Hifi from 90's vs current. Is it worth me replacing?

[T1mmydon]

I've recently rediscovered my love of listening but trying to catch up on 25 years lost knowledge. One thing I still have is my orginal Cyrus 3 integrated amp and PSX-R and Mission 753 speakers (both in perfect working order). In 1994, these cost me £800 (500 for the amp, 300 for the PSX) and £700 respectively. My question is, are these worth keeping or would a modern day amp and speakers of the same cost outperform these classics?

 

[Messiah]

I ran a similar set-up back in the day and it would still hold up well, even today.

Do you have any local shops when you demo a few items? If possible, try a few similar priced systems and then you can judge whether it’s worth it.

 

[matthewpianist]

I've recently rediscovered my love of listening but trying to catch up on 25 years lost knowledge. One thing I still have is my orginal Cyrus 3 integrated amp and PSX-R and Mission 753 speakers (both in perfect working order). In 1994, these cost me £800 (500 for the amp, 300 for the PSX) and £700 respectively. My question is, are these worth keeping or would a modern day amp and speakers of the same cost outperform these classics?

You've re-discovered your love of listening, which tells you a lot about your system. Is anything shouting out at you as a shortcoming? If not, enjoy the excellent kit you have.

 

[T1mmydon]

You've re-discovered your love of listening, which tells you a lot about your system. Is anything shouting out at you as a shortcoming? If not, enjoy the excellent kit you have.

The level of detail and depth of soundstage is excellent but I struggle to get any authority or depth in the bass. I always thought the Cyrus wasn't powerful enough and was perhaps better suited to smaller speakers. I listen to a lot of electronic and ambient music so the basslines are often subtle to begin with. Losing some of this through the current setup really detracts from the track in some cases. I was considering just replacing the speakers for something like the Monitor Audio silver 100. I have a medium size listening room so don't really need a full floorstander.

 

[T1mmydon]

I ran a similar set-up back in the day and it would still hold up well, even today.

Do you have any local shops when you demo a few items? If possible, try a few similar priced systems and then you can judge whether it’s worth it.

I do have a local Richer Sounds. I didn't think they'd be interested in a "is my kit better than yours?" type enquiry. Is that a pretty normal thing to do these days? I spent many hours in demo rooms but only ever with kit they were trying to sell me.

 

[matthewpianist]

The level of detail and depth of soundstage is excellent but I struggle to get any authority or depth in the bass. I always thought the Cyrus wasn't powerful enough and was perhaps better suited to smaller speakers. I listen to a lot of electronic and ambient music so the basslines are often subtle to begin with. Losing some of this through the current setup really detracts from the track in some cases. I was considering just replacing the speakers for something like the Monitor Audio silver 100. I have a medium size listening room so don't really need a full floorstander.

I'd look to keeping the speakers and replacing the amplifier in that case. Roksan may be a good place to start.

 

[Messiah]

I do have a local Richer Sounds. I didn't think they'd be interested in a "is my kit better than yours?" type enquiry. Is that a pretty normal thing to do these days? I spent many hours in demo rooms but only ever with kit they were trying to sell me.

Any decent shop should fully appreciate the situation you are in and ultimately it may lead to a sale for them.

I agree with Matthew that the amp rather than speakers may be the way to go. Never found the 753 to be bass shy.

If you went down the MA route I would certainly demo them with the Cyrus. I ran a similar combo to this as well at one time and some tracks could sound quite bright/harsh.

 

[T1mmydon]

Any decent shop should fully appreciate the situation you are in and ultimately it may lead to a sale for them.

I agree with Matthew that the amp rather than speakers may be the way to go. Never found the 753 to be bass shy.

If you went down the MA route I would certainly demo them with the Cyrus. I ran a similar combo to this as well at one time and some tracks could sound quite bright/harsh.

Thanks for the advice. I was expecting to be told keep the amp and replace the speakers so interesting it's the other way around. I will get in touch with the local store and have a good listen. I was always a Roksan fan but it was outside my (student) budget in the 90's. Saw the K3 on a deal this week and am very tempted! That should certainly be enough to get the best from the 753's

 

[Messiah]

How big is the room and where are the speakers placed?

Could just be a simple (and free) case of moving the speakers to bring an improvement.

 

[T1mmydon]

How big is the room and where are the speakers placed?

Could just be a simple (and free) case of moving the speakers to bring an improvement.

I've tried them in various rooms and placements over the years and always the same result. Advice I was given at the time was my CD player was the likely issue (a TEAC VRDS-10 SE) but now I'm using a Cambridge streamer and it's exactly the same. They also said the speakers should have plenty of bass weight so I'll try different amps and see how I get on.

 

[Rui]

well today some models are very weak inside and i have been using old and new mixed, 90´s was a time where there were all types of amplifiers released since the 60´s, i bought a lot of components in the 90´s from diferent brands and types, but some do work today with great quality , i have a part of a nakamichi system mixed with Pioneer , Denon ,Technics, Thorens, Cerwin-Vegas, monitor audio and it sounds real good for jazz, rock, funky ,afro beat ,70´s psy rock ,some 80´s bands and 90´s rock bands also electronic music sampled with old jazz also organic sound ,drums ,bass and electronic keyboards , this refering to new at the time bands

 

[Stuart83]

Thanks for the advice. I was expecting to be told keep the amp and replace the speakers so interesting it's the other way around. I will get in touch with the local store and have a good listen. I was always a Roksan fan but it was outside my (student) budget in the 90's. Saw the K3 on a deal this week and am very tempted! That should certainly be enough to get the best from the 753's

I did have an older Cyrus and liked it but it was a little underpowered.
Only recently I had the roskan k3, very good with classical but the new version lacks both Bluetooth and a standbye function.

Mine was dogged with problems and so was the replacement both going back to richer sounds Middlesbrough to join a flurry of other returns from other customers.
Strange as roskan are usually bullet proof, maybe a batch fault as richer sounds said.

In the end I went with the acram sa30 post software issues a much warmer amplifier and to my personal taste, I've been impressed by it every time I turn it on.

Despite having newer kit I like older hifi very much finding it better quality and wouldn't be in a rush to part with the missions.

I'm still using older mission mx3s and a pioneer a400 from the 90s in a dual amp setup with a second system which I really like.

I've had various missions over the yrs and never been disappointed.

I concur that a new amp would be the better option but always demo it first.

 

[ultraminiature]

I've recently rediscovered my love of listening but trying to catch up on 25 years lost knowledge. One thing I still have is my orginal Cyrus 3 integrated amp and PSX-R and Mission 753 speakers (both in perfect working order). In 1994, these cost me £800 (500 for the amp, 300 for the PSX) and £700 respectively. My question is, are these worth keeping or would a modern day amp and speakers of the same cost outperform these classics?

£1500 today does not gets you one streaming DSP active speaker - it is £1599. Sure other choices are available.

£1 in 1994 by inflation is £2.008 3 in 2024. So your £1500 ought to be starting at at £3012. One hi-fi manufacturer has raised their prices by 32-36% over the last 12 months and most models have seen 18-26% rises and even a doubling since launch. I would estimate (thumb in the air guess) that you would look at £6000 to match the sonic quality of your 1994 system.

A comment on old versus new amplifiers is the article "https://www.whathifi.com/features/old-amplifier-vs-new-amplifier-which-is-better"

You can possibly buy a system for less that you will find suitable or good enough but if your system does the job expect to pay huge amounts for small improvements even just differences.

What are you needing or may expect to include to listen to a system? Stereo only, streaming, using a TV or video as source, watching YouTube, rom a computer and scaling up to surround with 5.1 or 7.1 system.

Some modern streaming DSP active room compensating speakers are giving a great performance in impossibly small boxes compared to a separate amplifier and passive speakers. Your ears, your budget, your choice.

I spent a lot to keep 35 and 45 year old electronics going. That money in the thousands still does not cover anything that even gets close to their quality. Even more modest mid range gear has proved to be worth keeping going but does get more expensive particularly with moving parts and lack of suitable replacement of components.

 

[Witterings]

Not sure if there are any still available but Arcam SA10's 20's & 30's have been offered recently at discounted prices as they've bought out a new range, might be worth a look to see if there any still available.

What are you using as your source, I rediscovered my love of music mainly because I subscribed to a streaming service and have every track / album I ever owned or borrowed off friends at school at my fingertips .... along with everything that's been released since and an easy way to litsen to new artists.

 

[Fandango Andy]

I've recently rediscovered my love of listening but trying to catch up on 25 years lost knowledge. One thing I still have is my orginal Cyrus 3 integrated amp and PSX-R and Mission 753 speakers (both in perfect working order). In 1994, these cost me £800 (500 for the amp, 300 for the PSX) and £700 respectively. My question is, are these worth keeping or would a modern day amp and speakers of the same cost outperform these classics?

You have a great amp and pair of speakers there. An equivalent modern amp is going to cost £2,000 or more.

Power shouldn't be an issue in itself, your amp is well within the loadspeaker manufacturers
recommendations. Some components just work better together than others.

Have you got the positioning right. You can spend all the money in the world, and it won't sound good unless you get the positioning right.

If you were to change one component which would it be? The speakers are big and imposing, do they fit your room?

Try out some new speakers with the old and, and a new amp with the old speakers, see what upu like.

 

[plastic penguin]

I do have a local Richer Sounds. I didn't think they'd be interested in a "is my kit better than yours?" type enquiry. Is that a pretty normal thing to do these days? I spent many hours in demo rooms but only ever with kit they were trying to sell me.

If your current kit is working okay, I wouldn't bother changing it. Newer models might sound different but not necessarily better.

 

[T1mmydon]

The current kit works perfectly. After listening to all your advice, I went down a different route and picked up a Cyrus XPA 50x2 power amp which I'm now using to bi-amp with the Cyrus 3. This has fixed the bass issue as the Cyrus 3 + PSX-R runs the low end and the XPA the tweeters. For the Spotify streaming (via a Cambridge Audio MXN-10) I listen to all the time, this setup is working really well. Now regretting the decision to ditch all my CD's 10 years ago thinking the days of audiophile hi-fi were dead

 

[matthewpianist]

The current kit works perfectly. After listening to all your advice, I went down a different route and picked up a Cyrus XPA 50x2 power amp which I'm now using to bi-amp with the Cyrus 3. This has fixed the bass issue as the Cyrus 3 + PSX-R runs the low end and the XPA the tweeters. For the Spotify streaming (via a Cambridge Audio MXN-10) I listen to all the time, this setup is working really well. Now regretting the decision to ditch all my CD's 10 years ago thinking the days of audiophile hi-fi were dead

It's good to hear you haven't just thrown out a very good system. Perhaps you could use what you've saved to buy copies of your favourite CDs...