Best speakers for a jazz lover with cyrus gear

[admin_exported]

Hi, I have a cyrus cd8x, vs8 amp and currently AE evo 3 speakers all held together with chord odyssey 4 cable. I'm looking to upgrade the speakers with £1000 budget and have so far drawn up a list comprising the spendor 3s and 5s to audition. I listen to a lot of jazz and swing but still listen to other genres of music so was looking for some suggestions to add to my audition list. I should point out that I choose the evo speakers a few years back over the Quad 11ls not because of price but because the evos used the cyrus' punchy clarity but combined it with a warmth the Quads didn't have (in fact they were cold and harsh). Incidently ,seven oaks in Watford were incredibly snobby about the whole process insisting that I should even be contemplating pairing a £350 speaker with cyrus components!

 

[d_a_n1979]

My girlfriend has the same Cyrus 8v2 amp and 8 CDP along with the Cyrus 8 power amp and B&W CM7 speakers and its a fantastic set-up and really good with blues/jazz/R&B/soul/motown etc...

The clarity of them is superb and the bass is well timed, sharp and sublime, deffo not overpowering and the midrange/treble is spot on.

 

[drummerman]

May be able to help. We tried the cyrus'es you have with the spendors and whilst the standmounts are ok the Floorstanders sounded underdamped regardless of cables/positioning.

The cyrus is a nice amplifier but it has slightly loose low frequencies. Your amp/cd sounded particularely good with Rega's floorstanders and as a combination I would suggest you listen to the R3's if you can. Depending on room size you may also consider the R5's. Both come in under budget.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="drummerman"]
May be able to help. We tried the cyrus'es you have with the spendors and whilst the standmounts are ok the Floorstanders sounded underdamped regardless of cables/positioning.

The cyrus is a nice amplifier but it has slightly loose low frequencies. Your amp/cd sounded particularely good with Rega's floorstanders and as a combination I would suggest you listen to the R3's if you can. Depending on room size you may also consider the R5's. Both come in under budget.
[/quote]

Whilst i can't comment on the CD8x, i do have the 8vs2 and Rega R3 pairing and absolutely love them.I think they sound good with all types of music. I have heard the Rega R5's too, very similar sound, just a bit bigger with a touch more bass due to their size. I would highly recommend either of them with Cyrus gear.

 

[Anonymous]

I would agree with the Rega recommendations. To throw in a curve ball, audition the new Spendor SA1 stand mounters. They sound superb and you could always add a decent sub later if you feel that the sound is too light. They produce an amazingly natural image and midrange that will seduce you with it's timbre and speed. A decent sub would then provide a nice touch to create a deeply extended range. Has to be worth a try...

 

[Thaiman]

PMC GB1, Totem arro, Spendor S5

 

[Andrew Everard]

on the GB1s, especially if you can stretch to the 'i' version

 

[Anonymous]

HI

I would also recommend having a listen to the PMC GB1i's,i landed up with a pair,(worth blowing the budget by a few hundred pounds)

 

[Anonymous]

i think the bowers and wilkins are the best speakers for jazz music, also bose 901 and 701 are very good for jazz music!!!

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="drummerman"]

Your amp/cd sounded particularely good with Rega's floorstanders and as a combination I would suggest you listen to the R3's if you can. Depending on room size you may also consider the R5's. Both come in under budget.

[/quote]

I'm considering Rega R5's for a large room (9m long, 6m wide, 3m high)...do you think they'll do the job filling the room (party levels) with hip-hop, jazz, soul, funk & rock? Neat Motive 2's are also on the audition list.

 

[drummerman]

[quote user="brock_boogie"]
I'm considering Rega R5's for a large room (9m long, 6m wide, 3m high)...do you think they'll do the job filling the room (party levels) with hip-hop, jazz, soul, funk & rock? Neat Motive 2's are also on the audition list.

[/quote]

I think you want a pa system. Dont you have another thread going in which you consider a Nait 5?

The Rega's are very good speakers but they are also refined as is the Naim Nait. They will go loud if asked so but they are not bass bins and major on openness and refinement with good punch. Whether they are adequate to drive a room your size I dont know.

 

[Anonymous]

Agree with the PA comment... it's pretty hard on quality hi-fi to fill a room like that at party volumes. That's the time when tweeters fry and no-one notices the warning signs until it's too late. Is this just an occasional thing or do you party in that big room all the time?

To cover just such circumstances I did actually buy a PA as one of my secondary systems. After doing some investigation I settled on a pair of classic HH 150w slave power amps each driving a Carlsbro 12" + bullet tweeter 200W cab. I have a Teac mixer/pre-amp controlling these for matching and level control. For truly awesome bass I have a 4cuft bass cab with 15" 250w Celestion driven by a seperate Carlsbro 150w power amp. The source is usually a 1990s mid-range Marantz CD player.

With very careful buying one component at a time the whole lot came in under £150 (but in truth is more like £300+ worth of gear) and is a truly staggering party experience. By chosing quality classic units I've ended up with a sound that is far more hi-fi like than some muddy sounding PA systems I've heard.

David

 

[Anonymous]

Why do I feel my post has been hijacked by a DJ?

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions, I'll add the PMC GB1 (and the 'i') to the audition list along with the rega R3s and R5s and perhaps some B&Ws which I'm sure will sound infinitely better than B&Q.

Do you think that a PSR power supply will improve my system at this price range? I'm a little sceptical about paying out for things like this and £100 glorified plugs.