Disappointed with Cyrus 6vs2

[Si Conaugt]

Hi all

I've recently purchased a Cyrus 6vs2 from ebay in the expectation that it would be a clear upgrade on my Rotel RA05. Whilst I am enjoying the more detailed and spacious sound of the Cyrus, I'm really missing the visceral nature of the Rotel and am not convinced I have gained enough elsewhere with the Cyrus to make up for this. I had read reviews that said that the Cyrus was a bit light weight in the bass department but didn't think it would be this obvious. How can I get the most of my Cyrus preferably with minimal spend? What are the qualities that others like in the Cyrus? Would I be better off selling the Cyrus if visceral and detailed is what I'm after and what would make a better purchase? I am running it with MA RS1s, an rDAC, and Squeezebox Touch. Many thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

I have tried various Cyrus components (amp and cd) and found them the same to be honest, very bright treble and light on bass. Suits some music and peoples tastes, but not mine I am afraid.

My suggestion was if you like your Rotel more, stick with it and move the Cyrus on. Everyone likes a different sound

That will be the cheapest solution in the long term.

 

[plastic penguin]

Phil Opian:

Hi all

I've recently purchased a Cyrus 6vs2 from ebay in the expectation that it would be a clear upgrade on my Rotel RA05. Whilst I am enjoying the more detailed and spacious sound of the Cyrus, I'm really missing the visceral nature of the Rotel and am not convinced I have gained enough elsewhere with the Cyrus to make up for this. I had read reviews that said that the Cyrus was a bit light weight in the bass department but didn't think it would be this obvious. How can I get the most of my Cyrus preferably with minimal spend? What are the qualities that others like in the Cyrus? Would I be better off selling the Cyrus if visceral and detailed is what I'm after and what would make a better purchase? I am running it with MA RS1s, an rDAC, and Squeezebox Touch. Many thanks.

Straight away the speakers aren't doing the Cyrus any favours. They are fabulous monitors in themselves, but not best suited to Cyrus. I would look at Dynaudio 52s, Epos M12s or perhaps (although not heard them myself) EB Acoustics EB1s.

 

[the record spot]

Move it on, or, at more expense, buy speakers that'll deliver the bass you're after. I was going to suggest the 2050, but that apparently has a keen treble, so it's something you'd want to watch out for. Bass and dynamics to die for at £449 (or £380 if you go for the non-gloss finish). Otherwise, I'd agree with moving the Cyrus on.

 

[Si Conaugt]

Hmmm...I was kind of wondering about EB1s as next step, also not having heard them but wondering if ribbon tweeters and larger bass drivers could sort my issues. I like the greater volume control I have with the Cyrus - even with attenuators the Rotel had very little - and it can sound fantastic with treble rich music, Neil Young springs to mind. But I do like a bit of bass. Suprisingly, to me, even acoustic music seems to benefit from a bit of bass for added realism.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with Penguin that its the speakers that are letting the system down here (maybe the cables also)

The Cyrus 6VS2 is an amp that a fiend has got with a Cyrus 6SE CDP and he has it with B&WCM7 speakers and its a superb combo and certainly not bass shy. Tried it with my CM5's and they worked superbly as well

For me some better standmount speakers and decent cable such as Chord Odyssey 2 with Chord Chameleon interconnects or the Black Rhodium Prelude interconnect would help to improve the sound quality

 

[sweety7272]

The 6VS2 is a cracking amp for detail, soundstage and clarity, but I'd agree can be a bit bass shy. Speakers can certainly be changed, and from personal experience adding a power amp can give you a bit of extra grunt. Perhaps a s'hand smartpower +, which is essentially the same as the current 8 power which you could use to bi-amp, and could then be further added to to go monon-bloc route if you wished. Good place to look is the Cyrusunofficial forum, normally good condition gear for sale at the right prices.

Starting with a 6VS I eventually ended up with the X-power which I have to say is a hidden gem in their line up, and can really shake the house but still has that Cyrus sound. I'm currently just using the 6VS as a pre-amp, which needs to change at some point when I can get round to sorting it out, but it really does sound very balanced and not at all lacking in the bass department with some ATC SCM 11s.

Clearly if you liked the Rotel sound it might be better to just revert to that brand, especially as the Cyrus upgrade path is temptation itself...so easy to swap shoeboxes without anyone noticing!

 

[Frank Harvey]

The 6vs2 and 6vs were never power monsters - great care had to be taken matching up speakers to them. They were fine with efficient speakers, but anything with a low sensitivity were best avoided. Other speakers like the Dynaudio Audience range which were 4ohms, while quite a popular combination (especially with 42s and 52s), usually ended up in the amp cutting out between the 11and 12 o'clock position. Any speaker with a tendency to drop to 4ohms in the bass region was in danger of causing this.

They were quite lean sounding amplifiers in comparison to others, so again, care had to be taken in matching up the right speakers for the individual's tonal tastes.many people liked their lean, forward balance as it presented far more of what was going on in the music tham similarly priced, warmer sounding amplification. Horses for courses.

unless you're interested in pursuing the Cyrus route (their pre/powers don't suffer from this leanness), I'd move the amp on and go back to your Rotel - from their you can either upgrade to a better Rotel amplifier, or add a Rotel power amplifier for better quality and grunt.

 

[bretty]

I used to have a Cyrus 2, and I know what you mean. Very detailed and very good with vocals, but no bottom end. Personally, i'd add a sub to fill out the lower frequencies. A good s/h sub would set you back less than £200.

 

[plastic penguin]

I agree with David that hard to drive speakers on a 40 watt amp will cause problems if you have a large room and play at wall shaking levels. However, I've never heard of a 40 watt powerhouse regardless of how pure the current maybe. I've owned 40 watt amps for 14 years....

I do believe in getting the sonic balance right is absolutely crucial, and then deal with the output issue afterwards, with a power amp etc.

 

[Si Conaugt]

Thanks very much for all your replies. The power amp route seems like a popular option. I wasn't quite sure what Plastic Penguin meant by 'getting the sonic balance right', do you mean that you should look for a tonal balance that suits you first and then think about increasing power for particular speakers? I am not 100% sure what a power amp does for a system. I'm not particularly interested in wall shaking levels of volume but would like to have a full and detailed sound. Looking on ebay, I can see 6 and 8 power amps. Would it need to be a 6 power amp or does it not really matter? Are there any advantages to an 8 power amp? Many thanks.

 

[bluebrazil]

i think mr penguin meant its best to sort the sonic balance between amp and speakers (and also source but to a lesser extent) first before worrying about power amps. if you have speakers that can be bi amped, i.e. ones that have two pairs of binding posts, then you could add a 6 power no problem. i really dont think it will change the sound dramatically tho.

 

[bluebrazil]

oh i see you have ma rs1's. well you could buy a 6 power but in my opinion ma's and cyrus wont really match. one thing to try taking away some of the brightness is finding solid core copper speaker cables, it helps but i still think you will have to change your amp or your speakers

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Phil Opian:
Hi all

I've recently purchased a Cyrus 6vs2 from ebay in the expectation that it would be a clear upgrade on my Rotel RA05. Whilst I am enjoying the more detailed and spacious sound of the Cyrus, I'm really missing the visceral nature of the Rotel and am not convinced I have gained enough elsewhere with the Cyrus to make up for this. I had read reviews that said that the Cyrus was a bit light weight in the bass department but didn't think it would be this obvious. How can I get the most of my Cyrus preferably with minimal spend? What are the qualities that others like in the Cyrus? Would I be better off selling the Cyrus if visceral and detailed is what I'm after and what would make a better purchase? I am running it with MA RS1s, an rDAC, and Squeezebox Touch. Many thanks.

Hi Phil Opian

I'll recommend a complete change of amplification. If you are still happy to consider buying used then i'll recommend Rotel's RA-1062 amplifier. Even though bi amping your speakers with the Cyrus amps will improve matters however i feel the RA-1062 will on it's own overall offer an even greater quantity of power, stability, control, performance and even more imporatantly a much better tonal match with your RS1's. It's a win-win with the RA-1062 as the amp also greatly improves on the RA-05.

Nad C370 and Marantz PM64 amplifiers are also worth serious consideration.

Btw, what cabling are you using please?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[plastic penguin]

Phil Opian:Thanks very much for all your replies. The power amp route seems like a popular option. I wasn't quite sure what Plastic Penguin meant by 'getting the sonic balance right', do you mean that you should look for a tonal balance that suits you first and then think about increasing power for particular speakers? I am not 100% sure what a power amp does for a system. I'm not particularly interested in wall shaking levels of volume but would like to have a full and detailed sound. Looking on ebay, I can see 6 and 8 power amps. Would it need to be a 6 power amp or does it not really matter? Are there any advantages to an 8 power amp? Many thanks.

Yup, trying to obtain the correct balance or synergy tht allows a system to sound its best. If you add a power amp before anything else you are [possibly] increasing power but will sound disjointed. As I mentioned in my earlier post I rate the RS1s very highly, but like any component, won't maximise the Cyrus - or vice versa.

 

[Si Conaugt]

Many thanks for everyones ongoing input. I am now being swayed away from the idea of a Cyrus power amp. My cables are Chord Crimson analogues, QED Performance Coaxial, and some kind of QED speaker cable bought for about £5 per metre from Sevenoaks S&V, probably copper! The amp is also plugged into a Lindy mains conditioner. I was going to put my Rotel on Ebay this weekend but maybe I will do some A/B testing before I do that. I have to say that I had been thinking about the Rotel 1520 or even 1062 for some time but they so rarely came up on ebay that I got fed up of waiting! The fact that Cyrus always get such glowing reviews from WHF prompted me to give it a punt. I don't hate it, I even quite like it but not sure I love it.

 

[plastic penguin]

Phil Opian:Many thanks for everyones ongoing input. I am now being swayed away from the idea of a Cyrus power amp. My cables are Chord Crimson analogues, QED Performance Coaxial, and some kind of QED speaker cable bought for about £5 per metre from Sevenoaks S&V, probably copper! The amp is also plugged into a Lindy mains conditioner. I was going to put my Rotel on Ebay this weekend but maybe I will do some A/B testing before I do that. I have to say that I had been thinking about the Rotel 1520 or even 1062 for some time but they so rarely came up on ebay that I got fed up of waiting! The fact that Cyrus always get such glowing reviews from WHF prompted me to give it a punt. I don't hate it, I even quite like it but not sure I love it.

Everyone knows their sonic threshold i.e. likes and dislikes, but if you plump for the aforementioned Rotels I still feel you'll be a tad disappointed. Backtrack to speakers...

Edit - if you really don't want to part with the RS1s, suggest you move away from Rotel and listen to either Arcam or Creek. Music in harmony.

 

[Anonymous]

Hold your horses, I am using a Rotel 04 SE with a Cyrus 8 power connected to the Rotels pre outs. First time I turned it on I thought s**t nothing much has improved but then when the Cyrus heats up it is a big upgrade...

 

[Frank Harvey]

Agreed that Rotel and Cyrus need a good warm up period to perform as they should.

 

[Si Conaugt]

I have now added in some Goldenjack Attenuators and it may just be wishful thinking but it seems to have filled the sound out a bit. I can now pump the volume level to around the 9 o'clock range and still be well within sociable listening levels. Its still no bass pounder but sounds less as though its missing bass if you get what I mean. There were also occasions previously where it almost sounded like it was trying to present some detail but ran out of steam but haven't heard that recently. Is this a 'sweet spot' problem? I agree about warm up times though the Cyrus seems to take twice as long to warm up as the Rotel, often 4-5 hours in before I think it sounds its best. I was under the impression that the standby facility on the Cyrus was supposed to reduce warm up times!

 

[Anonymous]

If a 4-5hour warm up is required to make it sound right then there's something wrong with it.

If the amp doesn't sit right with you, flog it and get something else, life is too short. Once your ears have got used to listening to the music after a few minutes, it should have you in the groove

 

[Frank Harvey]

Phil Opian:I was under the impression that the standby facility on the Cyrus was supposed to reduce warm up times!
To reduce warm up times, it would pretty much have to be switched on all the time, so couldn't then technically be called 'standby'. It might help slightly, but not by a great deal.