upgrading to hifi from home theatre.

[admin_exported]

I am looking to keep my existing home cinema system that I am very happy with but now want to improve the sound for my music. System comprises of Yamaha 2600 Receiver Yamaha 2500 DVD player B&W XT 5.1 Speaker system. I have to build the new system gradually and want to start with a CD player to play through the 2600 the XT4's and PV1. I had a listen to the cyrus cd8x with the cyrus 8vs2 amplifier with the XT4's and was surprised how bad the speakers sounded without the PV1 and dismissed this setup on this basis. Was this a little premature? I listened to two Arcam CD players the FMJ 36 and the DiVA CD192 with the Arcam FMJ A32 amp and the B&W 804S speakers and this sounded fantastic but i don't have that budget all at once and want to appreciately improve the quality components over a period of time. I managed to borrow the 2 arcam cd players but can't really decide between the two. If any one is also going through the same system upgrade I would appreciate any help. regards scumbag

 

[Clare Newsome]

The PV1 subwoofer is one of those products that once it's in your system, you should never let go of it - unless you're adding a subwoofer for silly money/size. Nothing wrong with using the sub in a stereo set-up - and with one as fast and agile as the PV1, why wouldn't you?

My suggestion would be to try the system again with the PV1 still in play, but also try the Cyrus pairing with PSX-R power supplies on top - makes a big diference to the overall performance. You may also want to look at the pre/power amp combinations tested in our new September issue (on sale this Thursday) - the XT4s appreciate being well-powered.