Cyrus 8XPd vs 8XPdQx

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I am on the verge of making my first investment in a quality hi-fi system. I am would like to use a PC to drive the music and I am therefiore quite interested in the Cyrus 8XPd. I have some questions on this and other components:

1. I went looking for the 8XPd and instead have found the 8XPdQx in stores and I note that it is not reviewed by What HiFi. What is the difference between the two?

2. I am also looking into a Cyrus 6SE or 8SE CD player. Is there a huge difference when you step up to the 8?

3. I am looking at ATC SCM speakers. I had in mind the 11's but have found a 1-year old second-hand pair of the SCM 40's at about 2/3 of the price of buying new, from what I can tell, but still double the price of a new pair of 11's. Thoughts on which speakers to go for with the Cyrus?

Cheers,

Scott.

P.S. Love this forum btw!

 

[Frank Harvey]

Hi Scott

The main difference between the 8xpd and 8xpdQX is the DAC module. This can be bought with it already fitted, or be added to an 8xpd at a later date, but it would be a little cheaper to buy it ready fitted from new.

The QX module uses quartz anti jitter circuits, and upsamples to 192kHz.

Again, the CD6se can be upgraded to a CD8se at a later date. There is a difference between the two, but I'd look at the CDXTse, which is a purely digital CD transport with no internal analogue circuitry. This then sends the digital signal to the 8xpdQX to do the digital to analogue decoding.

The 8xpd will drive the ATC's you mention, and will be fine at most people's normal volumes. Due to their lower sensitivity, you do need to drive them a little harder than other speakers. If you do like a blast every now and again, it will get a little hot, so I wouldn't recommend the pairing if you like loud volume levels, although the additiopn of a power amp at a later date can help resolve this.

Which speakers you prefer with the Cyrus is personal preference. The ATC's have a very neutral balance, and models from Dynaudio are warmer and have a fuller low end. ProAc and Spendor are quite smooth too, and are worth an audition. All of these go extremely well with Cyrus.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Thanks for the quick and comprehensive reply. Forgive my ignorance but I must say I'm confused. I thought the 8XPd had a DAC modul in it which was why i was condsiering purchasing the product in the first place. Isn't that what the "d" stands for? According to the Cyrus website with the 8XPdQx "The features are the same as that of the 8XP d, but it also features the QX DAC card". Is it just a better DAC module and otherwise it's the same unit?

Another quick question, will I need a powersupply (or two) to drive this combination?

Thanks,

Scott.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The PSX-R power supplies are optional. I always recommend buying those at a later date, and spending the budget on the system basics - in this case, the CD and the amp. Get these wrong and the system stands no chance.

The 8Xpd and the 8XpdQX do both have inbuilt DAC's, the QX just has a better one. As I said, this can be upgraded to at a later date if needed. Any of their CD players can be used with this,it's just that you won't be using the DAC in them. The CDXTse will do a better job in this case, but you'd have to weigh up the cost of the new Plus version being £1500 compared to the CD6se and CD8se (both non Plus) which can both be had for less than £1k.

If you're going to send the signal out in digital form to the 8Xpd, then the CD6se and CD8se will be fairly close in performance, but the CD8se has the advantage of being improved wth the PSX-R.

 

[jockey.wilson]

I have an 8 XPd and Cd XT SE+.

Don't dismiss the regular DAC in the non Qx model. Ultimately, the better the information going in, the less work the DAC has to do, jitter wise anyway...

The above combo sounds fantastic through my Dynaudio speakers. Money spent on a CD6 or 8 SE is wasted with this amp realy since you are paying for two DACs.

The CD XT SE (2009 or 2010) models ultimately give more room for potential later I feel.

For what its worth, I originally bought a CD XT SE, but had it replaced under warranty with the SE+ (a bit of a win!). I can tell the difference; with greater weight and 'scale', even in my relatively modest setup.

In summary, I guess unless you are set on playing ripped files from a PC, then my suggestion is that the Qx DAC upgrade is not needed with a good CD transport.