Naim XS vs Cyrus 8XPD vs Audiolab 8200?

[westerniser]

Hello all!

Just wondered which amp/dac you would recommend? Please bear in mind the costs too. I can't go higher than these and these are my only three to opt for.

1 - Naim XS with Arcam rDac (costs around £1200 2nd hand / ex demo)

2 - Cyrus 8XPD (£1100 ex demo)

3 - Audiolab 8200 integrated amp with Arcam rDac (around £950 new)

I have tried all of them but it's always hard to distinguish, as they were in different places. All sounded pretty good, but other users with more experience / owned or demo'd these amps for longer will have a better informed opinion. Is the audiolab anywhere near the naim or Cyrus in terms of quality? It retails for nearly 50% of the price when new.

My speakers are Spendor A5, love them to bits. But would need something that doesn't make them sound too smooth, i like warm bass with some good brightness on top.

Thank you so much!

 

[Anonymous]

As you have the Spendor's my choice would be the Cyrus 8XP straight away closely followed by the Audiolab 8200 + DAC

Did you get chance at all to demo the Leema Pulse or Creek Evo II?

 

[chebby]

If you are looking at used/ex-dem then consider a good, used Naim Nait 5i with the Rega DAC.

Expect to pay £500 - £600 for the Nait and £500 for the DAC. (Unless you can find an ex-dem Rega DAC for a bit less.)

I think that would be a better combination (for £1000 - £1100) than the XS and Arcam rDAC.

In combination, the rDAC's slightly inflated bass and warm sound (and the Nait XS' tendency to be a little more refined and 'warmer' than the Nait 5i) could be too much.

The Nait 5i and Rega DAC will work better together, in my opinion, and cost about the same (or a bit less).

 

[westerniser]

Thanks, why would you recommend the Cyrus?

I tried the creek evo 2, quite nice but it was with another set of speakers, so it's not a fair comparison.

 

[westerniser]

Interesting, would the Naim 5i be powerful enough at 50wpc to drive the Spendors?

 

[Anonymous]

For me Cyrus & Spendor go very well together

The slight forwardness of the Cyrus amp is calmed down by the Spendors smoothness so in all you get a superb soundstage with decent, weightly and taut bass with detailed midrange and a claer, crisp treble

The Creek Evo II is a good amp and one I'd probably recommend with the Spendors as well but for me, Cyrus & Audiolab sound the best with the Spendor A5's.

 

[Mr Compo]

I've got Spendor A5s too and having demoed them with Naim equipment I can't recomend the pairing at all. Far too warm, muted and muddy. I use them with Leema gear quite happily and have demoed them with Cyrus equipment back to back with Naim and found the Cyrus a much better match. (Note not much better necessarily but a bettr match to Spendor.)

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with the Naim comment; for me it'd be an overall too smooth a sound and wooley at the same time

When I demo'd Naim Nait 5i and the XS amps with Spendor, QUAD, M/A and PMC speakers I just didnt like their sound at all. Too gentle and reserved IMO

 

[westerniser]

Thanks Guys, I'm going to demo the Cyrus 8XPD and Audiolab/rdac tomorrow with the Spendors.

I'm tempted by the Cyrus, the only thing is, when I heard its inbuilt DAC, it just seemed to muffle the sound and was less bright and exciting.

The Audiolab sounded good, but I seem to remember it struggled a bit when the volume went up.

The Naim has been taken off the list!

My only gripe with the Cyrus, it kind of looks like a car radio with it's little green screen and plastic buttons!

 

[westerniser]

Thanks Guys, I'm going to demo the Cyrus 8XPD and Audiolab/rdac tomorrow with the Spendors.

I'm tempted by the Cyrus, the only thing is, when I heard its inbuilt DAC, it just seemed to muffle the sound and was less bright and exciting.

The Audiolab sounded good, but I seem to remember it struggled a bit when the volume went up.

The Naim has been taken off the list!

My only gripe with the Cyrus, it kind of looks like a car radio with it's little green screen and plastic buttons!

 

[westerniser]

Thanks Guys, I'm going to demo the Cyrus 8XPD and Audiolab/rdac tomorrow with the Spendors.

I'm tempted by the Cyrus, the only thing is, when I heard its inbuilt DAC, it just seemed to muffle the sound and was less bright and exciting.

The Audiolab sounded good, but I seem to remember it struggled a bit when the volume went up.

The Naim has been taken off the list!

My only gripe with the Cyrus, it kind of looks like a car radio with it's little green screen and plastic buttons!

 

[plastic penguin]

I agree also with Naim. I heard the XS with A5 and it sounded good, but not exceptional. If you're determined to have a built-in DAC then the new Leema Pulse would be a better match. The only down side with Pulse MKIII is it's pig-ugly.

 

[Anonymous]

Re the Cyrus; dont go for the XPd then, go for the XP if you can and look to add a DAC at a later date

Re the Audiolab; see if you can demo with the 8200A and then see if you can add the 8200P power amp; you'll soon see/hear the difference. That'll drive the Spendors easy enough

 

[westerniser]

Thanks guys, I tried the audiolab and cyrus today. Decided to to for the audiolab 8200a with arcam rdac. There wasn't too much between them, the Cyrus was perhaps less bright with the Spendor A5 and the integrated dac emphasised this. Still, it was good though, just not worth the extra.

It's all set up and sounding fantastic. I have a brand new, boxed Yamaha A-S2000 for sale if anyone's interested. It's a great amp, just too big for my shelf!

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you've got a cracking system there!

Either send the Yamaha back & see if you can get an Audiolab 8200P power amp or whack the Yamaha on eBay