New Equipment - Thinking Cryus 6se

[fireblade_broth]

Hi

This is my first post, I have a technics SU A900 Mark II Amp which I got in 1996 as well as a Marantz 63se and some MS10i.

I loved the system but it is getting on a bit and I would like to upgrade. I was thinking of changing the CD to Cyrus 6se and then upgrade the speakers and then the amp.

I was wondering what people think would be a good idea, I am planing on getting them bought in the UK and sent over to Australia where I live. I have not listened to them and was not really thinking of listening to them here as I feel bad about wasting Hifi shops time if I have no real intention of buying. UK cost is around half price. I know I should listen to them first but gievn the review of the CD player surely I need not. Would this CD player even be worth it without upgrading all the rest of the kit at once?

Thanks

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Hi, and welcome!

Would it still be half price after the carriage, insurance and customs charges? You might find that local prices aren't as far out as they seem.

If they are, then it's up to you, but the Cyrus seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it product, so you might end up making a costly mistake.

Also, be careful what amp and speakers you plan to buy - Cyrus can sound great in a well matched system, but intolerable in a poorly matched one.

At this price point, I would want to be auditioning...

 

[fireblade_broth]

Thanks for the quick response, got family that come over would get them to bring it over. Otherwise I think you would be right the price would be on par.

Maybe I should audtion it first, any suggestions on Amp or speakers that would be good with the cyrus?

 

[eternaloptimist]

Hi FB,
As a fellow Aussie with a Cyrus system including CD6SE (see sig) ...
The CD6SE is a lovely CDP but I think the CDs time is passing....
Would you consider instead getting a DAC, ripping your CDs (such as with Exact Audio Copy or dBpoweramp) and streaming?
I have recently gone down this path and am delighted with the result. My goal was to have a streaming setup including DAC that would give AT LEAST as good a source as the CD6SE - which is saying something!
If you have a DAC, then you can stream higher resolution files such as 24/96 or 24/192 rather than be stuck with CDs 16/44. It is obviously all about the music, but to my ears there is a definite difference from well recorded 16/44 to 24/96 (can't hear much improvement moving to 24/192 unless orchestral where there is a lot of detail!)

As you live in Oz, can I suggest the Wyred-4-Sound DAC2? The local imported sells it for less than it would cost to get shipped from the US (I think this is W4S's policy with the distributor). Australian distributor: http://www.deephzaudio.com/Wyred%204%20Sound%20Australia%20price%20page.html
The DAC accepts files all the way to 24/192 - has proprietary USB drivers, very easy to install.

Then you are half way there! Then all you need are:
1. A laptop / PC capable of Windows 7 - I use an old Dell laptop that does nothing else - files stored on NAS, but could be stored locally.
2. Download J River MC 15 for the media player - is $50 and worth every cent: http://www.jriver.com/
3. Setup as per: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Windows-7-Audio-J-River-Media-Center-14-Configuration
4. Rip CDs with Exact Audio Copy - a utility that very carefully extracts all the data of your CDs. Is free. Follow the following instructions to setup EAC and you are away! http://filesharefreak.com/tutorials/properly-ripping-to-flac-with-eac-099/

If you still want the CDP, be careful of importing direct from UK. If it breaks, the only service agent in Sydney may not be too sympathetic. If you call them directly, you will get the best price in Australia: http://www.crestmore.com.au/page/about_crestmore.html

Good luck!
EO

 

[fireblade_broth]

Thanks EO, Sorry for the late reply. I took some advice and went to my local dealer in Perth and asked if I could take the Cyrus 6se home as well as their xp amp.

They did so last weekend I spent most of it listening to the kit, first tried adding the 6se to my current amp and was quite amazed in how improved the quality was and things were going great, was changing over from my old 63se to the cyrus and I noticed a huge difference in seperation of the music with the 6se. Was just listening with my old MS10i speakers. I managed to listen to a lot of different music and when I listened to Kings of Leon it went a bit paired shaped, suddenly there seemed to be so much going on that it sounded awful. Next I slotted in the Cyrus amp and listened to the music again, kings of leon sounded great again. Not what it was, if it was the timing that the amp managed to bring it back together but having a matching pair seemed to do the job, I am sure other amps could pair nicely but I was very impressed with the sound and it was in my own living room. Next put my B&W 684 and was great. very very happy with the sound, so I ordered both the cyrus amp and CD.

I didn't think too much about the DAC to be honest, I have all of my music which is quite a bit all on itunes and have a HP media server to stream them but just thought the quality would just never be as good, so looked at CD players. I do intend to build this Cyrus kit up so I will look at the DAC in the next year and re-rip the music to get the best quality.

Thanks for the advice and links I will look into them and think about the next step, getting back into the buying audio gear is a great thing! btw I paid $3500 for both the player and the amp which I thought was good value.

Thanks