enough power??

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I'm off to demo some Cyrus gear on Tuesday to partner my Rega r3's. I'm trying the cd6se with 6vs2 and 8vs2 amps. Kinda hoping that the 6vs2 will be enough but i'm concerned that it might lack some power as my last amp was an arcam a85.

Bearing in mind that my room is not too big (3.2x4.2m), does anyone have an opinion if its 40w will be enough or will i be needing the 8vs2?

Anyone have a 6vs2? What speakers is it driving?
 

Messiah

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I would say the 6vs2 will be fine to drive those speakers. I have used one to drive some Monitor Audio RS1's and they have very similar sensitivity settings (89db for the Rega and 90db for the MA). It had no problem driving the MA's.

However, as you are going to demo it I'm sure you will find out for certain.
 
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Anonymous

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Thanks Messiah. How did that combo sound? (6vs2 and rs1's)
 

Messiah

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Well I bought my RS1's on the strength of it and have been very happy with them (although I use them with a 7 amp).

They just give me a nice clean and clear sound and not at all bright as has been mentioned with MA linked to Cyrus kit. They sound bright at first but after a few hours they settle down and sound great.
 

chebby

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My 25w per channel Arcam Solo-Mini sounds fine with Rega R3's

I am assuming your concern about power indicates you intend to play these speakers very loud indeed.
 
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Anonymous

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Not really. Don't have too many house parties now and got neighbours to think about but i like to give floyd a bit of volume now and again. I just had a few concerns after reading reviews on the 6 and having moved from the 85w arcam but i'm sure i'll find out for sure when i demo.

If you find the solo mini has enough power, i think i'll probably have plenty with the 6, thanks.
 
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Anonymous

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Try the amp and see how it sounds. Watts isn't the whole picture when it comes to amplifier interaction with speakers. The current reserves and damping factor will play a role too. If you have less power then there's a greater likelihood of clipping/limiting/distortion and the music will take on a coloured sound. This can be good or bad depending on your preferences. Yes an amp is likely to tick along using a small number of Watts, but when the music peaks or the bass gets heavy performance will be hindered.

Personally I would go for the most powerful amp you can afford but that's just me and my experience.
 

d_a_n1979

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The Cyrus 6v2 amp will drive the Rega's fine :)

Ive heard the 6v2 and the 8v2 driving both the Rs3's and the RS5's recently and they sounded great; all be it they were partnered with a Rega Apollo and Rega Jupiter CDP.

My other half first had the Cyrus 6v2 partnered with her 6SE CDP and B&W CM7 speakers and it drove them very well. They were plenty loud enough!
 
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Anonymous

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chebby:
My 25w per channel Arcam Solo-Mini sounds fine with Rega R3's

I am assuming your concern about power indicates you intend to play these speakers very loud indeed.

Chebby,

If you used a powerful HiFi amplifier with your Regas rather than a micro system you'd find that they sounded better at all volumes.

A low-powered amp like yours may sound soft, but I think it's your preference, as you lust after outdated BBC loudspeakers too.

Edward
 
A

Anonymous

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If you go to Maplins and buy yourselves a cheap Scope, you'll be able to tell how much power is needed for different volume levels. You set it for the maximum voltage that the amp can produce and watch to see how often the peaks disappear off the scale.

Music varies enormously in its Peak to Mean Levels. Classical Music the most, but anything modern can have more dynamic range if it's producer decided it was needed. This means that when you listen to music, you are using only a fraction of a Watt continuously, but interspersed with a quick succession of peaks that might need hundreds of Watts. Some years ago when we were experimenting, we set Joan Armatrading's Me Myself I at a continuous 600 milliWatts and were amazed to see the drums needed 600 Watts! Not all records need this much power but you will find that more powerful amplifiers sound better because they clip less, which is why everyone is so bowled over by the Cambridge Audio 840A.

Very low powered amplifiers (much below 100 wpc) will sound soft and pleasant if they are are a modern design, but they won't go loud or have the dynamics of the music and if you push them too hard, you my damage your speakers. When an amp clips excessively, it's putting DC into the speakers and this melts the voice coil of the bass driver.

I hope this helps.

Ash
 

chebby

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Eddie Pound:Chebby,
If you used a powerful HiFi amplifier with your Regas rather than a micro system you'd find that they sounded better at all volumes.

A low-powered amp like yours may sound soft, but I think it's your preference, as you lust after outdated BBC loudspeakers too.

Edward

It is a shame I cannot post the review* where the Arcam Solo-Mini was tested with a pair of £2100 Living Voice Auditorium speakers and bowled the reviewers over. I will risk a quote....

"Now that may seem an odd pairing - a £2,100 speaker with a £650
mini-system? On the contrary, we found ourselves drawn inescapably to
the conclusion that, with a budget of two to three thousand pounds, a
Mini, plus the best loudspeakers one can find, it's still an eminently
sensible choice.


After all, the Mini isn't just competent; it is, in context, stunning."

*From a competing magazine.

I can post a link to the 5 star WHF review....

http://whathifi.com/Review/Arcam-Solo-Mini/

and point out that is also a WHF award winner.

Not everyone needs a big powerful amplifier. The OP has expressed a concern about power because he probably has different listening conditions and requirements to me. I just wished to illustrate that the efficient R3's do not need masses of power to perform well at reasonable volume levels. I am sure the Cyrus 6VS2 will be fine.

As for "outdated BBC loudspeakers", many companies (Rogers, Harbeth, Spendor, PMC, Stirling Broadcast) are still doing very well with BBC monitor designs and/or designs evolved/derived from them. However such small monitor types (especially sealed box) are very inefficient (83 - 85db usually) and I would not think of using them with a Solo-Mini. Their manufacturers - some of whom I have spoken to on the subject - recommend class A (valve) designs of around 40 watts or solid state a/b designs up to 100 watt per channel.
 
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Anonymous

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Chebby, I don't think anyone is arguing that the Solo doesn't sound nice or that some reviewers don't love the sound it produces, but these are subjective opinions and don't take account of the facts.

A more powerful amplifier, if it is a good performer, will sound crisper, cleaner, clearer and more dynamic and those may be characteristics that you don't like. However they are more accurate, which the majority is likely to prefer.

I think that one of the great tragedies of hi fi is that so little account is taken of measurements and their direct relation to what you hear.

The problem for all of us is that we tend to prefer what we're used to and that we can have trouble adapting to what may amount to a substantial improvement because the difference is large. Our ears play tricks with us and render subjective opinions unreliable and we should never forget this.

Ash
 
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Anonymous

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Went for my demo today and came back with a cd6se, 8vs2 and an empty bank account
emotion-7.gif
.

First impressions of the 6vs2 were great. It seemed to have bags of power and could go very loud (far too loud for my needs) so don't know what the worry was about. It sounded great and i thought i had found the amp for me but after a while, i found it to sound a little raw and not so refined with some recordings. Not sure if it was a combination of amp and speakers but I don't think i could have lived with it day to day.

Then i tried the 8 and it seemed to have all that the 6 had but had more body to the sound. Voices lost that little bit of harshness and i was blown away by this exciting amp. Got them in black and i am so far very happy with the look and sound of my new system.

Thanks for all your comments.
 

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