Cyrus kit.... where next?

[Crossie]

Whats the weakest link in my system?

cd6se

8vs2 amp with psx-r

Spendor A5

I have thought about changing the amp for the pre XP and 8 power currently on offer but have been advised to upgrade the CDP to the 8se as this would give the greatest improvement. Any views...cheers.

 

[d_a_n1979]

What kind of music do you generally listen to and also what is your room size?

I agree that a bit of a better upgrade would be to the 8SE CDP but I dont think it'd make a massive difference

It could be worth looking at new speakers (i.e. B&W CM7's or similar) as well as a change of speaker cables and interconnects.

What do you feel that the 'lack' is?

 

[Crossie]

12 by 14 feet, and I have very wide tastes...mainly classical.

Difficult to describe the "lack" but I am not there yet

Cheers dan

 

[bluebrazil]

i'd go for the pre and power amps while they are still on offer, you can upgrade the cdp at any time. i'd put the psxr on the pre amp but the speakers might prefer the little extra power the power amp will give. then of course you can decide if your funds will be better off on upgrading the cdp or mono amping your a5's with another 8 power

 

[Anonymous]

The amp sounds to me like the biggest weakness. A decent CD source like the 6SE is capable of delivering a huge amount of information to the amp but I'm willing to bet your amp can't deliver it through your speakers. I would audition a Cyrus Pre and XPower to hear a big improvement in both detail and control/muscle.

 

[jockey.wilson]

Definitely upgrade the amp... why not upgrade the 8VS2 to an 8XPd (cheaper option??)

Until recently I had an 8 XPd Qx (subsequently upgraded to Pre XPd Qx) and it is a different beast to the 8VS2, with greater 'oomph' and control. With the PSX-R, there is very little difference between that and a Pre XP/8 Power as far as my ears could tell.

If you go the pre-power route, save for the X Power as its much better than the 8 Power (and only £150 more), and why not get the Qx DAC board fitted on the Pre XP? That way you upgrade your CD player significantly at the same time.

I love spending other peoples money.

 

[JoelSim]

It may be that the Cyrus sound is not your bag. Audition other things before you make a decision. Cyrus doesn't do it for me.

 

[SteveR750]

What about upgrading the amp to the 8xpD or even the xpD QX, buy a PC / Mac for streaming into the onboard DAC, plus its future proofed ready for the CD8SE with digi out into the QX DAC. I'm no fan of the Cyrus amp sound, but a CD8SE with psx-r sounded pretty damn good to me through some spendord A5s

 

[Anonymous]

Id have to say that it is your amp at the moment. Went from the 8vs2 and psx-r to a pre and power, made a huge difference.

You could sell the integrated and keep the psx-r and add it to the pre if you went that way. Never heard the 6se but the 8 can have a power supply added to it and that makes a difference, but the amp would be first thing I would look at. Hope this helps

 

[JohnnyC]

Depends how much you want to spend. For about £500 you can get an X Power which will certainly fill out the sound more. Use the 8vs2 as a pre and see what you think. It was the best upgrade I did. I then sold the 8vs2 and bought a Pre Vs2 - Another improvement, but only marginal. I doubt a CDP would change the sound that much.

 

[Gusboll]

If you want to stick with Cyrus (and why wouldn't you!) then depending on funds, an X power would be my choice for the way to go. Also, experiment with shifting your PSX-R to the CDP; you might be surprised and it could lead you to eventually invest in another one!

Currently listening to: Moody Blues - A Question of Balance

 

[Anonymous]

I'm with Joel. Give the Cyrus gear the big heave-ho and go for Densen, Unison Research or Audio Analogue. All excellent with most music but especially good with classical.

 

[shooter]

I'd go Mono-X and Pre then PMC or maybe Epos then CD or SACD. Plenty of classical released on that format.