Hello all - this is my first time on the forum, so be gentle...!
Late last year I finally started to try seriously upgrading my 10 year old system (Rotel RCD-971 CD player, Rotel RA-971 amp, and supplemented by Wharfdale Diamond 9.1s when my KEF floorstanding were damaged during a house move).
Having subscribed to What Hi-Fi again, I was bitten by the upgrade bug - but one that's had to be very much on a budget. I have been reasonably lucky on ebay, having picked up a Cyrus CD8 for £170 and an 8vs for £300 - both offering immediate improvements. What I'm looking for advice on is suitable speakers to partner them with, probably in the £4-500 mark; either floorstanders or bookshelf speakers will do. I like a reasonably detailed sound (hence preference for Cyrus) but want something with a bit of drive and verve as well (but don't we all).
As a side issue, I also picked up a Chord Chameleon Silver Plus 0.5 cable for £45 to replace my ten year old Talk cable (unfortunately I don't know what model it was - it's purple and I was told it was around £50). However I've been slightly non-plussed as doing a like-for-like comparison I can tell absolutely no difference at all. I'm either a cloth-eared nincompoop...or is it that the 9.1s are just totally unable to deliver the refinement from the rest of the set-up. Can some one help/reassure me on this???
And....as a final aside, I'm driving the 9.1s using old(ish) cable - QED Profile Silver bi-wire cable, but current I am not bi-wiring from the Cyrus amp - I'm just sending a single wire from the Cyrus and using the bridging terminal on the 9.1s Is it worth getting more banana plugs and bi-wiring? I also have - for reasons too complicated to go into - about 20 metres of QED Qudos Silver 25th anniversary hanging around. Is it worth replacing the Profile with this? Or should I simply replace the cable with something new (ie Chord) when I replace the speakers?
I know it's a lot of questions, but I'd be very grateful for others input at this point!
Cheers,
CHRIS
Late last year I finally started to try seriously upgrading my 10 year old system (Rotel RCD-971 CD player, Rotel RA-971 amp, and supplemented by Wharfdale Diamond 9.1s when my KEF floorstanding were damaged during a house move).
Having subscribed to What Hi-Fi again, I was bitten by the upgrade bug - but one that's had to be very much on a budget. I have been reasonably lucky on ebay, having picked up a Cyrus CD8 for £170 and an 8vs for £300 - both offering immediate improvements. What I'm looking for advice on is suitable speakers to partner them with, probably in the £4-500 mark; either floorstanders or bookshelf speakers will do. I like a reasonably detailed sound (hence preference for Cyrus) but want something with a bit of drive and verve as well (but don't we all).
As a side issue, I also picked up a Chord Chameleon Silver Plus 0.5 cable for £45 to replace my ten year old Talk cable (unfortunately I don't know what model it was - it's purple and I was told it was around £50). However I've been slightly non-plussed as doing a like-for-like comparison I can tell absolutely no difference at all. I'm either a cloth-eared nincompoop...or is it that the 9.1s are just totally unable to deliver the refinement from the rest of the set-up. Can some one help/reassure me on this???
And....as a final aside, I'm driving the 9.1s using old(ish) cable - QED Profile Silver bi-wire cable, but current I am not bi-wiring from the Cyrus amp - I'm just sending a single wire from the Cyrus and using the bridging terminal on the 9.1s Is it worth getting more banana plugs and bi-wiring? I also have - for reasons too complicated to go into - about 20 metres of QED Qudos Silver 25th anniversary hanging around. Is it worth replacing the Profile with this? Or should I simply replace the cable with something new (ie Chord) when I replace the speakers?
I know it's a lot of questions, but I'd be very grateful for others input at this point!
Cheers,
CHRIS
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