I do like my Cyrus but......

Hi char_lotte

What is it about the sound you don't like? Do you have a budget in mind?

There are many options, so bit more detail would be good.

A few suggestions to start the ball rolling:

Quad; Newer Cyrus; Naim; Roksan... 

Which Spendors?

Unless there is something you do not like about the sound then the obvious answer is sell integrated and buy newer Cyrus preamp as has been suggested.

If you are attempting to change the sound then that is a whole new ballgame ............ just wait for the weird and wonderful suggestions to come rolling in............ then just go and audition whatever you can.

I'm very happy with my valve Croft micro 25 pre into ss power. Don't expect features but the sound at the price is second to none. It will give the Cyrus a much bigger sound.

Morning, apologies for lack of detail in my opening post. The potential change is
due to the fact that the last month or two most of my listening has been through
headphones and a little Ant Amber headphone amplifier.

I've been surprised just how much I enjoyed it, however , longterm headphone listening isn't
for me and I guess I may just be attempting to recreate that type of "lush" sound.

I have original mono x's through Spendor s9 speakers with cd7q cd player. I love the detail that I can get with the monos , just wondered if a little change could add a little extra....

You don't mention budget, but as well as Croft, I would throw out these:

Ayre K-5xe MP

McIntosh C220

Mastersound PHL5

Sugden LA-4

Pure Sound L10

Raysonic C200

Icon Audio LA4 Mk11

Quad QC 24

Unison Research C5P or Unico Pre

Do you have a budget in mind, and are you willing to take a punt on something second hand?

I have heard that you can fairly easily improve on the pre section of a Cyrus integrated so it shouldn't be too hard to get some improvements. Cyrus and spendor do go well tho, so I wouldn't be changing anything else just yet 

If you want to stick with Cyrus, the obvious choice would be the DACxp+. It is an excellent pre-amp that we've used with four Mono X300's though KEF Blades without it showing any shortcomings.

And yes - we have clients using that combination

Hi all thanks for suggestions, not hung up on price and second hand is fine.

I'm not a box swapper and not planning on changing anything else just curious as to what else
I can gain going for a dedicated pre. I quite like what I've read about Sugden....so that could be an
interesting suggestion. Thanks for that.

I'm not sure I can add much to the suggestions above. To achieve the sound you are describing, I would think a class A or valve pre would be your best bet and I've no experience of either. 

I have the 8xpd qx with spendor sa1's and I love the combo. I have just bought an x power tho and am planning on swapping the integrated for a pre, so let me know how you get on! I need a dac too tho and am planning on the dac xp+ unless I get convinced otherwise.

Fennermachine on here used a quad pre with Cyrus monos for ages and was happy with the two together. Just to give another option. He might even pop in and offer an opinion if you are very lucky 

How about a passive pre-amp by the likes of Icon Audio (around £400) or Tisbury Audio (from £135 or so)?  Both can be found on Ebay.  All you get is a selector and volume and that's it.  Some of these can be ordered to spec, depending on the number of inputs you have.  Worth reading into if nothing else.

Many thanks for all suggestions, will look out for them. Also thanks Record Spo
t will check those too.

Hi char_lotte

I had a similar system to yours, CD7Q + PSX-R, aCA7.5 Pre, 2 x Smart Power in mono mode.

I now have the system in my signature.

I used the Cyrus combination with Mission 782, Von Schweikert VR1 and Spendor SA1 speakers.

Like you I found the detail can be great but I personally found that this combination can lack warmth or feeling. It was also fatiguing on long listening sessions.

I changed my pre amp to a Quad 44, a vintage pre amp over 20 years old.

The one I have needs special interconnects but they are not expensive. The bonus of this is that I've decided to stick to the Quad cables so no longer need to worry about cables!

It kept most of the important detail of the aCA7.5 without being harsh sounding but also gets even more out of music possibly due to being very good in the mid range. Its not boomy and is never harsh.

I had mine for a few months before something blew on it, the service was reasonable and guaranteed for a year.

Worth considering as they are not too expensive.

Worth doing research first though as there were several revisions.

Thanks Fennermachine....I like the idea of old-skool.....many thanks.

Hi char_lotte

I'll recommend looking at alternative makes of pre amplification as i don't feel that Cyrus pre amplifiers are on par with the performance levels offered by their own source components and power amplifiers.

Resonessence Labs Invicta DAC/pre amplification and Antelope Audio' Zodiac Gold 384kHz DAC/pre amplication are also worth a look. If you use your Cyrus CD7 as a transport only then you're also likely to gain even greater quality of performance from your CD's by using the Invicta's and the Zodic's digital to analogue conversion technology.

http://resonessencelabs.com/

http://www.antelopeaudio.com/en/products/Zodiac-Gold-DAC

Btw, i just want to be clear that i don't benefit by recommending the Invicta and Zodiac Gold 384kHz as i don't deal with Resonessence Labs and Antelope Audio.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft