New Speakers Suggestion for Cyrus System

[Colourofspring]

Hi All,

 

I've been slowly building my system, mostly through second hand acquisitions over the last 15 years. I've built up from something quite entry level to have the following system:

 

Cyrus CD6

Cyrus X-Stream Sig

Cyrus Pre2 DAC

2 x Cyrus SmartPower

B&W 604S3

 

Now the B&W speakers are basically the last components of my entry level system bought 18 years ago and I want to replace them. I'm living in a rental at the moment, so I'm thinking a pair of bookshelves is probably more suitable to my circumstances at the moment. I listen to all sorts of music, not so much classical, but lots of blues, jazz, soul and funk, some rock and very small amount of pop. I do love tight bass.

 

My go to auditioning piece is Talk Talk's I Don't Believe In You, from their Colour of Spring album if that gives any clues as to the type of productions I like to listen to.

 

Anyway, looking for some decent bookshelf suggestions (new or second hand) for my next upgrade. Most of my listening these days is through my Tidal account hence the X-Stream presence, but still use CDs sporadically

 

Thanks for listening.

Edited March 24, 2021 by Colourofspring
extra tag

[Pim]

My mate is in the market for a new set of speakers and we went to Trimira the other day and listened to Fyne audio 502's. They were set up to compare with Focal, B&W and some other speakers all about twice their price. It blew all others out of the water. These are floor standers but I would assume the stand mounts would sound similar, just with less bass.

 

How do they sound? Natural would be my one word explanation.

[buddyev]

There’s a pair of proac db1 in the classifieds. They’d be very high on my list of great mid price stand mounts  

[anandpkumar]

13 minutes ago, Pim said:

My mate is in the market for a new set of speakers and we went to Trimira the other day and listened to Fyne audio 502's. They were set up to compare with Focal, B&W and some other speakers all about twice their price. It blew all others out of the water. These are floor standers but I would assume the stand mounts would sound similar, just with less bass.

 

How do they sound? Natural would be my one word explanation.

 

What amplification and source were used for the audition?

[Ray H]

Hi Sam;

 

Left of field option. You could sell your power amps and get a pair of these;

 

https://www.livingsound.com.au/blogs/news/dynaudio-focus-xd-on-sale?gclid=CjwKCAjwxuuCBhATEiwAIIIz0blNdM7SHPvq3Hkd1w0UhAf3p6ENvj6lzWtPzvCYGI9EyNQs1qppwxoCBaoQAvD_BwE

 

A couple of shops are selling at $3750, I’m sure living sound would match the price.

[Pim]

9 minutes ago, anandpkumar said:

 

What amplification and source were used for the audition?

Don't ask me for a model but it was an Accuphase integrated with a Linn streamer. 

[Steever]

Hi There. 
Nice Cyrus system you’ve got going there. I’m a Cyrus and Talk Talk fan myself. 
Keep the Cyrus. It’s quite under rated but much more capable than people think. It’ll be more than up to the task of powering very well, most speakers you’d probably wish to consider. 
 

decide on a budget and just listen until you find something that just feels right for you. When you’re talking to people, let them know what you like or don’t like about your current speakers (B&W) to give them a starting point. 
 

one point I’ll make though: are you going to put your next bookshelf speakers on stands? If so, why not go for a good floor standing speaker after all given they’ll take up the same amount of room? 
 

incidentally, where in Brisbane are you?

Edited March 25, 2021 by Winno

[Colourofspring]

@Winno Yeah, probably don't want to spend more than $5k and happy to go second hand too. I'm probably just a bit conscious that floorstanders tend to be more room-demanding than bookshelves. I've owned some hefty floostanders in the past and they would easily be too much for many listening rooms. I know you can get more flexible type floostanders, so I am open to that.

I'm in Redcliffe

[Steever]

33 minutes ago, Colourofspring said:

@Winno Yeah, probably don't want to spend more than $5k and happy to go second hand too. I'm probably just a bit conscious that floorstanders tend to be more room-demanding than bookshelves. I've owned some hefty floostanders in the past and they would easily be too much for many listening rooms. I know you can get more flexible type floostanders, so I am open to that.

I'm in Redcliffe

I know what you mean. But it is possible to find a quality floor stander which isn’t demanding. I really like my little Mission 782s for that reason. They come up to my thigh and are very slim. 
 

 

 

I picked these up used. There’s good options out there for sure. 

[Steffen]

The Groove Man in Red Hill can get you some very nice brand new Stirling LS3/5a V2 for $3,700. They can probably arrange an audition if you contact them. Once you got a pair of those you won’t want to upgrade again for a couple of decades. That’s what happened to me, anyway

 

[Peter Sherriff]

I'm a fellow Cyrus collector with a not too different looking stack although I have Mono X amplification rather than the SmartPowers although I started with SmartPowers, moved up to 8 Powers and finally to the Mono X I have now.

 

If you can have a listen to PMCs on the end of your Cyrus equipment then I think you'll be very pleased with the pairing.  I use a pair of older PMC GB1i's that I was lucky enough to find second hand, it's a compact floorstander and I've found them pretty forgiving of room sizes and layouts but the bookshelf/standmount models also sound great.

 

 

[Mallard]

I've had Mission, PMC and Dynaudio on the end of my Cyrus. I sold the PMCs once I got the Dynaudios. I no longer feel a need to upgrade.

[Colourofspring]

@Mallard What Dynaudios do you have?

[Mallard]

2 hours ago, Colourofspring said:

@Mallard What Dynaudios do you have?

 

Two pairs of Focus 160s

 

Dynaudios are typically recommended for Cyrus along with Proac, PMC and a few others. Cyrus tends to be quite analytical and I find the Dynaudios a smooth sound to balance it all out

Edited April 3, 2021 by Mallard
Add more info

[Colourofspring]

OK, so I've narrowed my shortlist down to the following. I know I originally said no floorstanders but there are a few hot deals out there at the moment, plus I rent so my auditioning room could change.

 

Floorstanders:

PMC Twenty5 23 @ $4,800

Proac Response DT8 @ $4,995

 

Standmounts:

PMC Twenty5 21 @ $2,200

Dynaudio Special 40 @ $3,500

 

Any thoughts on the above with my system?

 

[Pim]

2 hours ago, Colourofspring said:

OK, so I've narrowed my shortlist down to the following. I know I originally said no floorstanders but there are a few hot deals out there at the moment, plus I rent so my auditioning room could change.

 

Floorstanders:

PMC Twenty5 23 @ $4,800

Proac Response DT8 @ $4,995

 

Standmounts:

PMC Twenty5 21 @ $2,200

Dynaudio Special 40 @ $3,500

 

Any thoughts on the above with my system?

 

Yep.

https://trimira.com.au/collections/fyne-audio-1/products/f502-floorstanding-speaker

 

I own Dynaudio speakers myself and I would trade them for these, they are that good.

[Colourofspring]

Thanks all for the help, gone and purchased a pair of ex-demo Dynaudio Special 40. Read a lot of the reviews and they were all really glowing. Can't wait for them to arrive!!!

[Mallard]

You'll really enjoy them. Good decision.

[Colourofspring]

so, had my first listen today. They arrived while I was away on hols.

First impression is, wow they sound sooo good at low and medium volumes! My B&Ws just sounded like any crappy speakers at lower volumes, you really had to crank the volume up to get anything resembling true clarity.

Second impression, wow the bass!!!! Couldn't believe that something 1/3 smaller than my B&Ws could produce so much bass! It's not bigger bass, just smoother more refined bass.

This really showed on a few choice tracks, like Temptations' Papa Was A Rolling Stone, that bass line is just so rhythmic on these! My go to listening track is Talk Talk's I Don't Believe In You. I know this track inside out, however I do love listening to it on all types of systems as it tends to reveal different things in the track. This is the first time I have ever noticed how defined and driving the bass guitar is on that track. It is a track I am so used to sounding bright on the high end and murky on the low. These speakers make it a far more melodic and smoother experience. Really lovely!

 

So far, the Dynaudio Special 40s are really impressing me! Not as bright and in your face as the B&Ws, far more melodic, smooth and rhythmic. 

[Mallard]

@Colourofspring how are you getting on with your speakers a month in?

[muon*]

I was going to suggest Lenehan ML-1's but I'm too late.

 

Sounds like the Dyn's worked out well.

[audio_file]

Very interesting that your Dynaudios was such a good match for you. Isn't it great when you get something and it exceeds your expectations.

I have a Cyrus system with: CD XT Signature, Stream X Signature, Pre2 DAC Qx, and Stereo 200.

On mine my old Dynaudio Contour S1.4 LE speakers had far too much bass and it overpowered my room to the point where I couldn't listen anymore. (and I like strong bass)

I heard the Special 40 on a different system and they sounded fuller in the upper mid range than mine. Maybe that's what made up for it.

Or maybe my Stereo 200 sounds different to your power amps, or my room was too small.

My room is about 6.5m x 3.3m.

[Colourofspring]

Sorry @Mallard missed your message.

 

Yes, still loving it, still getting surprised, still discovering!

 

An album I've owned for probably 15 years that I had no idea sounded so good on a good system is Oi Va Voi's Laughter Through Tears is just stunning!!!! It's a very vocally strong album and I'm just stunned at how good it sounds. It has highlighted to me how strong these speakers are with vocals. It's just captivating, you can't stop listening!

 

Another album I've discovered, which is new to me is Dianne Reeve's Never Too Far. This was a recommendation from an Audiophile website and boy is it stunning. There isn't a weakness in the recording. Quite possibly the best recorded album ever made in my opinion. In this one, it plays the bass so beautifully and musically. I still get amazed at how something so small can produce so much bass.

 

In short, I'm still in love and very much in the honeymoon phase. My neighbours hate me