Front Port Speakers for Cyrus Mono X

[Kellytm272]

My current system seems great, have had recent big upgrades to the source and power amps. Went from Cyrus 8vs2 integrated to a pair of Mono X mono blocks with a Tisbury Audio passive pre. Upgraded my dac from a Audiolab Q-Dac to the Arcam D33, whilst retaining my Dynaudio Dm2/6 speakers from my previous setup. Big improvement in terms of control!

My question is two fold. Firstly does the new amp and dac deserve better speakers? And am guessing it will be PMC, Spendor or Dynaudio. But here is where it gets more tricky.

I have a relatively small room. Maximum distance between speakers is approx 2m. Listening distance is approx 2.5m from the front of the speakers. I think that the best distance from the rear wall that I can position the speakers is maybe 25cm. And one of the speakers is near a corner, approx 20 cm from a side wall. So my next question is: would front ported/ sealed speakers be more suitable? And if so, could I have some suggestions please?

thanks

 

[plastic penguin]

My current system seems great, have had recent big upgrades to the source and power amps. Went from Cyrus 8vs2 integrated to a pair of Mono X mono blocks with a Tisbury Audio passive pre. Upgraded my dac from a Audiolab Q-Dac to the Arcam D33, whilst retaining my Dynaudio Dm2/6 speakers from my previous setup. Big improvement in terms of control!

My question is two fold. Firstly does the new amp and dac deserve better speakers? And am guessing it will be PMC, Spendor or Dynaudio. But here is where it gets more tricky.

I have a relatively small room. Maximum distance between speakers is approx 2m. Listening distance is approx 2.5m from the front of the speakers. I think that the best distance from the rear wall that I can position the speakers is maybe 25cm. And one of the speakers is near a corner, approx 20 cm from a side wall. So my next question is: would front ported/ sealed speakers be more suitable? And if so, could I have some suggestions please?

thanks

Are you experiencing any boom from the speaker? I wouldn't recommend PMC being so close to the wall - they need a good 12-18" to hear them at their best.

Generally, Dynaudio and Cyrus are a cracking match. You could try ATC SCM7 and see how they sound by comparison. Before parting with any money try experimenting with speaker positioning - move it away by a couple of inches. Try toe-in and toe-out.

 

[Kellytm272]

Thanks for the reply, I had tried experimenting with positioning earlier in the year, and had set the speakers up slightly toed in, which gave much improved imaging, but with the distances to the wall as mentioned in my original post. I tried earlier, moving them as close to the Dynaudio recommended wall distances, which noticeably improved bass boom, but the speakers ended up significantly far into the room, as to look daft.

 

[plastic penguin]

Thanks for the reply, I had tried experimenting with positioning earlier in the year, and had set the speakers up slightly toed in, which gave much improved imaging, but with the distances to the wall as mentioned in my original post. I tried earlier, moving them as close to the Dynaudio recommended wall distances, which noticeably improved bass boom, but the speakers ended up significantly far into the room, as to look daft.

Although not front ported Spendor work well with Cyrus. Perhaps a pair of SA-1 which are sealed, or their small floorstanders A3. I would also look at Neat Iota, which are close proximity speakers.

Oddly, I've found small floorstanders to work better as regards to placement than some stand mount speakers. One of the best IMO is Totem Arros. Cracking speaker although no idea how they'll sound with Cyrus. Rega is also worth checking out.

 

[plastic penguin]

Out of curiosity, how did the 8VS2 sound with the Dyns?

 

[Kellytm272]

To be fair, the 8VS2 may have been a better match in some respects. It sounded a bit better balanced. But the detail and control that the mono X brings, is pretty clear. It's just that the bass sounds a bit boomy. I guess the bass may have always been a problem, but is just highlighted as more of a problem now, due to improvements in the rest of the sound.

 

[drummerman]

Nice system.

I use a PSX-R'd 8vs2 and I wouldn't like any more control, it would loose its musicality (in my room anyway).

I too sit probably between 2.5 and 3m from the speakers and I absolutely detest bass boom, both with speakers and Headphones hence, I normally bung speakers and use them IB or part bunged (I have hollow bungs with filler bits ... if that makes any sense). I do that regardless of whether the manufacturer recommends that or not and what amplifier I use, its just personal preference.

So, have you tried blocking/part-blocking your ports?

Regardless, I do think you probably need better speakers to do justice to your new system. XTC do a highly regarded standmount with ribbon tweeter which has good mechanical damping as do ATC.

Spendor too has been said to work well with cyrus as has been mentioned before.

Quads new S range of ribbon equipped speakers looks truly fantastic and already garned good reviews.

 

[plastic penguin]

To be fair, the 8VS2 may have been a better match in some respects. It sounded a bit better balanced. But the detail and control that the mono X brings, is pretty clear. It's just that the bass sounds a bit boomy. I guess the bass may have always been a problem, but is just highlighted as more of a problem now, due to improvements in the rest of the sound.

I know this may sound a little harsh. There's your problem. Sometimes in hi-fi less is more.

I have similar dimensions to your room and I own the Leema Pulse with PMC speakers. I've found a 'sweet spot': The bass is tight as drum and imaging is superb. I would love to have a Tucana but the extra power and resolution on my current speakers would mean it'll be too overbearing for the room. That's not a risk I'm prepared to make without either: Moving to a bigger house or a total revision of the speakers to accommodate the Tucana. It ain't going to happen.

In your position I'd buy another 8VS2 and PSX - that should solve 90% of your current issues. You won't solve every problem because hi-fi is a compromise.

 

[davedotco]

I know this may sound a little harsh. There's your problem. Sometimes in hi-fi less is more.

I have similar dimensions to your room and I own the Leema Pulse with PMC speakers. I've found a 'sweet spot': The bass is tight as drum and imaging is superb. I would love to have a Tucana but the extra power and resolution on my current speakers would mean it'll be too overbearing for the room. That's not a risk I'm prepared to make without either: Moving to a bigger house or a total revision of the speakers to accommodate the Tucana. It ain't going to happen.

In your position I'd buy another 8VS2 and PSX - that should solve 90% of your current issues. You won't solve every problem because hi-fi is a compromise.

I'd love to know what has brought you to that viewpoint, primarily because it is totally at odds with my own.

I have always found that substituting a better, more potent amplifier into a good sounding system to improve clarity and control, helping the speakers become more 'alligned' with the room characteristics.

I'm interested in what you have tried/experienced to bring you to the opposite conclusion?

 

[plastic penguin]

I know this may sound a little harsh. There's your problem. Sometimes in hi-fi less is more.

I have similar dimensions to your room and I own the Leema Pulse with PMC speakers. I've found a 'sweet spot': The bass is tight as drum and imaging is superb. I would love to have a Tucana but the extra power and resolution on my current speakers would mean it'll be too overbearing for the room. That's not a risk I'm prepared to make without either: Moving to a bigger house or a total revision of the speakers to accommodate the Tucana. It ain't going to happen.

In your position I'd buy another 8VS2 and PSX - that should solve 90% of your current issues. You won't solve every problem because hi-fi is a compromise.

I'd love to know what has brought you to that viewpoint, primarily because it is totally at odds with my own.

I have always found that substituting a better, more potent amplifier into a good sounding system to improve clarity and control, helping the speakers become more 'alligned' with the room characteristics.

I'm interested in what you have tried/experienced to bring you to the opposite conclusion?

Easy. I've experienced a number of amps over the years (MF, Kandys...) and at the levels I play music isn't a problem (remember the previous speakers were RS6s). It's all about balnce between components and room size and acoustics.

With the TB2is and the Pulse it's pretty much nailed on. As close as ideal as my wallet and patience will allow. Going to a Tucana with TB2is I feel will be too overbearing.

The OP seems to have a similar problem, as he/she has already stated the 8VS2 was better because it was less revealing than the mono blocks.

EDIT - if your logic is correct we'd all be sitting in a garden shed with a 1,000 watt amplifier and AVI-sized speakers.

 

[Kellytm272]

I used the bungs when I first got the speakers, but didn't like the sound. That said, the speakers were probably still running in to be fair.

im going to try and move a few things around, just to try and get the right hand speaker further from the side wall. That may help a bit, otherwise am only going to be able to slightly refine the distance to the rear wall.

Will look at the ATC SCM11 and Spendor SA1, A3, A5, A6. Although according to their manuals, the ATC speaker needs more distance from the walls than my dynaudios, whereas the spendors need less. And the reviews of those speakers seem to suggest the opposite of that. So it's really hard to decide on.

The other speakers I had wondered about are the Dynaudio Focus 160s.

 

[drummerman]

I used the bungs when I first got the speakers, but didn't like the sound. That said, the speakers were probably still running in to be fair.

im going to try and move a few things around, just to try and get the right hand speaker further from the side wall. That may help a bit, otherwise am only going to be able to slightly refine the distance to the rear wall.

Will look at the ATC SCM11 and Spendor SA1, A3, A5, A6. Although according to their manuals, the ATC speaker needs more distance from the walls than my dynaudios, whereas the spendors need less. And the reviews of those speakers seem to suggest the opposite of that. So it's really hard to decide on.

The other speakers I had wondered about are the Dynaudio Focus 160s.

Focus range = loads of bass

 

[plastic penguin]

I used the bungs when I first got the speakers, but didn't like the sound. That said, the speakers were probably still running in to be fair.

im going to try and move a few things around, just to try and get the right hand speaker further from the side wall. That may help a bit, otherwise am only going to be able to slightly refine the distance to the rear wall.

Will look at the ATC SCM11 and Spendor SA1, A3, A5, A6. Although according to their manuals, the ATC speaker needs more distance from the walls than my dynaudios, whereas the spendors need less. And the reviews of those speakers seem to suggest the opposite of that. So it's really hard to decide on.

The other speakers I had wondered about are the Dynaudio Focus 160s.

Focus range = loads of bass

IIRC they need a shed load of breathing space.

 

[Kellytm272]

So I tried a bit of playing with the positioning. Basically I moved furniture maybe 20cm such that the corner speaker is about 50cm from the side wall and a similar amount from the rear wall. I then angled the speakers such that they were pointing directly at the listening position. What that did was massively improve the stereo imaging - vocals appear to be coming from in front now!

The next issue was that the sound was quite bright from the speakers. But I recalled that the dac had a couple of filter settings, which I had set to the recommended setting. Altering this eliminated most of the brightness - although it may be slightly brighter than I would like, but much better.

i then found the foam bungs for the speakers, so experimented a bit with those. But haven't made up my mind what I prefer. So will do a bit more experimenting with them. I think that with the bungs in place, it seems a little bass shy. With them out, the bass is much better than it was - so thinking this may be the preferred option at the moment.

Having nearly resolved that, am still wondering whether I should consider going for a higher quality speaker - perhaps Spendor or ATC may remove a little more of the brightness, or further up the Dynaudio range - even if that's discontinued models?

 

[Andrewjvt]

Hi id give the atcs a home trial. They can be closer to the wall and sound divine and will be up for the quality of your cyrus amps.