Cyrus Disc-Master 8.0 or Qx vs Arcam 137/139

[Nabs]

I am looking to get a new dvd player this year and thinking about the Arcam vs the new Cyrus to go with my Arcam AVR300 amp (planning on running HDMI direct to flat screen). Has anyone compared both these players head to head or better still tried hooking these up to an AVR300.

From the spec sheet the Arcam appear to have more features i.e. sacd and divx playback however they are considerably more expensive; and to be honest a 139 will require much longer saving up. I have always been a fan of cyrus for cd sound, however they have not had a good rep for home cinema.

Look forward to hearing some replies.

[Radioactive__Man]

keen on hearing any reviews on this also, my gut feeling is it wil offer similar functionality to my Snazio but with a decent DVD drive

I asked a dealer yesterday about native support for divx and [fingers crossed] h.264, but he was unable to answer, so looks like I'll have to contact Cyrus direct.

My personal experiences of Cyrus [owned 8 boxes including a DVD8 some years ago] and Arcam [owned a DV79 and currently own an AVR300] is that Arcam quality does not compare to Cyrus, I had no problems with any of my Cyrus kit in over 8 years ownership of various models, until my DVD8 gave up after a year, it then took Cyrus 3 attempts to try and fix it, culminating in my dealer offering me a refund due to the embarassment.

I thought I was making a good choice in choosing that moment to sell on all my Cyrus kit and going DV79/AVR300 combo, my DV79 was swapped out after a week and my AVR300 after a month for new units, I decided to sell my DV79 a year ago as I wanted some return on my investment before HD-DVD and Blueray might affect resale values, and bagged a Snazio 1350 from Joe which apart from the poor firmware support and rubbish DVD drive has served very well as an upscaling networkable player.

Sorry I cant offer more comments on the players in question, but personally I will be looking to go back to a complete Cyrus solution [Disc-Master 8/ 8 VS 2/AV Master 8.0] if the Disc-Master 8 has some of the features I am looking for.

As a final note the Arcam is way overpriced IMHO for an upscaling DVD player with divx support when my Snazio already does all that [admittedly with dodgy DVD drive and less sonic abilities]

p.s. I noticed Olaup was getting one, so hopefully he can post a review in due course

[Nabs]

No Divx support I am afraid. I also asked them re sacd..... non of that....

Here is my reply from Cyrus:

'Thank you for your email and interest in the Cyrus Discmaster 8.0.

I am sorry to inform you that the Discmaster will not play DIVX or SACD format and at the moment there is no alternative product in the Cyrus range that will play these formats.'

[Radioactive__Man]

bummer, strike that off my "to do " list then

if a 30 quid Targa player can do divx, how hard can it be to enable it on the Cyrus ?, as a supplier I would be putting a shotgun to my head right about now for losing a sale on such a "technicality"

rant over













rant re-established

to Cyrus, why do you even bother to develop your AV systems ?, your previous efforts have all been poorly recieved and technologically stunted [by this I mean you never offer the functionality and diversity that manufacturers charging a fraction of the price include], and by omitting such things as DIVX support on your latest DVD player you are surely losing potential sales,

As mentioned above [and I'm sure I am not alone in the philosophy] I would/will continue to spend £235 on a "Snazio" type product than £800 on your DVD player, simply because the extra levels of functionality vastly outweigh the "basic" albeit superior quality of your product.

Also bear in mind these comments are coming from someone who has in the past bought into the Audiophile philosophy and spent a fair amount on HiFi. Maybe its a phase that all "Audiophiles" go through, but marketing strategies like these just put me off buying higher end components for the "expensive privelidge" of listening to and viewing of the higher detail levels.

I'm sure my current mindset is based upon maturity, in that I am tending to apply this logic to all my purchases lately, [be it my choice of car, PC spec, home furnishings etc].

I know I can afford better, but really what is the point ?, when the initial euphoria of ownership wears off, and you are left with the decision to continue replacing with similar high end stuff every couple of years or so, or opt out and lose a fortune.

On that low note I am signing off again and will probably take the frustration out on some noob in another forum or the cat

[push]

I have a DV139 and very happy with it.

Will this function as your main CD player too? If so, it's worth saving up for the DV139 as the CD playback is absolutely superb.

[Nabs]

I hear only good things about the Arcam 139. Price of course is the catch, I it is £1000 more than the estimated cost of the Cyrus.... That is a good deal of cash - think about what else you could do with that money!.

[push]

Originally Posted by Nabs

I hear only good things about the Arcam 139. Price of course is the catch, I it is £1000 more than the estimated cost of the Cyrus.... That is a good deal of cash - think about what else you could do with that money!.

Absolutely - it was a tense moment when I handed over the credit card, grin on my dealers face included! hehe!

For me, it was worth it as wanted a do-it-all player as don't have room for both DVD and CD players.

The credit card has now been paid off so can just sit back and enjoy for years to come!

(well, think of the next upgrade... want an Arcam AV9/P7 combo desperately!!!)

[Nabs]

... better still AV9 and 2 biamped p7s!

[Nabs]

...bump... Has anyone seen the discmaster in action