Which £400-£800 Speakers for Cyrus Integrated Amp???

Hi Scott,

The PSX(R) connected to the power amp in the Cyrus 2 and 3 but you are correct with regard to more modern Cyrus kit where the external unit drives the pre.

In response to Joel's point re the Yams IIRC the C3 will kick out 100w quite happily into 4 ohms with a PSXR connected so you'd probably be fine.

 

I'll add to the chorus recommending older Cyrus stuff, and not just because I've got one.

A friend of mine runs Cyrus 2 + PSX into a pair of Infinity studio monitors, I forget exactly which model but each is the size of a small coffin, 12" bass drivers. Exceptional clarity and soundstage, especially from vinyl.

 

Tensons probably mentioned some small active studio monitors, and it's not a bad call at this kind of budget.

You'd just need a CD player with variable output and no amp would be needed at all.

Failing that, a small passive pot would be all you would need to attenuate level - easily bought for about £150.

http://www.dv247.com/invt/froogle/35780/

http://www.dv247.com/invt/24044/

http://www.dv247.com/invt/38072/

It's a neat and good sounding idea at this price range IMO.

 

some of the best manufacturers do not have biwire eg focal and dynaudio. i wouldn`t get hung up about it. means you don`t have to spend money on expensive jumpers as many recommend just one good quality cable. there are some floorstanding contours on wigwam at the moment for 650 in good nick and they would sound great with the cyrus. I have cyrus and 52se and greatly enjoy them

 

The amphion have just won the absolute sound editors choice award.

I have an exdem pair of Ion L in white for £600.

 

just a note to say i agree with tenson regarding the cyrus III... musically its miles ahead of their newer offerings, its smoother, and just more fun to listen to. Its also got lovely punchy bass. On its own it lacks a little drive, but when hooked up to a PSX-R is all the amp most people would ever need.

Im about to get one myself as a stand in amplifier system.

 

Cheers hifinutt. I have my eyes and ears on a pair of second hand Dynaudio 42's at the moment. Not bothered about being unable to bi-wire these now as you guys have clearly explained the unimportance....and if I stay with Dyns and upgrade to bigger and better then I can monobloc. I am interested in the contours....but 1) limited funds just after crimbo, 2) unsure about layout and size of room at the mo, and 3) I can use these little babies as AV rears when the time is right.

 

Just wanted to be polite and respond to some of your posts.

First off, thanks to everyone for the warm welcome and for all the advice.

Rob, Shrink & Tenson...if I am lucky this afternoon and get the Cyrus 3 then I will more than likely get a psx-r. Thanks for advice on Cyrus kit.

hifi addict,..thanks for the offer of the Ion L and the heads-up on Amphion in general (those Argon 2's look gorgeous to me and a real piece of furniture let alone speakers). More than likely get the small 2nd hand Dyns as explained earlier and then can invest as much money in my source as possible.

Bottleneck & Tenson,...I think I maybe dug myself a small hole when I mentioned in an earlier post about wanting a true, honest sound. Just very unsure about monitor speakers. For one they just don't look good (sad I know - but I gotta live with them and they be pleasant enough on the eye) and finally I suppose I'm a little worried about speakers being so unforgiving. My ignorance I suppose.

Just be good to get on the ladder.....then all I will need is a bigger wallet, larger room and then get some Bel Cantos!

Ah, finally, Tenson, you mentioned some solid beech sided speakers and a pm. Be interested to hear your offer before I possible get the 42's.

 

BD - sorry for taking so long to respond. Cyrus 3 with psx and the dyns would be great. As for the contours benig difficult to drive. It's true they like a lot of current up 'em so to speak but my contours (and a Dynaudio Foccus kit pair - basically front ported contour with nicer tweeter) sounded just great with my 40 watt WAD valve amp. I imagine the Cyrus would be man enough.

 

Hi Bert, I sent you a PM.

 

Thanks for the post, Neil. Found a pair of contour 1.3's with stands for £895, but for one I just don't have those funds right this minute and secondly I think they may be too powerful for my 12x12 foot listening space. The Focus 110 at around £850 will be the top of my budget for new or second hand. Just have to be patient as I need a source too. It'll come, whatever I get!

Well I've got me a lovely black Cyrus 3. Got it hooked up to my cheap and battered MShort's (as well as my,.. lord help me, cheap Sony CD seperate) and the improvement is there for my ears already. Just cannot wait to get a good source and decent pair of small speakers and hear it all sing.

Now, if I am very lucky I might have a dad7 soon. If not then it's time to think about what other source to match the Cyrus 3 with....

 

Well, for source I use one of my modified Behringer DACs in to a Cyrus 3 and it sounds terrific. My advice, keep the Sony CD separate and use its digital output in to one of the modified SRC2496 units you will find on my website Either that or the DEQ which also has digital room correction abilities similar to TacT.

There are many other options around though.

 

Hi Simon. Thanks for the advice! Been on your website and read your vm. Very very interesting. Will reply soon.

If I keep my Sony as a transport and get a DAC, in reality how will it sound? In other words as it's a cheap player wouldn't it let the DAC down in passing all the detail of the cd?

 

Another thing,...if you all don't mind me asking. The Cyrus 3 that I picked up this afternoon I want to (eventually) hook up a psxr. The C3 manual mentions adapting the amp for psxr connection and sending back to Cyrus for modding??! How will I know if this has already been done (didn't know at the time of buying so didn't ask - and it wasn't connected to a psxr at the time) and if it hasn't been modded do I really have to send it to Cyrus and pay for this?

 

Hi Bert,

Question 1 - In my opinion the hard part about digital sources these days is the conversion of the data to analogue signals. Getting the data off the disc is the easy part and nearly every CD player over £100 will be doing this just fine.

The next thing people worry about is 'jitter'. That is, very small timing errors in the CD players clock that tells it when to read out each bit of digital data. In my experience this can make small audible differences but it strongly depends on the DAC you have. The SRC2496 for example, can be set to re-clock all the data from its own clock in the DAC so the jitter of the transport becomes pretty redundant in this case.

All these things make small differences but I am strongly of the opinion that the analogue to digital conversion (and the output stage of that DAC) are the parts that make the most difference. In this digital age source first is still important, but you can get a very good source for not a lot of outlay, unlike in the days of analogue where the actual mechanics of the turntable all have their effect on the sound.

Question 2 - The amp needs to be re-wired inside to accept a PSX-R. Don't worry though, its very simple and just requires moving a few connectors about. I figured it out for myself when I had my first Cyrus 3, but I think there are instructions on how to do it on the Cyrus Unofficial forum.

 

Superb. Thanks for the info, Simon. Expect a vm soon.

 

I'd take a dad3 over the dad7, a younger model, and you should find a dad3q24 for around £250 to £300 in mint condition.
Your 3 will not have been modified for use with a psx-r - when modified, it wont work without one. It's simple enough if you follow my guide:
http://forum.cyrusunofficial.co.uk/viewtopic.php?id=3847

 

Cheers Robert. Thanks for the post. I actually spoke to a dealer friend of the seller I bought my Cyrus 3 today from. He also recommended the dad3q24. He also metioned that as it was slot loading there was less chance of any fault and heafty charges to repair. I thought I recognised your username from the cyrusunoffical forum. Been trying the register for days now but there seems to be a problem with the security code - keep getting and invalid message everytime I try to register. Now I am not that stupid that I can't type in a code! Emailed them today about it as now I have the C3 it would be great to join up and get advice and join the community.....not that I am unhappy here at Zerogain - they have been superb in advice and very friendly!

Don't suppose you know of any dad3's floating about for sale?

 

Hi Again, Robert. Would you mind giving me your recommendation on a Cyrus CD player. I have read the the dad3q24 is rather smooth and not too punchy. Would a cd7/cd7q be a better alternative?

 

The Dad7 is a lovely CD player - lovely sound and lovely cute looks with it's top loading mech. I used one with a PSXR and should never have sold it.

As Robert C has said you need to be careful as these are quite old players and they use the long out of production CDM9 mech. Still, a lightly used sample should be good for a while. It has digital out so you could still run a modified DEQ if you wanted.