Speaker recommendation for Cyrus 8XPd and CDXtSE system

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Anonymous

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FrankHarveyHiFi:If you're thinking of A5's, try before you buy to see if there's enough powere there for you. Usually I'd recommend an X-Power for the A5's.

Hi Frank, when you say 'power' are you talking about volume or is it more than that?

I had thought 70 Watts per channel should be enough.

I should be able to get a demo of these speakers, but it is always good to get some advice as well
 
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Anonymous

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The latest Spendor range have fairly easy impedance load characteristics but very low sensitivity. In theory, you'll probably crave more in the way of voltage to get volume than sheer current. Of course, the more voltage you put into a drive unit and the more volume you create the more current you'll need to keep everything in control.

Easiest thing to do is forget all of that and just try some combos at your dealer!
 

Frank Harvey

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lambconor: Hi Frank, when you say 'power' are you talking about volume or is it more than that?

I had thought 70 Watts per channel should be enough.

I should be able to get a demo of these speakers, but it is always good to get some advice as well I mean actual volume for your listening levels. 70 watts will be fine for moderate listening levels, but if you want to turn things up every now and again, you'll probably find an average 70w amp struggling a little.

In the case of the A5, you have an impedance that will dip to 5 ohms, and a sensitivity of 86dB.

PS. It's David
emotion-2.gif
 

SteveR750

Well-known member
It's worth bearing in mind that the jump from a 70W amp to a 140W amp gives a theoretical max increase in SPL of +3dB. This is arguably not really that noticeable when listening at high SPL's of say over 100dB which is pretty loud in a house, indeed to double the SPL you would need a 700W amp!

Anyone with a Cyrus amp can easily evaluate what 3dB sounds like out as the volume is displayed relative to max output.

This is a useful link:

http://www.astralsound.com/the_decibel.htm
 
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Anonymous

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Thanks for the replies. Very interesting.

Think its probably makes the most sense though...

igglebert:

Easiest thing to do is forget all of that and just try some combos at your dealer!

Any thoughts on the B&W CM7?

P.S Sorry David ;)
 

Frank Harvey

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No problem :)

The CM7's are a higher sensitivity, but a lower impedance drop - 3ohms in this case. The sensitivity affects the whole speaker output, whereas the impedance is just at the lower end of the frequency range, so it's six of one half a dozen of the other in this case. I'd treat them as equally hard to drive, but if you can get a demo of the two together you'll be able to see which one comes across as louder for a given volume. I'd personally recommend an X-Power for the CM7's too, but that's not to say the 8Xpd won't give you enough volume, so try them out. My amplifier recommendations are made to start running a speaker properly.
 
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Anonymous

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Hi

I'm very fortunate to have got yesterday a Cyrus 8xpd qx on the promotion
price, I'm using my old CD7 as a transport and have B&W 602.5s3 floor
standers.

I can't express how stunning the sound is, CD's that we have had for years,
music we know intimately now has instruments that we never heard before , I
kept on chuckling to myself all evening from Zero 7 to Pink Floyd, Bille Holliday
to Madonna wow wow wow.
Even with these speakers it was stunning, but they are not
good enough, fat and heavy slightly better with the bass hole foam mufflers in
place, but this now deserves much better.

Problem is £2000 is not really an option for new speakers
and the original question was what's the best for around £1000 which is where I
am right now.
Could I ask what would people suggest as the 3 or 4 speakers
to audition?
 

Frank Harvey

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Jun 27, 2008
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Well seeing as you like the Cyrus/B&W combination, why not try the CM7's?

Personally, I'd save for a little longer, as there is far more options at the £1,500+ than there are below £1k. If you can, try ProAc Studio 140's, PMC GB1i's, Spendor A5's, and KEF XQ.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Ok first post so please be gentle but I have also taken advantage of the summer promotion and upgraded my cyrus 3 to a cyrus 8xpd qx.

Still using my dad7 but now using the dac on the 8xpd and mostly listening to apple lossless via itunes direct from my imac.

My speakers are 12 year old mission 751s mounted on Target R4s and reading this thread there is quite a weight of opinion that to get the best out of my system I should be looking at speakers upwards of £1k.

So yesterday I was fortunate enough to have a home trial of a pair of Proac 1sc and I was expecting to blown away but the truth is I wasn't. Yes I felt they won in some areas but the Missions actualy held there own pretty well.

So getting to the point (at last I hear?) I do feel that there is an issue with my Missions particularly in two areas: -

1) I feel that vocals seem somewhat restrained almost enacapsulated, if that makes sense.

2) When it gets busy it can sound slightly muddled

Neither of these points actually spoil the listening experience but I'm just looking for serious improvement in these areas

So really wondering if anyone can suggest suitable speaker upgrades that will make a huge difference. There are environmental issues in that the speakers have to be placed against the wall and the listening room is only 12' x 14'
 

Frank Harvey

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Jun 27, 2008
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The ProAc Response 1SC's are one of my favourite speakers - I think in this case they just need something a bit better than the 8xpd. Either that or it just wasn't a good match in this case. I think what you're after is a larger speaker, so take a look at speakers like the ProAc Response D2, ATC SCM19, KEF XQ20, and Monitor Audio GS10. All these use larger bass drivers than the 1SC (now replaced by the D1), so will be more capable when things get busy, and should give you a bigger soundstage as they'll hold less back. I would still rate the Response 1SC's up with any of the speakers I've mentioned above, they'll just lose out a little in bass response and power.

All of those I've mentioned, other than the GS10's, will work fine against a wall.
 

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