borrowing my MF I thought it would be worth a try and was a fun comparison especially with the cost differences taken into account. If nothing else I guess it really does prove that the KEFs really do need plenty of muscle to get the best out of them!

 

[the record spot]

Power AND high current is worth aiming for. Power alone doesn't necessarily tell the whole story, so you have to ca canny to some extent.

Do check out some of the older Japanese powerhouse amps of the 70s - get one in good condition and chances are you'll have something that's been built like a tank, possibly with a dual mono design, high current and will drive anything as it'll probably be at least 80wpc or better. You likely do all that for less than £300, maybe more depending on what you're buying and it'll leave much of the current crop standing.

 

[Anonymous]

Power AND high current is worth aiming for. Power alone doesn't necessarily tell the whole story, so you have to ca canny to some extent.

Do check out some of the older Japanese powerhouse amps of the 70s - get one in good condition and chances are you'll have something that's been built like a tank, possibly with a dual mono design, high current and will drive anything as it'll probably be at least 80wpc or better. You likely do all that for less than £300, maybe more depending on what you're buying and it'll leave much of the current crop standing.

Hi RS when it comes to old jap hifi I have no idea what is good and what is not. I have looked at some old Pioneer amps that seem to be going for reasonable money. I love the look of the spec-4 and it sounds like it should be a really good amp but as I said I've no idea about what jap stuff to look at really.

 

[the record spot]

Hi James, well, Pioneer's a good place to start. As are Sansui, Rotel, Trio...a bit of reading up wouldn't go amiss as you'll soon start to get a flavour for what to look out for. I probably know a little more about Sansui as their amps weren't in secondhand vogue a couple of years ago. Picked up my 717 for around £200, but it's easily the equal of amps at the £1200 or so bracket.

Don't write off the old receivers either - Pioneer's SX-1980 will set you back a handsome sum if you find one (ignore the one that someone's asking £7500 for currently on Ebay - apparently unused for 27 years. Terrific. Sounds like something that might be in desperate need of a service if you ask me...!), but an SX-1250 is sitting at £175 with 5 days left on it. Yes, that'll probably rocket!

It took me a while before I picked up my amp, so you might have to be patient. Really worthwhile when it comes round though. You just have to know when to stop...!