Speaker audition and suggestions for Cyrus 8 xpd..

[pgoody]

I found ex demo (1 year old) vienna acoustic beethoven baby grands in piano black for 1990 € in an online store! That's 1572.76 GBP. Quite a bargain IMHO. Vienna acoustics have changed their distributor in Germany in March and this store is selling of all it's vienna stuff. Regretfully the shop is to far away to audition (about 600 km). I bought them anyway.. my first buy without auditioning.. Well, I have two weeks to send them back if I don't like them. So only the hassle of arranging postage for a pair speakers weighing 60 kg if all goes wrong.. At least I can demo them at home..

So let's hope I like them and that they sound nice in my room.. I'll let you know what I think when they arrive!

 

[Thompsonuxb]

WHFs&v matched those speakers in a group test of systems and the baby grands with cyrus kit won. I think it was the 8 amp before yours. Please come back and let us know how they pair up...............

 

[bluebrazil]

Hmmm baby grands in piano black no disrespect to your 685's but thats gonna be one hell of an upgrade. Great that you get to hear them in a real world enviroment as home auditioning of speakers at this price level is invaluable, out of any components speakers are the ones that really can dramatically change room to room. If at all possible i would be tempted to beg for a home demo of an x power or similar from your local dealer to see what, if any, improvements can be had in the long run.

 

[pgoody]

Now get that.. The vienna dealer just called and told me they cannot find the speaker.. They did an inventory 2 weeks ago and somenoe checked the box for the vienna but it is not there. They've looked everywhere but gave up the search.

He now only has the Beethoven Grand for 2990 € in rosewood finish (2359 GBP).. (if he can find it...... ) I told him that he has to make me a better offer if I am to take it. He will talk to his boss and get back to me....

I gather I will have to add more power to my system soon if I decide to take it. And I think the Grand might be to big for the room (will not stay here longer than a year so maybe not the biggest problem - but still...)

Well as you can see I am quite unhappy.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Get your money back asap.....don't allow for delay or excuses. Or take a drive up there.

 

[pgoody]

Drove down, listened to them, talked the dealer down 600 euros and bought them.

They really are a a very good match for the cyrus equipment...

Thanks for your help!

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Oh c'mon - you can't leave that as a 'review' - how do they compare with the 685'S. What are the gains in performance, how much more do you have to crank up the amp to drive them....pls do tell.

 

[pgoody]

I will report! I have a big surgery exam tomorrow and still have to learn a bit... I will write tomorrow. Or the day after depending on how many beers we will have after our exam.. :rofl: :cheers:

 

[Terry Larder]

Hi, I would audition PMC GB1i they are right for your room size, or the FB1i both are great speakers and would suite Cyrus very well.

Probably best driven with a power amp attached to the system to get the best outcome.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

PMC with their transmission line bass enhancer-rizzor - yes I can see that being a good match for this amp.

 

[pgoody]

I know it's been a while but I felt I ought to share my thoughts on my new speakers. It has been some work to get them to sound as good as I believe they can at the moment. I had to rearrange my living room and buy some new furniture.. but I think I now have the speakers in as a good as a position as is possible at the moment.

I now have them 60 cm away from the back wall and aprox 1 m away from the side walls slightly towed in to my listening position about 2,5 m away. As the distance to the rear wall is so small I closed the rear bass ports as to avoid boomy bass and not to annoy my neighbours too much..

All in all I am quite happy. (but) the speakers reveal the pros and cons of my amplification (Cyrus 8 xpd).

Imaging, clarity, instrument separation, dynamics and scale have all improved over my little 685's (which are now quite happy in the kitchen ). The harshness that the Cyrus / 685 combination sometimes expressed is gone. The treble is really very clean, clear and silky but never harsh. The bass is also very good. It goes very deap and has a lot of punch. The only thing I think needs improving is the mids. Somehow they sound as if they could do with a bit more power or grunt. I do not know exactly how to describe this. The detail, separation and pace is all very good but I feel that something is missing.

I am now wondering if this is only a matter of power or if it is due to the Cyrus house sound. So there are a few options out there for me. I could either add 2 Cyrus mono power amp to get more power and punch to the mids (not sure if that really is the problem and I have not heard a Cyrus power amp yet) or I could switch my amp to either another solid state (I was thinking Naim as they do pack some punch) or a hybrid amp (was thinking 2nd hand Pathos Logos or something similar).

Please do let me know what you think. I have no idea if Naim or Pathos are a good match for the Viennas. I know that some people like the Viennas on McIntosh amps but I have not heard one of thoses either.

I am looking forward to your replies!

 

[pgoody]

And to answer your question Thompsonuxb listening levels are around -40 to -30 db. And that is quite loud listening

 

[DandyCobalt]

I was looking at replacing my CM8s with the Baby Grands. I was aiming to get Mono X300s plus a DAC XP+ to make the most of these great speakers. Then Mrs C told me I couldn't get new speakers as she liked the CM8s so much.

I suspect you need to get more power through them, and also improve the preamplification to perhaps the DAC XP+ (ideally) or at least a preXpdQx.

But that's a big change (money-wise) from your previous setup.

Very envious on the speaker front |( but happy for you of course