Cyrus 8XPd OR Cyrus CD6SE and 6XP?

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Whilst looking around at Cyrus I found a lot of people putting great emphasis on good amplification and DACs. I was thinking of getting a Cyrus CD6SE coupled with a 6XP to go with my Quad 22L2 speakers and selling my Pioneer home cinema amp and Sony CDP-X3000ES CD player. I understand that the Sony is a great CD player.

Now I have seen the Cyrus 8XPd which of course means you could use any CD transport connected to the Cyrus DAC. I wonder which would give the best results;

A Sony CDP-X3000ES used as a transport connected to a Cyrus 8XPd

OR

The Cyrus CD6SE connected to a 6XP.

Any thoughts?
 

Craig M.

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i would go for the 8xpd. whf said that the cyrus transport was what made them the best cdps at their price, now they have both been usurped as the best at their price by machines with bog standard, off the shelf transports. makes me think the fanfare the cyrus players got was totally over the top, and you'd do just as well with any competent transport. and, as a plus point, you get to avoid the flaky cyrus disc transport deciding it will play some discs but not others.
 

jockey.wilson

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The Cyrus CD players do sound fantastic, but I think you would be best served by an 8XPd.

Its a great amp that should make the most of your decent Sony transport, as long as you use a decent digi coax cable. The Cyrus 8 series can withstand many upgrades and are easily upgradeable themselves with a PSX-R.

If you can stretch to the Qx dac then that is a worthwhile upgrade that is better with poorer sources (ie PC, laptops etc).
 
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Anonymous

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Agree with the 'over the top bit' (see post above). Once or twice a year the reviewers almost wet themselves over some mid-price piece of (usually home-grown) equipment. The reaction to the B&W 685 speakers was not dissimilar. A year or two goes by and we all realise that, although good in many ways, they are not quite as earth-shattering as the headlines declared, and we can all go back to normal critical listening again.
 
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Anonymous

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oooh, the 6XPd. Now that throws down a gauntlet. I would love to see a side by side comparison of a CD6SE/6XP and a 6XPd/decent transport.

Would this prove finally that Amps and DACs are the true items to concentrate on?

I am so confused as to what to buy (I know I need to audition but want to have a good idea of where to start) - after all the there is a £600 difference between using your own transport with the 6XPd and the CD6SE/6XP combo.
 

eternaloptimist

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I have a CD6SE into PreXPd and Xpower...

The DAC in the PreXPd is the same as in the 8XPd. Its OK..just...

The sound from the CD6SE via analogue into the PreXPd (ie using the CDs own DAC) is far, far better than using the CD6SE as a transport only and feeding (via optical) into the PreXPd DAC. The DAC in the PreXPd / 8XPd / 6XPd is supposed to be on par with the DAC in the CD6SE - in my opinion it clearly is not. I hear the Qx DAC version is quite a lot better...

I would suggest getting the CD6SE and 6XP and getting a separate, discreet DAC down the track into which you can then use the optical out of the CD6SE. In the meantime, you will have a lovely combination!

Good luck!

Cheers,

D
 

Richard Allen

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groberton:

Whilst looking around at Cyrus I found a lot of people putting great emphasis on good amplification and DACs. I was thinking of getting a Cyrus CD6SE coupled with a 6XP to go with my Quad 22L2 speakers and selling my Pioneer home cinema amp and Sony CDP-X3000ES CD player. I understand that the Sony is a great CD player.

Now I have seen the Cyrus 8XPd which of course means you could use any CD transport connected to the Cyrus DAC. I wonder which would give the best results;

A Sony CDP-X3000ES used as a transport connected to a Cyrus 8XPd

OR

The Cyrus CD6SE connected to a 6XP.

Any thoughts?

Sony as transport and separate DAC any day of the week. I've got the X3300 ES and would rather use a DAC with that than waste money on a new CDP, bearing in mind that with a separate DAC, you've much more flexibility and CD is in decline.
 
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the record spot

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I'd go with the Sony transoprt and a suitable DAC to partner it. Too good a player to put out to pasture if it's still working well (IMO).
 

Richard Allen

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the record spot:I'd go with the Sony transoprt and a suitable DAC to partner it. Too good a player to put out to pasture if it's still working well (IMO).

Absolutely!!!!. And, bearing in mind the recent issues with Cyrus CDP's ( as posted elsewhere on the forum) the best of all worlds providing, as RP says, the transport's up to it.
 

jockey.wilson

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eternaloptimist:

I have a CD6SE into PreXPd and Xpower...

The DAC in the PreXPd is the same as in the 8XPd. Its OK..just...

The sound from the CD6SE via analogue into the PreXPd (ie using the CDs own DAC) is far, far better than using the CD6SE as a transport only and feeding (via optical) into the PreXPd DAC. The DAC in the PreXPd / 8XPd / 6XPd is supposed to be on par with the DAC in the CD6SE - in my opinion it clearly is not. I hear the Qx DAC version is quite a lot better...

I would suggest getting the CD6SE and 6XP and getting a separate, discreet DAC down the track into which you can then use the optical out of the CD6SE. In the meantime, you will have a lovely combination!

Good luck!

Cheers,

D

Prior to my current setup I had my CD XTSE fed into an 8XPd. I listened to this combo back to back against a CD8SE and thought that the transport/dac-in-amp sounded better. I think that the DAC's in the Cyrus amps are very good and comparable to those in their CD players BUT the standard (non Qx) DACs need a good signal from the transport.

The Qx DAC is a big upgrade when used with both the CD XTSE and files from a laptop.
 
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Anonymous

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It seems as though the votes for keeping the transport I have in conjunction with an in-amp DAC are winning. I would appreciate a comment from someone at WHF towers on their opinion...
 

eternaloptimist

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jockey.wilson:eternaloptimist:

I have a CD6SE into PreXPd and Xpower...

The DAC in the PreXPd is the same as in the 8XPd. Its OK..just...

The sound from the CD6SE via analogue into the PreXPd (ie using the CDs own DAC) is far, far better than using the CD6SE as a transport only and feeding (via optical) into the PreXPd DAC. The DAC in the PreXPd / 8XPd / 6XPd is supposed to be on par with the DAC in the CD6SE - in my opinion it clearly is not. I hear the Qx DAC version is quite a lot better...

I would suggest getting the CD6SE and 6XP and getting a separate, discreet DAC down the track into which you can then use the optical out of the CD6SE. In the meantime, you will have a lovely combination!

Good luck!

Cheers,

D

Prior to my current setup I had my CD XTSE fed into an 8XPd. I listened to this combo back to back against a CD8SE and thought that the transport/dac-in-amp sounded better. I think that the DAC's in the Cyrus amps are very good and comparable to those in their CD players BUT the standard (non Qx) DACs need a good signal from the transport.

The Qx DAC is a big upgrade when used with both the CD XTSE and files from a laptop.

I believe you that the Qx DAC is a signficant upgrade compared with the internal DAC in the PreXPd / 8XPd / 6XPd, but... here in Australiia, the Qx DAC upgrade costs AUD$1000. For the same money, I can get a superior Wyred-4-sound DAC-1 from the US which uses a cutting edge DAC, can accept 24/192 via coax etc, etc. (Would be already en route except the Financial controller is still recovering from the cost of the Audiovectors...
emotion-2.gif
)

Side by side, when the CD6SE is used as a transport only, the sound is identical to the laptop streamed FLAC files with J River MC 15 configured as per Computer audiophile. OK and useful for background music etc. but "flat" dynamically. With the analogue in, the sound is much better. As mentioned above, the internal DAC in the XPd series is OK, but I will not be shelling out for the Qx module when I can get an better outboard DAC for the money... the only thing against this is... yet another box and aesthetics!

Still, horses for courses! I don't thing the OP will lose out either way.
 

Richard Allen

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groberton:It seems as though the votes for keeping the transport I have in conjunction with an in-amp DAC are winning. I would appreciate a comment from someone at WHF towers on their opinion...

They're gonna tell you to go Cyrus. Listen to Record Spot and myself. Sony transport and (what the hell!!) a Dacmagic. A lot cheaper, infinitely more reliable and, with the magic, much more flexible. If your Sony transport is good, you will regret getting rid of it. Once it's gone, it's gone.
 

shado

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The digital card in the Cyrus 6 and 8 Xpd is supposed to be the one used by another quality British Manufacturer beginning with N and I am impressed with its sonic virtues in my 8XPd Amp when using Napster streamed files via Sonos.

So don't worry it is a decent entry DAC.

I have the CD6SE and have only had one problem with one disc it would not accept in 10 months ownership, but it is not the end of the world as this disc has been burnt onto my PC so I can stream it instead.

I would listen to the advice of keeping your old transport but try to audition it with the Cyrus Amp at a local dealer to make sure it will suit you.
 

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