Old School Paul Seeks Advice

[paulroat]

I'm still using a Cyrus Two amp and PSX power supply combo, which must be at least 25 years old and has been serviced twice in this period by Cyrus in Huntingdon. The amp is fed by a Naim CD3.5 and Arcam r-DAC and outputs to a pair of Mission 780 speakers. When listening to lossless files via my Grado 225 headphones and Pro-ject Head Box II headphone amp the sound is warm and punchy and much to my liking. The ageing Cyrus Two/PSX also seems to take some of the harshness away from the modern digital source when listening via the speakers. However, I have begun to feel that listening via the Mission 780 speakers at higher volumes can become a little fatiguing as the sound does get quite harsh when driven above a certain level.

I recently auditioned a Cyrus 8XPD and Dynaudio Focus 110 set-up and although I was impressed with the detail, bass and drive of the presentation at higher volumes, I still felt that this amp was a little too bright/harsh for my tastes, being used to the warmth of my Cyrus Two/PSX.

My query is whether I would obtain the less fatiguing sound at higher volumes that I am looking for by sticking with the Cyrus Two/PSX combo and simply replacing the speakers with a more modern variant, such as the Dynaudio DM 2/6?

Any opinions/comments would be appreciated.

 

[the record spot]

Hi Paul, welcome to the forum! I think some of this comes down to a number of factors, not least the quality of the recordings, so depending on what you're listening to, you might be experiencing the joys of modern mastering to some extent. I wouldn't have thought the Missions speakers were bright per se, but have you tried repositioning them slightly? It's arguably the most effective way to refine your sound without spending much (or anything!).

I've no idea which speakers to suggest, but would recommend you stick to changing core components and avoid the temptation to use cables or interconnects as tone controls.

 

[CnoEvil]

Look at makes like Spendor, Proac, Sonus Faber, Opera and Dynaudio - new or second hand.

Cno

 

[amcluesent]

Back in the day, even the Cyrus 2 was regarded as being bright. However, modern hi-fi is voiced to be very forward to make an impression at the dealers.

You could look for 2nd hand B&W or Sonus Fabers.

 

[bretty]

Hi Paul,

I'm a ex-owner of a Cyrus 2 and PSX, myself. Although the PSX adds 20 watts to the output and gives a bit more grunt to the Cyrus 2, it's still a bright combo. It's very, very good with vocals and acoustic, I found, but with other genres, it's deficiencies are shown. As you said, at high volumes teh trable hardens so much that it can actually be painful after a small amount of listening.

I don't think a speaker change is what's in order. I think it's time to put the Cyrus to bed. It's put in a good shift

There's many brands out there that have the detail of the Cyrus, but with great bass reproduction, too. Personally i'm a big fan of Exposure, especially the 80's era stuff. However the modern stuff is great, too. Have a listen to an Exposure 2010, if you can. If you are open to the second hand route, then try and get my stuff (see my Signature below) which is just blinding, or an Exposure XXV, which is a stonkingly good integrated amp.

I'd get along to a dealer with your source and your speakers and have a demo day, mate.

I hope that helps.

Let us know how how get on.

 

[paulroat]

Many thanks to all who have posted a reply. You've given me much food for thought.

 

[CnoEvil]

If you take on board Bretty's advice (which is sensible), look at makes like Leema, Musical Fidelity M series, Moon and Electrocompaniet.

 

[the record spot]

Just out of interest, have you tried stripping everything back to square one? Go back to core components - amp/CD/speakers and see which changes have the better or worse impacts. Take out the Arcam rDAC and try it out. I'm surprised you're using one with the Naim CD3.5? I'd have thought the latter would be at least as good as the offboard Arcam DAC.

Also, what kind of budget are you talking here? My feeling is that the amp is outdated for the Naim source, so that would be my first port of call. I doubt it's making the most of the Missions (they really can sing with a good amp, but the Missions I've owned prefer a meatier beast than the Cyrus range), so something with a bit more power wouldn't go amiss.

 

[Anonymous]

If you like your setup and the problem is a bit of harshness while listening at high volume level, personally I'd just leave your system as it is and add a Digital Interface between your source (PC, CD/DVD player etc.) and your DAC, and let it upsample the music you're listening.

Upsampling generally gives the result of having a less bright output while losing a very little bit of precision and detail in the highs... maybe this is the what you're looking for.

Obviously, even if a digital interface is quite cheap, I strongly recommend you to demo one and try playing with the upsampling filters to see what best suits your tastes before buying one.

Try to choose a DI with a good power supply because it makes a whole lot of difference, especially at very high volumes. You may be considering using a linear power supply for the best results and a more "analogic" sound.

...or maybe you'd just be better off with an entire new system, who knows, this is just my opinion

 

[MajorFubar]

I'm a Cyrus 2 owner (not got a PSX though...they're like gold-dust to find) and I must admit, it does not take well to modern compressed recordings. This could be part of your problem, depending of course on what music you're listening to . By compressed I don't mean file compression, I mean modern 'volume maximized' recordings with their dynamics crushed. For example, SWMBO is a Take That fan and frankly I can't listen to any of their recent music on my Cyrus 2, it's just a harsh noise that I want to turn down. That's not a slur on the band, more a slur on modern production-techniques. Nearly all modern 'pop' productions are the same.

 

[paulroat]

Appreciate your suggestion donluca but I'd prefer to obtain a neutral/"anologic" sound without introducing yet another link in the chain. Will audition for a new amp within my fairly modest budget of circa £1,000 but I'm in no particular hurry as it's now summer and I find myself increasingly sitting in the garden listening to music on my Grado 225s and iPod Touch over my network. This means I have plenty of time to make the right decision without rushing into any purchase.

 

[paulroat]

You're right[The Record Spot], the Naim is on a par with the r-Dac but I rarely use CDs anymore, what with having an Airport Express on the network and using Homeshare on my iPod Touch. I'll be taking on board everyone's suggestions and auditioning amps up to my budget of circa £1,000. Thanks again to all who've replied.

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a good plan to me, plus I think that £1000 is not a modest budget and for that price you can get some very good equipment.

Maybe you'll want to stick with Cyrus, yesterday I was reading the best buys in hi-fi amplifiers here and found this

http://www.whathifi.com/review/cyrus-6xp

Even if you auditioned the big brother 8xp, you may want to give it a go.

 

[iceman16]

Try to audition some Arcam amps and cd players(fmj)or the discontinued cd192 and avoid silver or silver plated speaker cables and interconnects.