Out of touch - Cyrus newbie needs some advice

[rbantges]

I've been out of the hifi world for a while owing to being a student for far too long. I've just got my hands on a Cyrus 8vs2 amplifier and hope to soon either have a Cyrus CD8SE or CD6SE. I've still got my old B&W DM601 S2 speakers, perched on top of my Atacama Nexus stands. The hifi is located in quite a small room, and was wondering whether anyone has found the new B&W bookshelf range to be worth spending money on, or whether I should go straight for some floor standers...

Anyone with a Cyrus setup able to offer advice?

Cheers.

Rich

 

[JoelSim]

How big is a small room?

Why don't you try it all with your current speakers to see if you like the Cyrus/B&W sound before making a judgement?

I would also audition the Cyrus' with several speakers before making a decision.

ÿ

 

[rbantges]

Hey Joel,

Thanks for the quick reply! Small room - erm, about 4m (12ft) wide, by 6m (18ft) long. Apart from the new Cyrus equipment, the rest of my hifi is at least 10 years old. I feel I've probably opened up a whole new can of worms getting a Cyrus, as everyone seems to spend lots of cash on speaker cable, interconnects and power cables..

Ultimately a very sensible comment from you though - audition and see, since it's a matter of personal taste, but a short list of speakers to try out (rather than being at the mercy of a dealer) would be appreciated.

Cheers.
Rich

 

[JoelSim]

My room is smaller than that and I love my floorstanders, but then again I have very small speakers in the kitchen which I also love. But for critical music listening I prefer floorstanders.

I think the general consensus is that Cyrus equipment is quite lean and therefore you should err on the side of warm speakers. I'd be tempted to look at spending at least £750, if not more to do the system justice, and then some on cables. But these can be added later when funds permit to refine the sound you get.

I'd be looking at PMC, ProAc, B&W, Tannoy, maybe ATC as a starter but also listening to what the dealer recommends - Spendor perhaps. I think at this level of kit you'd be far better auditioning than buying something for £50 less blind.

I would say Dali too, but they may be a little bright when partnered with Cyrus. They suit my kit well but I would be concerned with yours.ÿ

ÿ

 

[Craig M.]

i've read a lot of comments about cyrus and dynaudio matching well. makes sense to me with the dyn's maybe warming up the slightly cold sounding cyrus. maybe pmc db1i as well.

 

[JoelSim]

Craig M.:i've read a lot of comments about cyrus and dynaudio matching well.ÿ makes sense to me with the dyn's maybe warming up the slightly cold sounding cyrus.ÿ maybe pmc db1i as well.

Good shout too

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

What about the ATC SCM11 stand-mount loudspeakers mounted on good sturdy stands?

Dan.

 

[rbantges]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions! I'm looking forward to testing some of these - just praying that my ears don't have expensive taste!

Cheers.
Rich

 

[knacker]

I've just got some MS Mezzo 2s for my Cyrus 6vs2 and they sound very good in my room of similar size

 

[Anonymous]

See if you can find some Spendor s5e speakers for a bargain price (even new). These sound excellent with the Cyrus 8VS2, are not power hungry (unlike the Dyns) and are very unfussy about positioning. The finish is also excellent.

 

[Gusboll]

Nice set-up Grimaldi - have you tried any other speakers with it and if so how do they compare with the Spendors?

 

[SteveR750]

Grimaldi:See if you can find some Spendor s5e speakers for a bargain price (even new). These sound excellent with the Cyrus 8VS2, are not power hungry (unlike the Dyns) and are very unfussy about positioning. The finish is also excellent.

S5e's can be bought for £900 on fleabay from a well known dealer in Kent whose name includes lots of trees.... They also have the S6e's for £1199 which is a steal, all advertised as brand new clearance stock.

 

[rbantges]

Hi guys,

Well I finally arranged for a series of auditions at 3 hifi specialists in London. I listened to a range of speakers:
B&W 684, CM7, 805s
Spendor A5
Dynaudio X32, Focus 140

I have to say that my music taste / ears may not match the finest in the country, but there was one pair of speakers that did everything well, especially a good balance between the midrange and bass.. I've plumped for the B&W CM7s - which I think were much more impressive than the Spendor A5s, but I'm now disappointed to learn that they're made in China. I have nothing against China, but I was under the impression that I was buying British and supporting our workforce. I've seen there is another thread in the forums that relate to "Made in England", so I'll say no more here.

Incidentally, before anyone gets upset with my choice of speaker, I should point out that I've had B&W 601S2 speakers for many years - so maybe I just like the B&W sound (or have some subconscious brand loyalty).

It's a shame that What HiFi hasn't reviewed the CM7s in 3 years.

Thanks again to all that offered their advice - it was good to have a range of speakers to listen to.

Rich

 

[d_a_n1979]

Very good choice in speakers.

My parter has a Cyrus 8vs2 integrated along with an XPower and 8SE CDP and she has the CM7's as well (in Wenge which I think is a stunning finish) and the system sounds superb.

She's had it about a year now and still cant get over how good her music sounds; more so when she digs out old CD's she's not listened to in ages!

Make sure you give them plenty of breathing room from behind; they sound brilliant at low volumes as well as when theyre loud but the rear ports like to breathe (if youve got the room)!

Also; we found that it took 100-150hours of playing at sensible volume for them to sound their best.

Not sure what cable you've gone for but we swapped from QED Silver Anniversary Bi-Wire to Chord Carnival Silverscreen Bi-Wire recently and the sound is even better with deeper, more gutsy bass that's still well timed and punchy; smoother and more detailed midrange (especially with vocals) and crisp, detailed treble.

 

[rbantges]

Thanks for the advice - I'm going to play around with the rear port foam to try and tune them, as I won't be able to have them more than about 6 inches from the wall. I'm hoping I don't annoy my neighbours too much running them in!

Speaker cable at the moment is Atlas Equator 2, which I'm happy with for the moment, but if anyone feels there's something that would make a dramatic difference, then I'd be all ears.

Can't wait to get my hands on the CM7s, ordered in the gloss black which have been on order for 3 weeks.