Cyrus & group tests. . .

[Anonymous]

I guess Cyrus are a bit like the BMW of the Hi-Fi world (well someone has to be!).

People will get bored of hearing about how good they are even if they can't afford it and they'll always have a loyal following but that still doesn't mean they're for everyone. There's just no such thing.

Personaly I love the sound and look of Cyrus kit (it looks as fresh and solid now as it did 10 years ago) but there definatley seems to be a distinct lack of kit from other manufacturers in What Hi-Fi these days.

Untill recently it had been a few years since I picked up a Hi-fi mag (about 8 years) but it quickly became apparent that all the usual suspects were cleaning up at the awards now as they were then; Marantz, Cyrus, Roksan and Tannoy but B&W have taken Missions old throne. I'd be very suprised if it was the same staff doing the reviews this much later on, though!

Also, I can kind of understand why some people do buy "blind". There's just so much choice around that unless you're spending litteraly thousands on kit not many people want to seriously spend hours in a listening demo room trying out endless combo's of stuff just in case it sounds a slight fraction better than the last combo did. And then after all that it sounds different at home anyway!

It probably sounds crazy to some people but I actualy spend FAR more time deciding the (very) short list by gathering as much info and general opinion on the kit I like the look of (for the budget) and then it's either a yes or no within 5 minutes of hearing it! Usualy it's "yes" and this indicates to me that maybe the magazines and others are right.

Well, most of the time anyway,

 

[Anonymous]

Ajani:Bin Clankem:

I bought a basic Cyrus system, largely on the back of WHF rave reviews. I was never happy with the sound, and spent much money "upgrading" it, ending up with a 6-box system of CD8x / PSX-R / Pre-X / PSX-R / 2 x monos.

It still never quite sounded right, and after discovering the advice available on forums and listening to lots of kit that never gets reviewed anywhere, I sold it all and bought obscure second-hand stuff (for less money) which sounded a WHOLE LOT better.

I take magazine reviews with a pinch of salt these days.

*Takes off dunce hat and creeps out of the corner*

You are right to take reviews with a pinch of salt... Reviewers look for specific things that may or may not be relevant to you.. for example, WHF seems to focus on All Rounders (which makes sense, since an all rounder is probably the safest bet for most people)... but if you have specialized tastes in music, then you could care less about whether your gear is equally adept at Large Scale Orchestra, Country, Hip Hop and Jazz..... Since you just want the best sounding gear for your type of music... Reviews are a useful guide in finding gear to audition (though obviously if your tastes are too specialized, then you'll have to find more obscure mags that cover the type of gear and music you're interested in)...

Actually I listen to a very wide range of music. The bottom line for me is that - compared with genuine high-end equipment - Cyrus kit is just not very good.

And genuine high-end equipment can be had second-hand for less than the new price of mid - and upper-mid-range gear like Cyrus.

 

[Clare Newsome]

ARW77:
but there definatley seems to be a distinct lack of kit from other manufacturers in What Hi-Fi these days.

Untill recently it had been a few years since I picked up a Hi-fi mag (about 8 years) but it quickly became apparent that all the usual suspects were cleaning up at the awards now as they were then; Marantz, Cyrus, Roksan and Tannoy but B&W have taken Missions old throne. I'd be very suprised if it was the same staff doing the reviews this much later on, though!

Well let's see... I joined the magazine 8 years ago. Already there and testing were Ketan Bharadia (now technical editor); Andrew Everard (now Consulting Editor); Andy Kerr (now editor of Ultimate Guides); Andy Clough (whathifi.com editor) - so there is some continuity! That's added to a team of other testers - and the newest joiner among them has been with us for three years.

If some brands are still winning Awards, it's because we believe them still to be producing excellent kit. But along the way (you may have missed this) we've had - for example - CD player winners from Rega, Arcam, Naim, Cambridge Audio, Primare and others. KEF won our stereo speaker Product of the Year for two years on the trot, with other winners from Monitor Audio, Quad, Wilson Benesch, Dali, ProAc. Epos, Mordaunt-Short, Dynaudio and many more.

We still feature all these brands and many more - Spendor, PMC, Neat, Linn, NAD, Audio Analogue, Bryston, Yamaha, Rotel etc, and that's just in the current issue!

That's more reviews of a wider spread of hi-fi brands than any other magazine - even the hi-fi specialists. And we will continue to do so....

 

[Anonymous]

I should be smacked on the wrist and read the mag more often then, perhaps!

Seriously though, I know others say to take the reviews with a pinch of salt but for the vast majority of us (me included) who wouldn't certify themselves as an out and out "Audiophile" but still definatley know and appreciate good sound when they hear it, the magazine reviews tend to be taken as gospel rather than with salt.

As I say, it's always worked for me so far and and saved me hours of watching some poor sales guy setting up loads and loads of kit and wondering if I'm even serious about buying it! I know that's what they're there for but still... so I've ended up owning a few of past award winners without feeling the need to keep comparing or like I'm missing out on something else (Cyrus, NAD, Mission and now B&W) and loved them.

 

[Ajani]

ARW77:
I should be smacked on the wrist and read the mag more often then, perhaps!

Seriously though, I know others say to take the reviews with a pinch of salt but for the vast majority of us (me included) who wouldn't certify themselves as an out and out "Audiophile" but still definatley know and appreciate good sound when they hear it, the magazine reviews tend to be taken as gospel rather than with salt.

As I say, it's always worked for me so far and and saved me hours of watching some poor sales guy setting up loads and loads of kit and wondering if I'm even serious about buying it! I know that's what they're there for but still... so I've ended up owning a few of past award winners without feeling the need to keep comparing or like I'm missing out on something else (Cyrus, NAD, Mission and now B&W) and loved them.

Nothing wrong with that... If you find that you have essentially the same taste in equipment as a particular review mag or reviewer, then it's fine to treat their reviews as gospel... the issue is that many people just read a review from a respected mag and treat it as gospel, without determining whether the reviewers have similar tastes in equipment...

I would not buy equipment based solely on WHF's 5 star rating or awards, simply because most of the products that I really loved got 4 stars, while many products I thought were just OK got 5 stars and even awards... So I realize that the magazine's tastes and mine are ever so slightly off... meaning I really have to audition gear for myself... (actually the funny part is that I use WHF to help me select a short list of 'must audition' products - then the 1st ones I audition are the 4 stars and then the 5 stars)...

 

[Anonymous]

Everyone should audition as much gear as possible, wherever possible. However:

Some hifi shops (apart from a quick blast not in your room of choice, setup, size or sometimes supporting kit) don't demo, or lend kit these days much - so the reviews, for me, from experts - are a godsend.