Looking for CD player now

[admin_exported]

Hi guys got my speakers and amplifiers with some cables. Any recommendations on a CD player? I'm looking at the Cyrus 6 SE but heard a lot of bad stories about their consistency and build quality.

For my current setup look at my sig. What would match well with this?

 

[shooter]

How about the Sugden Mystro cd player. Unfortunately no optical out so not suitable with dedicated DAC, if this doesn't bother you there's a good starting point.

 

[Anonymous]

Rega is what I would audition and consider ... obviously if you have a higher budget, there are better options

 

[Anonymous]

I seem to get the impression that everybody seems to be skirting the question by the OP on the reliability issues of the Cyrus CD 6 SE. I'm also considering the Cyrus CD 8 SE and have also asked the same question as the OP in my other threads but no one had addressed it directly. What's up? Perhaps Mr Bartlett is the moderator of this forum?

 

[the record spot]

Depends who you talk to mate; lots of issues raised, but Cyrus appear to address them quickly in most cases. Of course, if, like me, you take the view that - given the apparent number of problem players incorrectly loading discs - Cyrus ought to have better tested their new drive technology, then all the fine customer service efforts are shutting the door just as the horse's tail can be seen disappearing with the rest of it over the horizon...

 

[Anonymous]

I auditioned a Cyrus CD6SE the other day and out of the 5 discs I had taken with me it wouldn't read 2 of them. A shame really as it totally blew the Rega Apollo away. This has put me off buying the Cyrus and I'm looking for an alternative instead.

 

[Anonymous]

How unfortunate. Were those 2 discs originals or burned copies?

 

[Craig M.]

cyrus are releasing facelifted versions of the se players next year with a new slot loading "mouth". i've had the cd6se and cdxtse on home dem, the 6 only refused one disk out of about the 80 or so i put through it. the cdxtse read them all. there has been a firmware update since i had the 6 on dem which apparently solved the issue. as has already been said, they sound fantastic. due to the new ones coming out there are some great deals to be had, you could have a 8 for the price of a 6. if you can stretch to it, i'd also recommend the roksan caspian cdp, a sensational player which i remember as being more upbeat then the cyrus players.

 

[Anonymous]

Craig M.:
cyrus are releasing facelifted versions of the se players next year with a new slot loading "mouth". i've had the cd6se and cdxtse on home dem, the 6 only refused one disk out of about the 80 or so i put through it. the cdxtse read them all. there has been a firmware update since i had the 6 on dem which apparently solved the issue. as has already been said, they sound fantastic. due to the new ones coming out there are some great deals to be had, you could have a 8 for the price of a 6. if you can stretch to it, i'd also recommend the roksan caspian cdp, a sensational player which i remember as being more upbeat then the cyrus players.

Ah that's good news actually! I love the Cyrus players but their inconsistency and (to a much lesser extent though) looks have been putting me off. Now I'll wait to see if the new players are worth it. Or I'll get the Cyrus 6/8 SE with the new firmware. The Roksan seems like an outstanding player but the price is a bit high for me. How about the Arcam FMJ CD37, is it on par with these players?

I love the looks of the Sugden Mystro CD player and it will match my system really well, but I think I can do better for the money.

 

[plastic penguin]

SlickenSmooth:Craig M.:

cyrus are releasing facelifted versions of the se players next year with a new slot loading "mouth". i've had the cd6se and cdxtse on home dem, the 6 only refused one disk out of about the 80 or so i put through it. the cdxtse read them all. there has been a firmware update since i had the 6 on dem which apparently solved the issue. as has already been said, they sound fantastic. due to the new ones coming out there are some great deals to be had, you could have a 8 for the price of a 6. if you can stretch to it, i'd also recommend the roksan caspian cdp, a sensational player which i remember as being more upbeat then the cyrus players.

Ah that's good news actually! I love the Cyrus players but their inconsistency and (to a much lesser extent though) looks have been putting me off. Now I'll wait to see if the new players are worth it. Or I'll get the Cyrus 6/8 SE with the new firmware. The Roksan seems like an outstanding player but the price is a bit high for me. How about the Arcam FMJ CD37, is it on par with these players?

I love the looks of the Sugden Mystro CD player and it will match my system really well, but I think I can do better for the money.

It's a bit of a long shot - might be worth taking a listen to Leema Stream. Not heard it but if the Pulse amp is a benchmark, the Stream should sound sensational.

 

[True Blue]

nibbo:I auditioned a Cyrus CD6SE the other day and out of the 5 discs I had taken with me it wouldn't read 2 of them. A shame really as it totally blew the Rega Apollo away. This has put me off buying the Cyrus and I'm looking for an alternative instead.

In that case audition the Saturn

 

[Craig M.]

SlickenSmooth:Craig M.:
cyrus are releasing facelifted versions of the se players next year with a new slot loading "mouth". i've had the cd6se and cdxtse on home dem, the 6 only refused one disk out of about the 80 or so i put through it. the cdxtse read them all. there has been a firmware update since i had the 6 on dem which apparently solved the issue. as has already been said, they sound fantastic. due to the new ones coming out there are some great deals to be had, you could have a 8 for the price of a 6. if you can stretch to it, i'd also recommend the roksan caspian cdp, a sensational player which i remember as being more upbeat then the cyrus players.

Ah that's good news actually! I love the Cyrus players but their inconsistency and (to a much lesser extent though) looks have been putting me off. Now I'll wait to see if the new players are worth it. Or I'll get the Cyrus 6/8 SE with the new firmware. The Roksan seems like an outstanding player but the price is a bit high for me. How about the Arcam FMJ CD37, is it on par with these players?

I love the looks of the Sugden Mystro CD player and it will match my system really well, but I think I can do better for the money.

i really wasn't impressed by the cd37. i had it on dem at the same time as the caspian and thought it sounded very dull, the music seemed compressed together whereas the caspian gave it space to breath, and sounded much more dynamic and open. i would take any of the other players over one.

 

[Anonymous]

Craig M.:cyrus are releasing facelifted versions of the se players next year with a new slot loading "mouth". i've had the cd6se and cdxtse on home dem, the 6 only refused one disk out of about the 80 or so i put through it. the cdxtse read them all. there has been a firmware update since i had the 6 on dem which apparently solved the issue. as has already been said, they sound fantastic. due to the new ones coming out there are some great deals to be had, you could have a 8 for the price of a 6. if you can stretch to it, i'd also recommend the roksan caspian cdp, a sensational player which i remember as being more upbeat then the cyrus players.

Can't wait till next year as I plan to get it end of this month. If I can stretch to the Roksan Caspian, then I might as well consider Primare CD31. How do these two compare?

 

[RCduck7]

I read some rave reviews about C.E.C. CD players, many rate them over the Apolo, and to be honest there isn't that much difference between an Apolo and a Saturn then maybe a little more extension on the outer frequencies.

If money wasn't a problem then a Tentlabs cd player would get my vote, i read a dutch review about this one and the reviewer compared this player briefly to it's current C.E.C. cd player.

 

[Anonymous]

Craig M.:cyrus are releasing facelifted versions of the se players next year with a new slot loading "mouth".
The units with revised design should be available to purchase new Nov this year and you can have your existing "se" unit upgraded from Feb 2010. See here

I know of a dealer who has the CD XT SE+ in stock, but is awaiting the 6se & 8se models.

 

[Anonymous]

SlickenSmooth:I'm looking at the Cyrus 6 SE but heard a lot of bad stories about their consistency and build quality.
Build quality does leave something to be desired. You would be right to expect higher quality of finish and production for the price. Though it is the design of the slot bezel, amongst several other issues, that have seriously let down these SE CD players from Cyrus. You've only to look at the image of an 8se on page 32 of the November 2008 issue of What Hi-Fi to see a case in point. Turn the page sideways to look "along" the slot. The lower edge of the bezel is raised well into the slot space at its central point. That deformed slot-bezel is likely to cause damage to the playing surface of your precious CD's. Look at the newly designed (smiling) slot bezel with its downwardly curved lower edge to give more clearance, tell you anything?

Why the What Hi-Fi review did not make mention of this faulty bezel can only be known to them. Though it raises fundamental questions about their reviews. Can they be trusted to tell you the bad points aswell as the good? How many other products have they reviewed that have had faults like this that they have failed to mention? Certainly my trust in What Hi-Fi reviews has taken a downturn.

Back to that slot bezel. I've had units where the disc has jammed on the top edge of the slot upon ejection, just because of the extra thickness of a label attached to the CD! And CD's without a label have scraped & rubbed on the top edge, this due to faulty plastic moulding and excess plastic on the top edge of the bezel! Shouldn't happen.

It is my opinion that the SE players were not sale ready with this poor design, though perhaps they are at last maturing into a useable and SALEABLE product.

Cyrus have known about these issues for a LONG while and only now are they being addressed. I don't for one minute believe that my own emails to Cyrus about this poor design have had any influence, because Cyrus must have known this was poor design from the off. The new design LOOKS nicer, but it remains to be seen if it will perform any better in use.

There have also been issues with the display giving incorrect readings, failures to load a CD at all (every disc ejected with "Disc error"), CD/CD-R playabilty, and even problems with the paint finish of the magnesium case. The last 8se unit they sent me showed such a massive variance in silver finish to my other five Quartz units that I was utterly sure it must be the OLD silver finish. It was so much lighter in shade. However, it became apparent that this was in fact Quartz Silver and it was left to my dealer to make me aware that Cyrus were "enjoying" a batch of cases that turned out to be MUCH lighter than they should have been. Again, I believe you can see this variation of silver colour in some of the recent reviews of various Cyrus units in What Hi-Fi. I took a photograph to show this variance of colour.



CD-R:
Cyrus made a statement to me, and I quote "The SE platform does not have a problem with CD-R".
I don't believe this to be true. In my opinion the SE platform does have problems with certain CD-R types, of that I am absolutely convinced. Along with the cosmetic changes there is mention of another software upgrade which may address these disc playabilty issues further?

I've had 5 8se units, every one of which had various faults and fell well short of my expectations of a CD player at this price point.

 

[plarge]

If you like a dynamic an open sound, listen to the Cairn Fog - stunningly lifelike images and a unique presentation.

Alternatively, Cairn Tornado with the optional upsampling board.

The leema stream is good, solid player - not over enamoured though, as nothing special

Would not touch Cyrus, too many horror stories and over the top sound.

Also, try the electrocompaniet PCd-1

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

Quenzer, so you wouldn't recommend the Cyrus as of now. What would you recommend for my setup? Right now I have a very smooth, warm, laid back sounding kit. Maybe it would be good for the balance of things to throw in a CD player that will spice things up a little.

 

[Craig M.]

try to demo a caspian cdp, it's got an upfront presentation, deep powerful bass and and crisp treble that makes you think it might get bright but never does. except it sounds a lot better then i've just described it!

synergy is everything, but i think i'd take a caspian over any of the cyrus players. as plarge said, the cairn fog is supposed to be stunning, definitely on my "to demo" list.

 

[Anonymous]

plarge:
If you like a dynamic an open sound, listen to the Cairn Fog - stunningly lifelike images and a unique presentation.

Alternatively, Cairn Tornado with the optional upsampling board.

The leema stream is good, solid player - not over enamoured though, as nothing special

Would not touch Cyrus, too many horror stories and over the top sound.

Also, try the electrocompaniet PCd-1

Paul

The Cairn fog 3 sounds like an amazing player. Too bad no one sells it over here in Holland.

 

[Anonymous]

Craig M.:
try to demo a caspian cdp, it's got an upfront presentation, deep powerful bass and and crisp treble that makes you think it might get bright but never does. except it sounds a lot better then i've just described it!

synergy is everything, but i think i'd take a caspian over any of the cyrus players. as plarge said, the cairn fog is supposed to be stunning, definitely on my "to demo" list.

I was really interested in the Caspian, then I did some research and there's one place that sells it over here. But for a whopping 2000 euros! It put me off....

 

[Anonymous]

How about the Roksan K2 Kandy CD player btw?

 

[Anonymous]

SlickenSmooth:Quenzer, so you wouldn't recommend the Cyrus as of now.
Not the original design. But the new 2010 specification models MAY have finally addressed the flaws and faults of the original design. This remains to be seen of course. Certainly the sound quality of the 8se is superb, and it has been highly frustrating for that wonderful sound quality to be wrapped in such shoddy clothing!

However, I will be testing one of the 2010 specification CD8se units soon, and hope that it is less fussy over the discs it is able to play, is more user-friendly and is finished in the correct shade of silver etc!

What would you recommend for my setup? Right now I have a very smooth, warm, laid back sounding kit. Maybe it would be good for the balance of things to throw in a CD player that will spice things up a little.
I wouldn't rule out the Cyrus players. Probably one of the Cyrus models would work well in your system. Perhaps your dealer would allow you to take one home to try? The same with other players on your shortlist? All I can say regarding the Cyrus players, is be sure to thoroughly test.

 

[Craig M.]

SlickenSmooth:How about the Roksan K2 Kandy CD player btw?

because you kinda said you want something to liven up your system, maybe the kandy L.lll player, although you'd probably have to go ex/dem or 2nd hand. i haven't heard the k2, but reviews have it as a fuller sounding player which might not fit your system so well.

 

[Anonymous]

Too bad the dealers over here don't let you borrow equipment. Also it will be very hard to audition them because of the distances involved, although I've heard the Cyrus 8 SE one time but it was quick.

I decided to wait to see how the new Cyrus models do. In the meantime I can save up so I can stretch my budget.

I informed about the prices and it basically boils down to;

1. Cyrus 8 SE (new model, should be around 1800-1900 euro)

2. Roksan Caspian (2000 Euro, free delivery and free silver interlink)

3. Cairn Fog 3 (2199 euro, including shipping from France)

In this order. With Cyrus being the cheapest and having superb sound. Maybe a little over the top but I think it will have good synergy with my system. Will drop from the list depending on the consistency, so Hopefully Quenzer can keep us updated about the new one. If the problems get solved I will go for this one.

The Roksan Caspian, gets my vote for the looks. Haven't heard it so I can't comment on the sound quality, but everyone tells me it's superb. Looks very robust built too.

Cairn Fog 3, lots of complains about the useability, combine this with the steep price and if I get a problem with it I need to send it back to France myself. What keeps it in the mix is because the it sounds 'special' according to so many people. I think I'll love the sound of it.