speakers for cyrus pre xpd and 8power

[stpierre76]

I recently purchased a 8power and pre xpd combo.I knw speakers are a matter of personnal taste but i want to know where to start looking as there is absolutely no point looking and demoing a set of speakers if my gear can t drive them properly, so any inputs will be greatly appreciated and point me in the right direction.Floorstanders or standmount m not too fussed, budget wise up to 2000 pds is acceptable.thanks john

 

[chebby]

Does this mean you bought the Cyrus kit without listening first?

Assuming you did listen to the Cyrus gear (and was obviously impressed enough to buy it), then you must - equally - have been impressed with the speakers you heard it all with at the demo.

That's where to start.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The most popular choices from demos we do are the ProAc D18's, and Spendor A6's. The ATC SCM19's will also work well, as will the KEF XQ30's.

 

[stpierre76]

Thanks for your reply.No I did not buy the cyrus gear without listening.I auditioned it with a pair of B&W 805s and was pleasantly suprised.I chose the cyrus for 3 reason is that it s upgrade path is enormous, for the built in DAC and that the fact that the naim dealer I went to was rude and arrogant and did not want me to come and listen to naim gear than compare it to cyrus..(do you reckon I should send an email to naim explaining situation..and that they got a rogue dealer???).As for speaker altough i enjoyed the B&W m keen to auditioned at pretty much anything that the 8 powere is capable of driving really well.I beleive in buying amps first then match speaker to suit..makes sense??

 

[Frank Harvey]

It would be worth an e-mail to Naim and Cyrus.

 

[Anonymous]

I would also consider ATC40's and Wilson Benesch Square Ones or Twos.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I hate to disagree with people angelface, but the SCM40's need something better. They're the hardest of the entry level ATC's to match up as far as amplifiction is concerned. We find the SCM19's better all rounders and far more listenable - maybe due to having an SL mid/bass unit, hence why I recommended SCM19's. Plus, the SCM40's are above budget.

Like the SCM40's, the WB Twos sound amazing if you're into well recorded music, but anything less just doesn't sound very appealing. The Ones weren't a patch on the Twos - usually standmounts sound like the floorstanders with less bass, but I didn't even find them engaging with well recorded music.

Personal preference of course

 

[chebby]

stpierre76:...and that the fact that the naim dealer I went to was rude and arrogant and did not want me to come and listen to naim gear than compare it to cyrus..(do you reckon I should send an email to naim explaining situation..and that they got a rogue dealer???).

Absolutely yes! (Before anyone else gets the same treatment or associates his behaviour with the brand.)

Our local Naim dealer also stocks Cyrus so that would not be a problem.

He and his staff are also courteous and helpful (and professional) and would have no problems at all with a customer mentioning demos at other establishments with gear he doesn't stock. He would probably be interested to talk about it.

I am saddened that your dealer put you off listening to Naim.

I witnessed a similar conversation between a visiting sales rep - from a Scottish hifi company - and a customer in a Sussex dealership (no longer trading) that I used to buy from about 25 years ago, and could not believe my ears when the rep virtually manhandled the guy out of the dealer's door shouting... "he doesn't sell ######## furniture you ####### idiot!"

The customer's 'crime' was to ask the dealer (in the rep's earshot) if the Quad system they had been listening to was better than Bang & Olufsen.

I never went back there again because the dealer should have thrown the rep out for such outrageous behaviour (almost 'arrestable' behaviour actually) but he didn't bat an eyelid!

 

[bluebrazil]

if you want a good second hand choice, that would leave you plenty spare for another 8 power to run them in mono, theres a pair of dynaudio contour 1.3 mkII on ebay with about a day left, obviously a bit of a gamble and no chance of an audition but i think its a good b.i.n. price and the synergey has always been good with the two makes. if you fancy a punt im sure you could sell them on for minimal loss if not to your tastes.

 

[Anonymous]

Spendor and dynaudio go very well with cyrus kit. Had some spendor s3e speakers before going to the Proac's. The new speakers sound fantastic with the cyrus. Not the biggest speakers around though.

The A6's are meant to be v v good, but as was not allowed floorstanders could not try them.

It depends if you want pretty speakers or floor standers ;-).

Iggle will say the spendor sa1 speakers, and they were extremely closs in the running for me but proac won in the end.

The is a forum set up for cyrus users (cyrusunofficial) and they obviously are tailored to cyrus kit so might be a good idea to have a look through there as well.

People use Focal, dynaudio, spendor, audiovector, AE's and a few others.

 

[jockey.wilson]

bluebrazil:if you want a good second hand choice, that would leave you plenty spare for another 8 power to run them in mono, theres a pair of dynaudio contour 1.3 mkII on ebay with about a day left, obviously a bit of a gamble and no chance of an audition but i think its a good b.i.n. price and the synergey has always been good with the two makes. if you fancy a punt im sure you could sell them on for minimal loss if not to your tastes.

Second the above. My pair are 8 years old and I have yet to hear a better pair of speakers the right side of £2K.

I have used them on the end of a Cyrus 8XPd and they sounded great, but obviously respond to better amplification such as a pre power...

 

[stpierre76]

once again, thanks for all the advice and inputs.I know i m not building an extremely high end system, but I do want components to suit and complement each another and enjoy music.I was considering most of the brand mentioned(spendor a6/sa1, proac, atc..) but was just afraid some of those speaker would be too hard to drive for the 8 power.People talk about how great the atc and sa1 are but hard to control but seems that the 8 power will be up to the tsk so I will spend sometime auditioning speakers.Once again your advice has been much appreciated.John