Help re Cyrus Power Amp Upgrade

bernie777

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Hi Folks,

I've recently purchased (second hand) a Cyrus Integrated 6 Amp and a Cyrus CD6SE2 CD player. I've been very impressed with my purchases and I'm looking at the possibility of upgrading.
Neither of the above units have sockets for a PSX-R.

From what I've read on the internet, adding a power amp or two is likely to be the most beneficial upgrade - to produce a better soundstage and greater control.

I'm totally confused about the choice of power amps available. I've never purchased any kind of power amp before, hence my ignorance. I'm looking at buying second hand again. So far I've seen the following:

Cyrus XPA Power Amp
Cyrus Series Q Power Amp
Cyrus Smart Power Power Amp
Cyrus X Power Amp
Cyrus aPA7.5 Power Amp
Cyrus 8 Power Amp

The one difference I have ascertained is that with the XPA and the Series Q Power Amps, the power output remains the same (50 w/ch into 8 Ohms) in whatever configuration is used, whereas it increases with the others if used in mono mode. Is this important??

Initially I'm looking at biamping, utilising the integrated as one of the amps......possibly moving on up to using 2 power amps.

I've visited Cyrus's own website to try and help me, but its not a lot of help.

I'd be interested in your views regarding my best options. My budget is in the region of £500 - can be flexible.

Thanks, Bernie
 
Try talking to Cyrus directly - I have found them to be very helpful. One thing to check is that the amp can support power amps and act essentially as a pre-amp. If not then you will need to swap out the 6 for a pre amp and power amp. You can always start with one power amp which will deliver 50 watts per channel in stereo before you save up for your second power amp which will then allow you to run the power amps in mono mode and give you 100 watts. These power amps will then offer you the option of PSX-R.

I am just about to sell my older Cyrus system which has two power amps and two PSX-Rs as well as a currently broken but serviceable Pre amp but I am reluctant to break it down just yet as I suspect I will end up with a few spare parts that prove difficult to shift and therefore the sun total will be wel loutside your budget. They are older Cyrus products but they do sound very nice and provide both a depth and a kick to the lower end. You are bound to be happy with the decision.

As a matter of interest what speakers are you running with the kit so far?
 
Thanks for reply.

I'll check out Cyrus's help line.

I've already checked my amp and it has 1 set of pre outs - so presumably supports power amps....from what I've read I can add one power amp on these, then chain a subsequent power amp onto the first power amp, if needed. From what I can see from Cyrus's web site - all of the above power amps support both biamping and chaining.

As I'm fairly new to all this, I don't think I want to go to the expense of adding PSX-Rs to the power amps at this stage.

My speakers are Monitor Audio Silver RX1s - bi-wired with Audioquest FLX-SLiP 14/4 cable.
 
From what I have heard those MA speakers should be a very nice match for the Cyrus stuff. I suspect you would end up having to spend a vast amount of money to get any meaningful improvement on the sound. Not sure what the DAC is on the CD player. If it is the 24 bit DAC then an improvement may be gained by upgrading that which would give you a 32 bit DAC. The power amps will give you some additional punch.

Nice. :)
 
Hi - sorry for delay in replying.

Thanks for your advice......I must confess I don't know an awful lot about DACs (I know a lot of people use them for downloaded music - I've got no interest in that). Call me a dinosaur if you like, but its still good ol' CDs and the occasional LP for me.

I've checked and I've got the 24 bit differential DAC (same as CD8 SE2) - would upgrading to a 32 bit DAC make much difference?.......presumably a higher bit rate means greater detail in the music?

Thanks, Bernie
 
No worries. :)

The only way to truly tell is to listen to them. However, given that as you go higher up in the cost you see a change from 24bit DAC to 32bit DAC I can only guess that there is some improvement. That's one of the differences, for example, between the new Cyrus Lyric 05 and the 09. The 09 did sound surprisingly nice when I heard it at the Bristol Show this year.
 

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