1st ever hi-hi and i'm thinking of auditioning cyrus cd 6 se with roksan kandy k2 with b&w 685's

Yes, it will be bright. I suppose you haven't listened to any of the components mentioned? They are all five-star products, but reviews are only guidelines. Tell us what kind of music you listen to and room size, at least.

small, to medium sized room, basically listen to rock music, easy listening, jazz, there's so many options out there, dont know where to start. plus this will be my first time buying seperates kit so i'm using the set-up as mentioned earlier as a guide

With your eclectic tastes and budget I would be inclined to look at the new Roksan Kandy components but also the Cambridge Audio 740A and 740C, the latter of which, at £500 a pop (or buy one get one free in the silver finish at the moment) would leave you a big budget left for speakers that will really get the best out of the electronics. Both the Roksan and CA gear will give you plenty of detail and attack without a propensity towards harshness or brightness. Give the Cyrus stuff a listen but I think you might find it a bit bright. You might also like to give the excellent Creek Evolution CD and Amp a go.

On the speaker front you need to do plenty of auditioning. B&Ws are excellent but there are plenty of other options that you might just prefer. Look at current offerings from Epos and Mordaunt-Short in particular. The MS Mezzo 2s make excellent stand mount speakers but don't forget to budget for stands if you opt for small speakers. They will make a HUGE difference to the performance of your system. Interconnect wise, I generally find that something around the £35-£40 mark such as Chord Crimson is ample. I'd suggest sticking to copper based speaker cables as I find silver ones push towards brightness but a good dealer will let you hear both and decide for yourself.

From a completely different angle you could try coupling the new Linn Classik Music or the Arcam Solo with a really good pair of speakers. Keeping the box count low doesn't have to mean compromise these days.

matthewpiano:

buy one get one free in the silver finish at the moment

Really?

I wouldn't characterise the CD6se as bright. Fast, detailed, revealing, yes... but bright? Nah. Make sure you hear one.

JohnDuncan:

matthewpiano:

buy one get one free in the silver finish at the moment

Really?

Yeah - Richer advert in HFC. To clarify, if you buy the amp you get the CD player free (or the other way round). Only applies to the silver finish (thankfully or it might have got me more than a bit riled although I did get my speakers free when I purchased my black 740 bits).

Richer Sounds do the CA840v2 and matching player with a pair of kef iQ7 for £1500. You don't have to take the kef's (they are good) but could take anything worth 400 quid they have in stock. I took some mezzos back but was'nt overly impressed. Anyway, speaker choice aside, the amplifier/player are true class, I dont know any other way to describe it. Power and control are superb but it stunns dynamically. Makes similar priced stuff sound either slightly edgy and lean, slow and stodgy or forward and irritating ... you know who you are (AVI except). Facilities are second to none and you even get balanced. They really have struck the ideal balance and if I where you I'd certainly shortlist them. I would be surprised if your suggested combination equals this pairings all-round abilities but perhaps you hear it differently so you have to audition that for yourself.

Anyway that would leave you 500 or so if you don't like any of RS speakers but you could just sell the things on and put the cash towards something decent like Ruark Sabre III, PMC's, Dyn's or whatever you fancy.

Just an idea. Have fun and post about your progress.

 

Edited - duplicate post

matthewpiano:

Yeah - Richer advert in HFC. To clarify, if you buy the amp you get the CD player free (or the other way round). Only applies to the silver finish (thankfully or it might have got me more than a bit riled although I did get my speakers free when I purchased my black 740 bits).

That's a deal up there with the Arcam A32 for £679.......

In which case, to the OP - buy that!

the cyrus cd6se through a kandy Llll amp does not sound bright so i would guess it won't through the k2 either.  i haven't heard the b+w's, but as long as the metal tweeter doesn't sound harsh, i would imagine they'd work well.  i would feel fairly confident blind buying the cyrus/k2 combo, but i think to get the speakers that suit you best, you need to get some on home demo.  the interaction between your room and the speakers position in it will have a huge effect on the overall sound.  very important if you choose an amp without tone controls.

CD Players: Eastern Electric Minimax (£900), Audiolab 8000CD (£600), Cambridge 840C (£750), Rega Apollo (£600), Marantz SA8003 (Ken Ishiwata tuned, but not KI model - £700).

Speakers: (considering small to medium room): Quadral Pico (£650), AVI Neutron IV (£500?), Leema Xero (£650) + cost of stands (£120 max?)

Amps: Unison Research Unico P (£795), Melody SP80 (valve but great reviews - £800), Cambridge 740A / 840A (£500 and £750 respectively).

A few ideas there, and you should be able to squeeze that in for your budget, but might have to haggle around for a deal on interconnects/speaker cable, etc.

If you like a bit more bass in your sound, consider solid core copper cable, if you want something a little lighter, avoid the copper! The main components are the major considerations however, but the added detail of some wires can make a difference.

Most of all, happy hunting; these are just a handful of ides, they're all excellent in their own right and have been well reviewed either in WHF or other magazines. The speakers I listed are all small but get great feedback. You might still opt for something a little bigger though, just listen around and enjoy the selection.

One last thing, for that budget, you can pick up some very nice stuff on the used market - definately worth considering too.