Upgrade from Quad 12L2s

admin_exported

New member
Aug 10, 2019
2,556
4
0
Visit site
Hi just bought a Cyrus 8xpdqx and now want ing to replace the Quads .. Anyone have any ideas? I like music with a little sparkle and weight but I would prefer stand mounts (up to a grand) would consider 2nd hand ebay stuff..
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I have the same amp as you and previously had Quad 22L2s, so very similar to what you have. Personally I found the Quads a little sharp in the mid range and auditioned B&W and Spendor which I found too warm.

I finally hit the jackpot when I auditioned Vienna Acoustics speakers. They are a match made in heaven for Cyrus kit and would urge you to audition them. They will fit in your price range (Haydn Grand) but see if you can find some ex-dem ones (Sevenoaks are great for these) at a bargain price (lowest I can see is £699).

Be warned though, once you hear them you may find anything less is not worth looking at. This has happened to a couple of poeple on this forum... :grin:
 
The Viennas seem to be highly recommended on here. Also, look at PMC DB1 or GB1s, Totem or Spendors. Having said that, the new GX range from MA are pretty special. I've heard the GX100 with Cyrus 8 gear and sounded darn good.

An audition is essential TBH.
 
With your kit you could do an awful lot worse than getting on the 'phone to EB Acoustics and ordering yourself brand new pair of EB2's. They do take a little running in but you do get a 30 day return opportunity. Take it from me they are stunning in the right set-up. You would need to pay more than double (some people say triple) to better them. You will have quite a wait to get them due to demand for EB Acoustics product turnover - but it is worth it!!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Cheers for the responses.. I have looked at the VA Haydns (only read reviews) and they ranked highly on my short list as would be well under my budget so get brucie bonus points.. I plan to get an X Power soon as a lot of people say that this will give the scale and depth i'm after. I've noticed that the Haydns are not biwirable is it still possible to use these in a biamped set up?

Also, a little confused about biamping and pre / power? are they the same?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Vienna Acoustics themselves put forward a good case for not needing to bi-wire. Have a look around on this forum, there are many arguments discussions on which is better. In my personal experience I can't tell the difference.

Bi-wiring - you use the same terminals in your amp with two wires coming out, one to the high freq input on the speaker, one to the low freq input on your speaker. The crossover at the speaker is by-passed (you remove the plate connecting the two). VA say bypassing their crossover bypasses their expertise in building an amazing crossover.

Bi-amping - one amp runs the high freq part of the speaker and one amp runs the low freq part of the speaker therefore splitting the high and low frequencies. Two separate boxesmean less interference between the two and more individual control.

Pre-power - This separates out the pre-amp and power amp duties into two separate boxes. Pre-amp duties take your signal from your source and turn it into something usuable, power amp just has the grunt to make this audible. Putting it into two boxes separates the intricate part from the grunt part.

I know this is a very short description but hope it is useful.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Groberton - thaks for the explanation. Can you Biamp without having to biwire? I take it you have the VA Haydns, what cables are you using with them?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Nope, don't do this. You don't want to be running two amps into a single speaker terminal because your signals will go down one and up the other and cause damage to your amp.

I have got the Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grands and love them. The Haydns will be voiced the same but not have as much weight. I am only using QED cables at the moment but plan to buy DNM solid core cables (which are surprisingly cheap). The WHF tests were done recently using Cyrus solid core cables which is the same as the DNM and sounded incredible. So that's what I am going for. Even with my basic QED Silver cable they sound amazing.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
What else does your set-up consist of? Do you get scale and authority from just your 8xpdqx? are you using the VA's with any other Cyrus kit..
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Khan-e - I have a Sony CDP3000 ES as a transport going into my 8xpdQX. I get a good amount of scale (especially from classical), although I don't know how much this would be improved with an external power supply - suffice to say though that I am extremely happy with how it currently sounds.

Levels of detail are incredible and voices sound natural. Cymbals and high frequencies sound sharp, open and crisp without being too bright.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Think I'm going to arrange an audition of the VA Haydns, will let you know the outcome.. will have to be next week though.. Upgraditus here we go again...
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
groberton said:
Bi-wiring - you use the same terminals in your amp with two wires coming out, one to the high freq input on the speaker, one to the low freq input on your speaker. The crossover at the speaker is by-passed (you remove the plate connecting the two). VA say bypassing their crossover bypasses their expertise in building an amazing crossover.

One bits wrong - bi wiring does not bypass the cross over, the plates connecting the speaker terminals is not the cross over. Each drive unit will have its own cross over circuitry inside the speaker. The only way to bypass the crossover is to replace it with an active cross over which is then placed before the power amps, each amp is then connected directy to the drive unit.

And for clarity, biamping necessitates biwiring.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Chaps, Does this mean that the only upgrade route for my system in the future using Single wire Vienna Accousic Haydn Grand is using the Cyrus 8xpdqx as a pre and then having a Power Amp / 2 mono's?

Will there be any benefit with the pre/power combo over the integrated Cyrus I have?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Yes, and when you hear it you will be feeling totally satisfied.

I have also heard people say that Cyrus equipment really starts to come into it's own when you have pre/power combinations but personally I am very happy with what I have at present.

Is the Mozart floorstander a possibility for you?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I Live in Manchester, (though still visit the folks in Derby), Does anyone know where I can find a Vienna accoustics dealer nearby? The internet is a bit vague with this info. Groberton shame on you, I've got the bug (upgraditus) - BAD!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Sevenoaks are in Manchester, I think there is also one in Nottingham.

Sorry...
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hi Have phoned around various dealers (including Sevenoaks) in an around Manchester and Derby and whilst they can order Vienna Acoustics speakers they dont have any to Demo!!? Have phoned VA (went through to Cyrus!!) They said that one of their reps will phone me back.. VA speakers are proving hard to track down!!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hi Have phoned various dealers (including Sevenoaks) in an around Manchester and Derby and whilst they can order Vienna Acoustics speakers they dont have any to Demo!!? Have phoned VA (went through to Cyrus!!) They said that one of their reps will phone me back.. VA speakers are proving hard to track down!!
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts