Cyrus Signature series

[Maro73]

Hello Folks

I know that Cyrus is not so popular here .. I would like to know why ? Value for money perhaps ?

What are your views on the signature series announced ?

Cheers

 

[hearingisbelieving]

My personal opinion is that they appear well specced and the size makes them practical for some but to me they look rather cheap and nasty - especially the discplay and the Cyrus kit I have heard did nothing for me.

Or as ICHM would put it, 'meh'

 

[Beobloke]

All the Cyrus equipment I have encountered has been (IMHO) neat, stylish, well made and sounded very nice indeed, so I'm not quite sure why there's so much antagonism towards them either.

 

[clap]

The amps are poor value for money. The top of the range monoblocs are what - £5k+. For that I could buy something better from Modwright, Icon, Jolida, etc etc.

Their cd players/transports appeal but the reliability issues put me off.

Their pre-amps are historically poor vfm.

The styling looks a bitdated now. The psx thing is a con. Why not put a decent power supply in from the start. Also, £500 for a transformer is a joke.

 

[JamPal]

All the Cyrus equipment I have encountered has been (IMHO) neat, stylish, well made and sounded very nice indeed, so I'm not quite sure why there's so much antagonism towards them either.

There isn't. One or two people don't like it.

As ever, one or two people's vocal distaste converts into "The wigwam hates Cyrus" or "The wigwam hates Naim".

I heard the woman that runs mum's net being berated on the radio the other day for "Mum's nets opinion on breast feeding". Forum's don't have opinions, they simply give voice to many.

 

[Tel]

There are a lot of ex-Cyrus owners on the Wam.

It is a popular buy when people first start out as it always gets 5 stars in WTF.

It is then commonly partnered with 5 star speakers. Unfortunately this seldom results in a 5 star system.

People then join the Wam and find there is an alternative to a bright fatiguing sound and they are then trapped in the Wam classifieds for the next few years

I have never heard the Signature series.

 

[Muddy Funster]

There isn't. One or two people don't like it. As ever, one or two people's vocal distaste converts into "The wigwam hates Cyrus" or "The wigwam hates Naim".

I heard the woman that runs mum's net being berated on the radio the other day for "Mum's nets opinion on breast feeding". Forum's don't have opinions, they simply give voice to many.

This!

Remember too that forums often attract a highly specialist and extremely keen end of the audio world entire. Brands that consistently sell in good numbers in the UK (PMC, Monitor Audio and Cyrus, for example) are chronically underrepresented in the forums as a result, where far smaller brands that are wrapped up in the flavour of the month club appear disproportionately popular while they are 'trending'. Part of that comes down to people who buy something like a Naim SuperUniti and PMC Twenty.24 system (currently one of the most popular up-market turnkey systems in the UK) tend to consider it something that plays music well, not something that comes with a whole lifestyle as part of the deal, where people who rave about the Goatsucker Supreme Reference Signature Extreme V are usually in it for the long game.

At most, real people who buy real systems will visit a forum once in the forlorn hope of getting useful pre-purchase advice, some post-purchase reinforcement of their buying decision or some helpful post-installation advice that the dealer can't supply for some reason (often because the thing went into perma-pause at 8:45 on a Saturday night). They never come back because they feel like they were used for target practice by someone who thinks anyone who doesn't turn their living room into something resembling the set of Das Boot is a lightweight.

 

[Beobloke]

There isn't. One or two people don't like it. As ever, one or two people's vocal distaste converts into "The wigwam hates Cyrus" or "The wigwam hates Naim".

I heard the woman that runs mum's net being berated on the radio the other day for "Mum's nets opinion on breast feeding". Forum's don't have opinions, they simply give voice to many.

Whoa, hang on - I wasn't accusing the Wam per se as being a source of Cyrus hate! I have heard the opinions I mentioned expressed in quite a few different locations both on and off the internet.

My point was that they seem to be a company, a bit like Naim, that engender vociferous venom from some quarters, and I've never understood why. That was all...

 

[JamPal]

Whoa, hang on - I wasn't accusing the Wam per se as being a source of Cyrus hate! I have heard the opinions I mentioned expressed in quite a few different locations both on and off the internet.My point was that they seem to be a company, a bit like Naim, that engender frothy-mouthed fury from some quarters, and I've never understood why. That was all...

Ah fair doo's, I jumped to defend the wam there, when no defence was required. :^

I have the new Signature kit being delivered for review in the next couple of weeks, so will be able to give it a fair crack and see what it's like these days. I do think that constant 5* reviews in Not Hi-Fi can be something of a poison chalice for a brand.

- - - Updated - - -

This!Remember too that forums often attract a highly specialist and extremely keen end of the audio world entire. Brands that consistently sell in good numbers in the UK (PMC, Monitor Audio and Cyrus, for example) are chronically underrepresented in the forums as a result, where far smaller brands that are wrapped up in the flavour of the month club appear disproportionately popular while they are 'trending'. Part of that comes down to people who buy something like a Naim SuperUniti and PMC Twenty.24 system (currently one of the most popular up-market turnkey systems in the UK) tend to consider it something that plays music well, not something that comes with a whole lifestyle as part of the deal, where people who rave about the Goatsucker Supreme Reference Signature Extreme V are usually in it for the long game.

At most, real people who buy real systems will visit a forum once in the forlorn hope of getting useful pre-purchase advice, some post-purchase reinforcement of their buying decision or some helpful post-installation advice that the dealer can't supply for some reason (often because the thing went into perma-pause at 8:45 on a Saturday night). They never come back because they feel like they were used for target practice by someone who thinks anyone who doesn't turn their living room into something resembling the set of Das Boot is a lightweight.

Hahahaha yes, and ironically one of the main reasons I set the wam up was to get away from that kind of snobbery. :doh:

 

[lee1975]

The cd players are good. I also had streight line and it was a cracking amp not harsh not sterile at all it was toe tapping and enjoyable. Never had reliability issues. I used with Epos es14 and was far far better then the Naim gear I tried before.

 

[The Strat]

Well I once evaluated a full Cyrus CDP/PRE/Mono powers configuration - wasn't ultimately my choice but that doesn't mean it was crap - far from it.

I guess it's like any other brand matched with wrong speakers in wrong room it will fall short.

 

[meninblack]

I started exactly as Tel describes: bottom-end Cyrus integrated and CDP; Quad 11L speakers. A WTF? recommended set-up. It was awful, but a lot better after changing the speakers to a pair of Dynaudio 52s.

I then got the bug, and ended up with top of the range CDP, pre/powers and a couple of those power supplies. This cost a lot more than the basic set-up, but the improvement in sound was pretty small. The pre-amp in particular was quite poor compared to a passive one. Then I found the glowing path, and all solid-state gear sounds a bit crap to me now.

The low-end kit is good though, with the right speakers - and has high WAF.

 

[The Strat]

ot better after changing the speakers to a pair of Dynaudio 52s.

Because a lot of Cyrus equipment gets sold through Audio-T it often gets paired with Dynas. Now given that Dynas can be spectacular or appalling depending upon placement it's easy to see why Cyrus systems may not always sound their best.

 

[HoopsOnToast]

The CDPs have loads of issues and the bigger amps (Mono/X200 and X300 especially) are trying to get too much power out of a small box.

Heard the KEF Blades with a full Cyrus setup including 4 Mono X300s and two needed replacing (broke) and it sounded OK, not really my thing.

 

[Voice_Coil]

All the Cyrus equipment I have encountered has been (IMHO) neat, stylish, well made and sounded very nice indeed, so I'm not quite sure why there's so much antagonism towards them either.

If only people would do the same thing to APPLE.

 

[Maro73]

Hello Folks

My experience with Cyrus is quite nice in fact , and the unofficial forum actually helped me a lot in the comprehension of the Hifi gears and world .. and this was my entry to the wam too..

I still own an all cyrus system with DACXP / PSXR , 2 Mono Xs driving a pair of Nautilius 804 .. a system which gives me a lot of pleasure , and I still have that affectionate relation with the brand and it's looks .. whether Cyrus the brand and the company is to my liking is a different story.

And yes , of course , I do believe that for the money , for new equipment , a nice modwright / belles / ayre power amp may be of more interest to the MonoX300 , and for 2700 quids , there can be a better alternative to the DACXP

But in general , forums have got the members , who are quite critical , and often with heavy weight arguments ..

It's a pity that the major uk brands , just don't participate in the forums .. as they tend to forget that they can gain commercially , humanly , and intellectually

Cheers

 

[Warszawa]

I'm very happy with my Cyrus system. The trick is to buy used or refurbished and stick to the right brands of speakers. Everything on the left cost less than £5k. The Mono X 300 are great by all accounts but pricey, however Moorgate Acoustics were selling reprocessed pairs for almost half the RRP recently and that can only go down now the Signature version is here. A used pair of Mono X 300 will probably be my next upgrade.

It seems to me most of their stuff is quite highly regarded and not just by WHF. The areas they need to improve on seem to be their DAC and Pre-Amp so fingers crossed the DAC-XPS is a winner. Personally I love the UI of their streamers with the Cadence app and their CD players have been excellent for a long time. The disc error problems HoopsOnToast is hinting at were ironed out a few years ago.

I'm well aware that if my interest in this hobby continues, I'll move on from Cyrus but I love what I have owned. One thing we can all agree on is they need a new casing for their next range and that Signature badge looks awful.

 

[peterbj]

Not heard the signature but the anniversary system sounded very good at the bristol show .I also had a full cyrus system but now only have streamline remaining as I have been really pleased with it , I still like the brand but feel you can do better for the same money , it is however far from rubbish just a bit overhyped by whf

 

[Pianoman]

I've had the basic 8vs2 integrated for a few years now and find it plenty powerful and nicely detailed, though I have paired it with Proac speakers which maybe helps. Every time I read the Cyrus- bashing posts I get the urge to swap, but in all honesty it's a great little amp, so even if I 'upgrade'...I' ll probably keep it for a second system.