Another Cyrus issue....

[admin_exported]

Hi,
Firstly I must apologise for hijacking another thread, here's my issue within a new thread.

I purchased a Cyrus 6vs2 about 6 months ago, I've not been too impressed with the sound and am now looking at other options or improvements to enable me to love the little amp again. (I've owned Cyrus kit in the past and after a demo i fell for this particular one)

Speakers = Tannoy M20 gold Mk2 (old i know but not many hours run)
Speaker cable = Chord Co Carnival Silver + (not bi-wired)
Inters = Chord Co Cobra 3
Mission PCM2 CD player (old again but working perfectly)
Panasonic BluRay

It sounds really lifeless with no guts, probably a better sound from a 100 quid hifi from Comet :-(
8 power has been suggested and I also know about Cyrus birthday offers on the new XP range, it's all a bit much to justify with an amp thats 6 months old.
Would a 6 Power make a difference?

Any advice will be very much appreciated

 

[Anonymous]

Second hand 8 Power would be a good bet. Later on you could add another if you wanted and switch them to mono to drive each channel.

Don't know enough about your speakers to comment on those.

 

[True Blue]

Couple of options, have you thought about changing I/C to maybe a Chord Chameleon silver plus, plenty of grunt there!! (£100)

Also you dont mention speaker stands, am assuming they are on stands, if not maybe some super dreadnoughts (£150)

Not sure if the CDP has a digital out, if it does have you considered an external DAC?

Lastly maybe change out the speakers dependant upon space and budget, but maybe a nice pair of Dali's.

 

[Anonymous]

Don't know anything about your speakers so can't comment there. What did your speakers sound like with your old amp? From my experience Chord/Cyrus are not a good mix, trying some copper cables might give you a bit of extra bass/mid weight and calm down the zingy top end.

I used to use Chord Rumour 4 in my system and thought it sounded good but I was completely gobsmacked by how much it was choking my system once I'd changed them out.

As I've said before the 6 power to my mind would be a complete waste of money if you need more slam, 8 power is absolute minimum.

 

[Anonymous]

Can the 6vs2 be upgraded with the PSX-R power supply? Might be worth a punt on a second hand one if it can. But definitely changed those cables first.

 

[Gusboll]

Unfortunately the 6vs2 won't take a PSX-R .

Yardbirds - Roger The Engineer

 

[Anonymous]

Gutted about the cables and inters, they were bought on recommendation from the Cyrus dealer at the same time as the amp.

What would you recommend in the copper range of cables then?

I have used Denon amps recently with these speakers and QED 79 strand, IMO it sounded much better (and less of a hit in the purse)

In this instance an attempt at upgrade has left me disappointed.

 

[Gusboll]

As you can see below, I'm liking Chord and Cyrus combination; the Chameleon i/c certainly delivers some slam. If I were you and had the funds, I would have no hesitation in ditching the 6vs2 and if sticking with Cyrus, getting an 8vs2 or pre-vs with a view to adding an X Power and PSX-R. Just taken my PSX-R off my CD8 and put it on the X power - oh boy!

And So I Watch You From Afar - And So I Watch You From Afar

 

[Anonymous]

I'm assuming you demoed the amp before purchasing it. If so, what other kit did the dealer have wired up to it. Did you try your speakers with it?

My only suggestion and to avoid further dissapointment would be to have a chat with your dealer and tell them your not happy with the sound and could you try some cables on loan. Also, if you still have the QED 79 strand try it back in your system. If you have some cheap freebie interconnects lying around try them too. I'm not saying the QED and cheap interconnects are the solution just something to try and see if the sound changes.

Of course it could be the simple fact that the amp doesn't have enough grunt to drive your speakers properly but not knowing your speakers it's hard to say for sure.

 

[Anonymous]

I demo'd the amp with 3 different speakers. Dali Lektors (awful), some hugely expensive floorstanders and some Monitor Audio-RS(1?) that seemed very similar in reproduction to my Tannoys. I wasn't in a position to audition with my own speakers.

I've not got the 79 strand cables now but i do have some different inters to try. I think a call to the dealer is in order.

 

[plastic penguin]

jakeblues68:

I demo'd the amp with 3 different speakers. Dali Lektors (awful), some hugely expensive floorstanders and some Monitor Audio-RS(1?) that seemed very similar in reproduction to my Tannoys. I wasn't in a position to audition with my own speakers.

I've not got the 79 strand cables now but i do have some different inters to try. I think a call to the dealer is in order.

The 8VS2 requires far better matching [and price-wise] speakers than the one's you've tried. The minimum speaker would be something B&W 685 or the Dynaudio Excite (sub-£500) + stands. I would suggest that Dali Lektors and definitely Monitor Audio would be a poor match for Cyrus's bright character.

What are the hugely expensive floorstanders?

 

[chebby]

A bit late to ask now, but why did you stick with the amp for this long? Presumably it did not sound great then get worse over the six months. It must have been evident the choice was not working from the get-go.

Now you propose to compound the problem by throwing good money at power supplies and/or more powerful Cyrus gear or whatever. Maybe Cyrus is not for you.

Buy the speakers you heard with the Cyrus when you "fell in love with" it. (And the CD player too if different to the one you have now.)

Nothing too much wrong with the speaker cable or interconnects and cables certainly cannot be blamed for this much of a gulf between what you heard at the demo and what you hear now. (Unless you were using rusty barbed wire!)

[Edit. These are Tannoy M20 Golds.....

Assuming they are still in full working order then I cannot see why you have a problem with the speakers. They were superb and at 90db (8ohm) efficiency should be able to do a lot even with a relatively modestly powered amp.

.

 

[Anonymous]

I really can't remember what the expensive floorstanders were, mainly as they were a good few grand out of my budget (and didn't impress)

Hmmmm was warned off about matching B&W with Cyrus, but i do like the style, look and price of them.

The Dynaudio's must be the WHF flavour of the month are they? I've not met a dealer yet who recommended them. Thats not to say I won't be including them on the listen list.

What is "Price-wise" matching?

 

[chebby]

jakeblues68:
I really can't remember what the expensive floorstanders were, mainly as they were a good few grand out of my budget (and didn't impress)

Hmmmm was warned off about matching B&W with Cyrus, but i do like the style, look and price of them.

The Dynaudio's must be the WHF flavour of the month are they? I've not met a dealer yet who recommended them. Thats not to say I won't be including them on the listen list.

What is "Price-wise" matching?

Which speakers did the Cyrus sound great with?

It must have sounded great with something, otherwise you would not have bought it.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes it sounded great when I got it home, but has become bland over time/as getting used to it.
I do not have the luxury of time to demo all the options, less the cables and connects the system is exactly the same as one I listened to at a mate of a mates house. (and fell in love with it)

To be honest I did not like the Dali, the floorstander nor the MA speakers (although the MA were close to the sound), but I had heard this amp with the same speakers as mine as I have said above.

What I am proposing is a discussion, here, prior to creating a short list, prior to me "compounding" the problem. Yes they are M20 Golds in the picture, they preceeded my speakers which are Mk2 versions.
They did do alot, with Denon amps I have used previously (integrated and AV) and also a Cryrus 2 amp.

Many thanks for the input

 

[chebby]

I thought you were not only saying that nothing impressed you at the demo, but that it did not impress you at home either.
I have it now. It sounded great at first then you went off the sound.

That happens. I don't think the cure is going to be piling on ever more powerful/expensive Cyrus boxes. No until you have found something the 6vs2 sounds good with.

Have you heard your amp and Tannoys with a matching CD 6SE player? (It could be your old CD player is 'dying off' over the same period since you bought the amp.)

 

[Anonymous]

Does your mate still have the same system? If so call in for another listen. If you still like the sound of his system ask him what cables he's using. Might also be worth considering room acoustics what's different in his room compared to yours. Have you changed your room lately?

Failing all of that the cheapest option would be to try some new cables. I'd also go over to the cyrus unofficial forum at www.cyrusunofficial.co.uk and seek advice there.

It could be the simple fact that you've out grown the sound and that your ears are ready for the next major upgrade.

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a plan IanS1, unfortunately the mate of a mate has now moved on and it may be a challenge to find him. (Armed Forces)
I will have a good read of that forum, thank you.

 

[Anonymous]

I would suggest trying some different amps. Cyrus is lean and forward sounding, the 6 more so.

 

[Anonymous]

The amp that you have is by far the most modern component that you have. I wouldn't be surprised it was bringing out "too much" detail from your very old source.

How old is that CD player, 20 years or older? Things have really moved on since then - CD was in its infancy when that player was made.

I think the speaker cable will just exacerbate the problems while the I/C is in my experience fine as its very mellow compared to the silver Chord I/Cs.

I've no idea what the speakers sound like but they could also be a factor.

 

[Anonymous]

TBH i'm having very similar problems. I also have the cyrus 6vs, but running it through a cd8x and spendor s6's. I'm using monster ic and qed silver anniversary. Now the way i describe the treble top end is i need to cup my ears sometimes because the treble is sooo overwhelming. mid range is good with maybe more bass needed. Hopefully for me it's down to the cable and i need some copper cabling to calm everything down.