Setup details:
Cyrus CD-XT-SE
Cyrus DAC-X
Cyrus Pre-VS2
Dual Cyrus 8-Powers in twin mono mode
Interconnects are Chord ProDAC and Chord Chorus 2
Speaker Cables are Chord Odyssey 4, run as two conductors per channel, bi-amped, i.e. 2 pairs of cables per speaker.
Cyrus rack by Simon Little.
ProAC Studio 140 speakers, on spikes and pukka spike cups.
Mordaunt Short MS 30? Subwoofer, fed from chain output of both power amps (subwoofer has right and left inputs so I used them both), Chord Crimson subwoofer cables.
Living room 15 foot by 12, hardwood floors.
Speakers in bay windows, about 9 inches from sides with about 18 inches clear space behind. Speakers are about 6 feet apart (maybe a little too close, but that's a function of the living room not the hifi).
Speakers are replacements for Mordaunt SHort Mezzo 6's. The ProACs were bought "ex demo" and so are probably quite run in already.
First Impressions:
Build Quality:
What you would expect for 1500-quid speakers.
Floor spikes are quite long and a little rustic. I guess the length is to give the downward firing bass ports room to work. The bottom plinths look a bit silly, therefore, stuck an inch and a half off the floor (and I've already stubbed a toe on them - don't ask). Might look okay if your **** pile is VERY deep and thick. What the bottom plinths do seem to do, however, is hold the plastic bass port "funnels" (yes I know there's probably a techno-term for them but I don't know it) in place.
Layout:
Haven't figured out whether the asymmetrically mounted tweeters are supposed to be on the inside or outside. Not sure it matters, either. Speaker wire binding posts (bi-wire) are set relatively high up on the backs of the cabinets. Lower down would have been nicer aesthetically. Single wire jumpers for those of you who don't want to bi-wire are thin brass affairs, best filed under "WPB" (waste paper basket) and replaced with jumpers made from the pukka speaker cable of your choice.
The Important Bit:
Musically suberb, kind of what you would expect from 1500 quid speakers. They don't seem to loose any of the detail thrown out by the Cyrus kit. They seem to play "louder" at the same volume levels, probably due to higher sensitivity than the Mezzos. In my student days (20-plus years ago - gupl!) I had a pair of Mordaunt Short MS-15s, and they were a little loathed to get moving at low volumes, so perhaps this is a persistent brand trait?
Bass is punchier than the Mezzo's with more "oomph", especially at normal living room volumes. Probably due to the bottom firing bass port working off the hardwood floors compared to the Mezzo's front firing bass port. Bass doesn't seem to get carried away at higher volumes.
Midrange is sweet right across the board.
Treble is superb at low to medium volumes although I feel a bit of harshness creeping in at higher, neighbour annoying, volumes.
Overall, these give the bass weight to counter / compliment the highly detailed, some would still say bass-light, tone of the Cyrus kit. At room level volumes the balance is superb. The possible harshness in the treble only seems to come through at neighbour annoying volumes. For a 15 x 12 living room in a flat, therefore, they're a pretty darned good match with the Cyrus kit.
And finally:
Wife likes the look of the Mezzos better. Maybe because they were walnut veneer and not black ash! 400 quid off retail and I'm not going to complain too much!
Cyrus CD-XT-SE
Cyrus DAC-X
Cyrus Pre-VS2
Dual Cyrus 8-Powers in twin mono mode
Interconnects are Chord ProDAC and Chord Chorus 2
Speaker Cables are Chord Odyssey 4, run as two conductors per channel, bi-amped, i.e. 2 pairs of cables per speaker.
Cyrus rack by Simon Little.
ProAC Studio 140 speakers, on spikes and pukka spike cups.
Mordaunt Short MS 30? Subwoofer, fed from chain output of both power amps (subwoofer has right and left inputs so I used them both), Chord Crimson subwoofer cables.
Living room 15 foot by 12, hardwood floors.
Speakers in bay windows, about 9 inches from sides with about 18 inches clear space behind. Speakers are about 6 feet apart (maybe a little too close, but that's a function of the living room not the hifi).
Speakers are replacements for Mordaunt SHort Mezzo 6's. The ProACs were bought "ex demo" and so are probably quite run in already.
First Impressions:
Build Quality:
What you would expect for 1500-quid speakers.
Floor spikes are quite long and a little rustic. I guess the length is to give the downward firing bass ports room to work. The bottom plinths look a bit silly, therefore, stuck an inch and a half off the floor (and I've already stubbed a toe on them - don't ask). Might look okay if your **** pile is VERY deep and thick. What the bottom plinths do seem to do, however, is hold the plastic bass port "funnels" (yes I know there's probably a techno-term for them but I don't know it) in place.
Layout:
Haven't figured out whether the asymmetrically mounted tweeters are supposed to be on the inside or outside. Not sure it matters, either. Speaker wire binding posts (bi-wire) are set relatively high up on the backs of the cabinets. Lower down would have been nicer aesthetically. Single wire jumpers for those of you who don't want to bi-wire are thin brass affairs, best filed under "WPB" (waste paper basket) and replaced with jumpers made from the pukka speaker cable of your choice.
The Important Bit:
Musically suberb, kind of what you would expect from 1500 quid speakers. They don't seem to loose any of the detail thrown out by the Cyrus kit. They seem to play "louder" at the same volume levels, probably due to higher sensitivity than the Mezzos. In my student days (20-plus years ago - gupl!) I had a pair of Mordaunt Short MS-15s, and they were a little loathed to get moving at low volumes, so perhaps this is a persistent brand trait?
Bass is punchier than the Mezzo's with more "oomph", especially at normal living room volumes. Probably due to the bottom firing bass port working off the hardwood floors compared to the Mezzo's front firing bass port. Bass doesn't seem to get carried away at higher volumes.
Midrange is sweet right across the board.
Treble is superb at low to medium volumes although I feel a bit of harshness creeping in at higher, neighbour annoying, volumes.
Overall, these give the bass weight to counter / compliment the highly detailed, some would still say bass-light, tone of the Cyrus kit. At room level volumes the balance is superb. The possible harshness in the treble only seems to come through at neighbour annoying volumes. For a 15 x 12 living room in a flat, therefore, they're a pretty darned good match with the Cyrus kit.
And finally:
Wife likes the look of the Mezzos better. Maybe because they were walnut veneer and not black ash! 400 quid off retail and I'm not going to complain too much!
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