what speakers for cyrus cd6se/6xp

[admin_exported]

hi guys, first post on here but have looked in often. please excuse my ignorance on technical matters.

i want to improve my stereo set up and have my heart now set on a cyrus cd6se (asap) and 6xp (eventually). the thing is i am short of space and already have a 5:1 set up which i am happy with.

at the moment, my cambridge audio cd player is running through my denon 3805 into mordaunt short 914s. i had initially planned to upgrade my 914s with mezzo 6's but heard from several places that they are not a good match with the cyrus pair.

my problem is do i buy another set of floorstanders and run them to both amps (is this possible)?? or do i buy a nice pair of recommended atc stm 11s. the problem with buying them is that i have no more floorspace so they would have to be placed on top of my 914s (not ideal). also, i cant put them on wall brackets
also, regarding the atc scm11 speakers, will they be powerful enough for the 6xp (40watts/channel). i have read somewhere that the sensitivity of the speakers is relatively low - does this mean that they are hard to run and that i would have to play them quietly (i tend to blast my music).

not too worried about how low they go as i was intending on using my sub with them
what do you all think i should do (if anything?)
pete

 

[Frank Harvey]

What's more important to you - music or movies?

You could try the Mezzo 6's on the end of Cyrus and see what you think. Just because a couple of people say it's not a good idea, doesn't mean it's not the combination for you. I don't think it'd be a gross mismatch, and you'll probably be surprised what they can sound like on the end of the Cyrus compared to your Denon AV receiver. You could then integrate the two systems and get the best of both.

If you want to go for something like the SCM11's, I'd recommend picking up one of Cyrus's discontinued pre-amps and going for an X Power. This will power the SCM11's far better than the 6xp ever would - you do say you like to 'blast' your music! In this instance, I'd even be wary of recommending an 8xp. A pre/power combo is the way to go with the ATC's. If the amp isn't up to the job, you'll not be getting the best from them. If you take this route, you'd need to change the centre speaker to match at some point, which might mean looking into an amplifier upgrade. Think long term - it's no good making one change then realising you can't go further due to space or funds or something and be left with a mis-matched system. Or for the cost of the 6xp and what you sell your 3805 for, you could pick up a Yamaha DSPZ7, which will improve your movies, and drive whichever speakers you go for, better too.

The SCM11's do prefer some pretty solid stands to get the best from them though. They're quite heavy, so they may not be too happy perched on top of a more lightweight speaker (in comparison), nor a wall bracket, if you can find some strong enough!

 

[Boca]

Hi FrankHarveyHifi,

Are you saying the Yamaha DSPZ7 would drive the speakers as good as the 6XP would? or would he still be better off getting the X power and adding it to the Z7 later.

 

[Anonymous]

hi again, thank you for the input and advice. music is more important to me than films at present.

if i was to go for the mezzos, can they be wired into the cyrus and denon separately or would i have to run the cyrus through the denon? i have previously tried to hook up a cambridge azur amp through the denon but it the volume was extremely low, even when the volume control on the ca was at full and the denon at a reasonable level.

i really am stretching my budget with the fronts and cyrus' so i wont be changing my 5:1 setup for a very long time. i might be able to stretch to some fronts, a cd6se and a 8xp but dont think i could afford a pre/power combo. can u put a pre X into an integrated or just into a power amp?

more confused than ever

pete

 

[Anonymous]

The Mezzo 6's are fine speakers, and I used them for quite a while with my all-Cyrus setup. The main problems I had with them and Cyrus gear really stem from (a) me living in a small flat and therefore not being able to crank up the volume to the point where the Mezzo's would get moving properly and (b) my liking bass that sucks what's left of my 40-a-day lungs through my nostrils every time the bass drum is hit. My last pair of speakers in the States were Boston Acoustic MA-10's with powered subwoofers in the base of each cabinet.

I think if you can crank your stereo up to the point where the Mezzo's start to move (Mordaunt Short speakers have always rather slow to get going IMHO but sound great when they do) you should do fine.

You don't say what sort of 5.1 setup you've got, but I presume it's a "cinema in a box" deal, in which case keep the stereo and the 5.1 entirely separate UNLESS the unit has line outs for a tape drive or whatever. If that's the case you can hook these up to the Aux channel on your hifi amp, junk the 5.1 speakers and use the hifi to provide front left and front right (assuming they're properly positioned either side of the TV of course).

As for wiring up both speakers to both amps, as my American cop buddies might say:

"Sir, put down the soldering iron and step away from the stereo".

You'll probably fry the lot.

Oh, and did I mention there's a pair of Mezzo 6's up for sale on a certain auction website this week?

 

[Anonymous]

hi Darren, thanks for reply, i too love bass and am fortunate enough to be in a situation where i can play my music loud reasonably often. my 5:1 setup comprises of mordaunt short 914s, 902s & 905c with a bk xl200 sub running into a denon 3805 receiver.

i did previously try to hook up a cambridge audio azur stereo amp through the denon but the volume was very quiet

i have the mezzos on my watch page on that certain auction site but am still stuck with the issue of running 5:1 and 2:1 in the same room - time for the soldering iron i think

thanks again

pete

 

[Anonymous]

fizzgog:

hi Darren, thanks for reply, i too love bass and am fortunate enough to be in a situation where i can play my music loud reasonably often. my 5:1 setup comprises of mordaunt short 914s, 902s & 905c with a bk xl200 sub running into a denon 3805 receiver.

i did previously try to hook up a cambridge audio azur stereo amp through the denon but the volume was very quiet

i have the mezzos on my watch page on that certain auction site but am still stuck with the issue of running 5:1 and 2:1 in the same room - time for the soldering iron i think

thanks again

pete

Replace the MS914s with the Mezzo's, hook the Cyrus CD player up to the back of the Denon, using either analogue, fibre optic or co-axial digital interconnects. End of problem for now.

Adding a Cyrus pre-amp on its own won't work, as the outputs are meant to feed one or more dedicated power amplifiers, not the inputs on the back of your receiver.

When you add a Cyrus amplifier, go for one of the integrated XP-D models with built in DAC to upgrade your CD performance. Now reverse the AV setup, connecting the Mezzo 6s to the Cyrus amp. Take one of the outputs from the receiver and feed this into the AV, Aux or Tape analogue (or one of the digital - D models only) inputs on the Cyrus. The Cyrus amp now drives the front left and right speakers in AV mode, and the Denon drives the surround sound speakers. When listening to CDs, the Denon is bypassed entirely. The only drawback (or maybe it's a plus) is that you have independent volume control for the front left / right pair and the rest of the surround sound.

Later on, if you want more "oomph" from the stereo, chain in a Cyrus power amp (go "one up" on spec, e.g. if you buy the 8XP-D use an X-power). Bi-amp the setup, with one pair of cables from the integrated amp driving left and right bass - yes bass - channels, and another pair driving left and right treble channels. To explain, the treble channels acutally use more power than the bass ones.

I went through this when I came back from the US 2 1/2 years ago. Be warned - those little silver boxes BREED!!!

 

[Anonymous]

thanks again Darren, what you are saying makes sense, i like the way that you can upgrade at leisure with the cyrus products.

i have my eye on a couple of items at the moment, i was looking at an pre / x power combo but that can wait until after i have the cd player and new speakers. 80 quid to courier those speakers to me from Scotland .

kind regards

pete

 

[Anonymous]

60 with Don't Help Load - if they'll take them (not banker's box shaped) - remember these babies weigh in at 20 kilos each!! I'l check with Grumpier Parcels on Monday to see if they can do it any cheaper - where are you again?

And watch out! Those silver boxes breed, I tell ya! They BREED!!!

 

[Anonymous]

im in wirral, merseyside.

thats some steup you have there. what speakers do you have hooked up?

...pete

 

[Anonymous]

post about using existing amp is right, but go for CD transport instead and ask the amplifier to decode, then as suggested, get the pre amp with DAC built in as you will be able to use PC music too when you are ready to upgrade.

Speaker wise, I would suggest replacing your left right also rather than adding them to mix. They don't have to match either if you can make do until you upgrade rest of system. So get stereo speakers you want to finish with. I loved the Spendour A6 with the Cyrus range - great range and you won't need sub.

 

[Anonymous]

hi Joe thanks for the advice. i think that a pair of a6's would finish any system off perfectly but they are out of my league at the moment. i think that i might aspire to get them one day but will probably get a midrange quality speaker in the mean time.

thanks again

pete

 

[Anonymous]

fizzgog:

im in wirral, merseyside.

thats some steup you have there. what speakers do you have hooked up?

...pete

Bi-amped ProAc Studio 140's using 2 runs of big fat Chord Odyssey 4 speaker cables with paired cores. The wife went nucking futz when she found out what the Chord Chorus interconnects cost. If she knew what the speaker cables cost she'd have me jacobs off

 

[Anonymous]

Darren Heal:fizzgog:
im in wirral, merseyside.

thats some steup you have there. what speakers do you have hooked up?

...pete

Bi-amped ProAc Studio 140's using 2 runs of big fat Chord Odyssey 4 speaker cables with paired cores. The wife went nucking futz when she found out what the Chord Chorus interconnects cost. If she knew what the speaker cables cost she'd have me jacobs off

now i understand what you mean in your signature about being sponsored by chord

 

[Anonymous]

hi again, could somebody please confirm that the denon 3805 can run the cyrus cd xtse. not sure if the 3805 has dac.

thanks for all your help so far guys...pete

 

[Frank Harvey]

Boca: Hi FrankHarveyHifi,

Are you saying the Yamaha DSPZ7 would drive the speakers as good as the 6XP would? or would he still be better off getting the X power and adding it to the Z7 later.Hi

Sorry or the delay in replying, I've been away for a few days.

The DSPZ7 will drive the speakers fine, and do a great job with the OP's current speakers. What I'm recommending is that a move to the Z7 would get more from them, but if he wants to go for the SCM11's, which are quite demanding speakers in many respects, a Cyrus pre/power would get the most from them, more so than an AV amplifier.

The 6xp would be fine with the Mezzo's if those are the OP's eventual choice.

 

[Frank Harvey]

fizzgog: hi again, could somebody please confirm that the denon 3805 can run the cyrus cd xtse. not sure if the 3805 has dac.The CDXTse can be connected to ANY AV amplifier/receiver as it has optical and coaxial digital outputs, and all AV amplifiers have both of these types of digital connections.

 

[Anonymous]

One final word of warning.

Don't be suckered by the Cyrus "upgradeability" feature. They charge quite a lot of money IMHO for the upgrades (probably because much of the unit's original internals, front panel etc. get junked, plus labour costs). Again IMHO, you'd be better off buying a new unit outright and selling the old one on. The only time I can see any value in the upgrade path is if you've fried something anyway or if it's a straightforward "plug in" upgrade like adding a DAC to one of their new amplifier range with attendant (relatively) low parts and labour costs.

 

[Frank Harvey]

The upgrade path is there for those that wish to take it. Some people aren't into selling stuff on and replacing it all the time, and would rather keep what they have if there's the possibility to update it somehow.

Very few manufacturers offer this useful service, so you're forced into selling your old product on and possibly losing a lot of money in the process. How many manufacturers offer you to upgrade a 5 year old unit to current spec with a fresh 2 year warranty?!! Damn good service if you ask me.....

Updating a product nowadays isn't as straightforward as just plugging in a new board. There's also software to think about - the new hardware will more than likely need new software, which needs to be downloaded, set up, and tested, taking up man hours. In the event of a CD upgrade, your current player needs stripping down and rebuilding, which actually takes longer than if Cyrus were building a new player - so again, man hours have to be taken into account.

I'd agree that with the cost involved in the CD player upgrade, some poeple would be better selling their unit and buying a new one - especially if they can get hold of discontinued models at reduced prices.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks you again all. i have just bought a cyrus cdxtse ex demo unit with warranty for 695 pounds!

do you think that this is a reasonable price?

i really appreciate all your help, however im not sure my wallet thinks the same...pete

 

[Frank Harvey]

Well the new one is £1500, so at half the price it's not going to be half as good!

 

[Boca]

FrankHarveyHiFi:Boca: Hi FrankHarveyHifi,

Are you saying the Yamaha DSPZ7 would drive the speakers as good as the 6XP would? or would he still be better off getting the X power and adding it to the Z7 later.Hi

Sorry or the delay in replying, I've been away for a few days.

The DSPZ7 will drive the speakers fine, and do a great job with the OP's current speakers. What I'm recommending is that a move to the Z7 would get more from them, but if he wants to go for the SCM11's, which are quite demanding speakers in many respects, a Cyrus pre/power would get the most from them, more so than an AV amplifier.

The 6xp would be fine with the Mezzo's if those are the OP's eventual choice.

Thanks, it makes sense now.