Upgrade Cyrus Stereo Hi-Fi to 5.1 surround sound

[Oluain]

Hello,
I have a Cyrus 8XP d QX quartz AMP with Spendor A6 stereo speakers.

I am interested in upgrading this stereo setup to include surround sound for movies.

Can you please advise on a recommended upgrade path for this.

Many thanks

 

[Al ears]

Personally I would be looking at a AV receiver rather than trying to upgrade a stereo system

 

[scene]

Personally I would be looking at a AV receiver rather than trying to upgrade a stereo system

Agree with Al ears. You can try to use the Cyrus to drive the front pair of a surround system, using pre-outs from an AV receiver, say, but this gets to be quite complicated when trying to balance and use, even for something as simple as changing volume. I tried it with my A85 and gave up very quickly as I just found it too hard to use.

 

[Al ears]

Yep, same as scene I have had a few mates try this only to give up because of the issues it brings.
It would probably be cheaper in the long run as well if you just buy the AV receiver

 

[scene]

Yep, same as scene I have had a few mates try this only to give up because of the issues it brings.
It would probably be cheaper in the long run as well if you just buy the AV receiver

I appreciate where the OP is coming from, the Cyrus amp is a cracker, and I'd be loathe to get rid of it. The question is, would you want:
1. To have two systems (Hi Fi & AV)
2. Trade in the Cyrus and get an AV on its own

(1) could be impractical, there may not be space for two systems, and cost might be an issue
(2) could result in less good two-channel music... Though you could get a high-end AV amp that's good at stereo (e.g. Arcam) - but that can get very expensive...

Depends on budget and practical considerations...

 

[Al ears]

He doesn't necessarily need two systems to that extent and it would be easy enough to rig up a means to switch his current speakers between AV and hifi.
What he wants to do is going to require more boxes anyway.
The quality of the Cyrus amp is somewhat irrelevant as the sound will be completely different when used in an AV setup.
Your point about Arcam receiver is a good one and probably the route I would take.

 

[Samd]

He doesn't necessarily need two systems to that extent and it would be easy enough to rig up a means to switch his current speakers between AV and hifi.
What he wants to do is going to require more boxes anyway.
The quality of the Cyrus amp is somewhat irrelevant as the sound will be completely different when used in an AV setup.
Your point about Arcam receiver is a good one and probably the route I would take.

Expand on that bit for me s'il vous plait.

 

[scene]

He doesn't necessarily need two systems to that extent and it would be easy enough to rig up a means to switch his current speakers between AV and hifi.
What he wants to do is going to require more boxes anyway.
The quality of the Cyrus amp is somewhat irrelevant as the sound will be completely different when used in an AV setup.
Your point about Arcam receiver is a good one and probably the route I would take.

Expand on that bit for me s'il vous plait.

I agree, you could use a switch and have the speakers as the front pair.
- I'm assuming that you mean the Cyrus amp (as being used for stereo) will sound different to/drive the speakers differently from the AV amp driving the front pair? Can't see why using the Chord in an AV set up would make it sound different...

 

[Al ears]

Personally I would be looking at a AV receiver rather than trying to upgrade a stereo system

I meant simply it wouldn't sound the same because it suddenly becomes a preamp and not an integrated unit, whatever you have it connected to to drive the 5.1 speakers comes more into effect, plus the fact you'll have the effect of a cente and surround speakers

 

[scene]

I meant simply it wouldn't sound the same because it suddenly becomes a preamp and not an integrated unit, whatever you have it connected to to drive the 5.1 speakers comes more into effect.

Ahh. That's a slightly different approach than the one I was thinking of. I used my A85 in "processor" mode, where the front pair were still driven by it, and the pre-outs from the AV amp went in as inputs to the AMP - so it worked as a power amp, rather than integrated.
- The biggest issue here was matching the gain between AV and the A85

 

[Al ears]

Ahh. That's a slightly different approach than the one I was thinking of. I used my A85 in "processor" mode, where the front pair were still driven by it, and the pre-outs from the AV amp went in as inputs to the AMP - so it worked as a power amp, rather than integrated.
- The biggest issue here was matching the gain between AV and the A85

Not sure if the Cyrus has that sort of functionality

 

[sparky2k]

I have a 6a that I use to drive the front speakers with the pre-out from an X3600H. The Cyrus models have an AV Direct labelled input that fixes the gain and disables the amp's own volume control so the AV unit can set it.

 

[smbmetal]

I have a 6a that I use to drive the front speakers with the pre-out from an X3600H. The Cyrus models have an AV Direct labelled input that fixes the gain and disables the amp's own volume control so the AV unit can set it.

That would be a good idea if the OP wants to keep the existing amp. That's a good feature to have on an amp that. Just the AV amp and a pair of interconnects and that would be all done. Only need the room and an extra power socket...job done.

 

[chris661]

Just a thought - if your AVR has a 12v trigger output, you could use that and a couple of relays to switch the speakers between amplifiers automatically.

Chris