New Cyrus 8QX DAC
- Thread starter kmlav
- Start date
The home office set up has gone through a bit of an evolution and now has a Cyrus 8QX DAC and the PWC Twenty 21's have taken up duties as the rear speakers in the main set up and the R100's have moved to the office , once I save up I will replace them with Twenty 21's again.
Now I am a fully paid up Cyrus fan boy and from a sonic point of view I really love the sound and I find the 8QX DAC shares the same signature as my main Pre - Power set up in the front room. Someone looking for a small amp with loads of power and control you would no go far wrong with this unit. Its possible to play files direct from the USB out on a computer to the DAC, as it is on many modern amps, which will gives pleasing results and would be a very tidy neat set up.
The sound itself is warm and detailed without being overly analytical and much as the speakers are just sitting on the desk the soundstage is really nice and set up like this give a tremendous feeling of being in the music , much as really good headphones do. The main problem with the speaker positioning is at volume but a standard listing levels everything is fine, not as good a being on stands but almost.
Cyrus build quality feel 'military grade' and personally I like the way all the units look the same across the range but I know this is not the case for all . A little niggle which I also have in my main set up is how hard can it be to get LED light the have the same level of brightness ? You can see clearly in the photo how much brighter the streamer LED is ove the AMP , just a detail but at this price level its something that they really need to fix.
I know this photo will bring the cablephobes among us into a fit of rage but please note the cable from the MAC to the DAC is a cheap one
The Signature speaker cable is really good and im fairly sure no matter what system it goes into will see an improvement and for me it works really well in my set ups and I use it for all the speakers aport from the real surround speakers. Of particular note is the impact it has had on the centre channel.
The Tuned array digital cable is on home test from the local store and I have tried it in this system and the main system. I wont make any comments about it but I will be ordering on on Monday to go into the main set up and the older non tuned array signature digital one that is in the main set up will come into this system.
The Blue cable is part of the Cyrus power system where you just need to turn one of the units on or off.
The Ethernet cable is a standard one which goes into a netwok switch with another standard cable to the NAS. I use two NAS units which are both close to the streamers, this is done mainly for data back ups as they are in two different locations it will be unlikely that both units will suffer the same fate in a accident etc.
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Now I am a fully paid up Cyrus fan boy and from a sonic point of view I really love the sound and I find the 8QX DAC shares the same signature as my main Pre - Power set up in the front room. Someone looking for a small amp with loads of power and control you would no go far wrong with this unit. Its possible to play files direct from the USB out on a computer to the DAC, as it is on many modern amps, which will gives pleasing results and would be a very tidy neat set up.
The sound itself is warm and detailed without being overly analytical and much as the speakers are just sitting on the desk the soundstage is really nice and set up like this give a tremendous feeling of being in the music , much as really good headphones do. The main problem with the speaker positioning is at volume but a standard listing levels everything is fine, not as good a being on stands but almost.
Cyrus build quality feel 'military grade' and personally I like the way all the units look the same across the range but I know this is not the case for all . A little niggle which I also have in my main set up is how hard can it be to get LED light the have the same level of brightness ? You can see clearly in the photo how much brighter the streamer LED is ove the AMP , just a detail but at this price level its something that they really need to fix.
I know this photo will bring the cablephobes among us into a fit of rage but please note the cable from the MAC to the DAC is a cheap one
The Signature speaker cable is really good and im fairly sure no matter what system it goes into will see an improvement and for me it works really well in my set ups and I use it for all the speakers aport from the real surround speakers. Of particular note is the impact it has had on the centre channel.
The Tuned array digital cable is on home test from the local store and I have tried it in this system and the main system. I wont make any comments about it but I will be ordering on on Monday to go into the main set up and the older non tuned array signature digital one that is in the main set up will come into this system.
The Blue cable is part of the Cyrus power system where you just need to turn one of the units on or off.
The Ethernet cable is a standard one which goes into a netwok switch with another standard cable to the NAS. I use two NAS units which are both close to the streamers, this is done mainly for data back ups as they are in two different locations it will be unlikely that both units will suffer the same fate in a accident etc.
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Deliriumbassist
Well-known member
Big fan of the small boxes as well. £1200 to get my 6a upgraded is a bit of an ask at the moment though! Certainly on the cards at a later time though. At the moment, the 6a does really well with my CM1s.
nopiano
Well-known member
Fabulous for a desktop system! I know what you mean about niggles. Not so long ago you'd be lucky to find on-off switches in the same place, or different fonts in cd and amp. Cyrus is definitely in the functional camp rather than luxury, but the Naim is hardly a looker either!
Surprised how twee the 21s look in your other pic, but I can see how nicely they blend with your desk.
Surprised how twee the 21s look in your other pic, but I can see how nicely they blend with your desk.
Gazzip
Well-known member
Glad to see that Chord Company were happy to re terminate those Signature speaker cables and ecstatic to see that they have gone to a good home!
I really miss those big braided beauties!
I really miss those big braided beauties!
Gazzip
Well-known member
Gazzip said:
Hi Mate , Chord were great about re terminating the cables. In the end I got enough for main set up left and right and the centre as well as the office so I was really pleased and I enjoy them every day.
hope you are enjoying your active set up
nopiano said:
If I was running cyrus the first thing I would do on my first day is make sure all the LED were the same across the range!
Yeah I love those 21's and they look great.
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