Got my new speakers

kidloco

kidloco

kidloco

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Joined
3 Nov 2003
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Lancashire
well they arirved today, i have spent the last 3 hours comparing them back to back with the old mission 751s

now to be honest I am not as gob smacked by the quality of CDM1 as I thought I would be, or maybe it just goes to show what a fantastic speaker the 751 still is.

The B&Ws certainly have the upper hand with bass and richness of sound, they sound simply HUGE, but when it comes down to detail and focus im not to sure. the Missions sound just fantastic acoustic stuff, and allthough they havent got the outright bass depth of the B&Ws they are a lot snappier.

The sound of the B&Ws is growing on me, vocals sound amazing and the soundstage is seemless. I didnt realise just how accurate the sound was till I put 'what a wonderful world' on, I listened to it on the missions first and I thought it was good, flipping over to the B&Ws his voice showed every charecter that he was famous for. amazing.

I think the main thing is getting used to all the extra bass, im simply not used to it. I think I need to play around with the positioning etc as well, I currently have them around 25cms away from the wall, slightly toed in. any suggestions from people that have these speakers would be greatly appriciated.

Im also looking at maybe getting a PSX-R for my CyrusIII amp, i think that may get the bass under control a little better ?
 
B&Ws are really not my cup of tea, but I understand where you're coming from.
They like to be driven well and have good sources. What is your front end?

I added a PSX to my old Cyrus 2, which did clean up the sound, but I can't say I think that it was fully worth the dosh. If I were you, I'd ensure that you have a really good CDP (the Cyrus 3 is pretty good), so spend the money on your source first.
If you have a good source, then consider something with better control. I can make a few suggestions, but they won't be cheap.
 
I have a Marantz CD63 mkII KI SIG CD player, with a nice set of interconnects hookin gthem up to the amp.

The setup was really snappy with the Missions, so it cant be the source or the cables. I think the amp just needs abit of extra muscle to control the bigger speakers. will a PSX-R do this or should I spend the money on a better amp.
 
From experience with the Cyrus kit, I really would suggest you look at the CDP first. To prove things either way, find a good dealer and go run a comparison between your Marantz and say a Quad 99CDP, which I really do rate as probably being the best sub £1k CDP I've heard. Not that I'm suggesting you buy a 99 new, they're now available for around £500 s/h and are IMO a much better way of spending your dosh.

If you do come back thinking that your Marantz is as good as the Quad (which IS possible, as different people like different things), then stick on another post and we'll take things from there.
 
interesting. maybe its worth taking a visit to my local hi-fi shop and seeing if I can lend a PSX-R first, if that doesnt get the result im after then takin gin my speakers and get them to try them various set ups.

Its frustrating, I know the speakers are capable of so much more, dont get me wrong, they sounds fantatsic. just lacking that total control of the bottom end.
 
kidloco said:
Its frustrating, I know the speakers are capable of so much more, dont get me wrong, they sounds fantatsic. just lacking that total control of the bottom end.
Click to expand...

Interesting how you assume that it's your amp and speakers not having the control, and ignore the fact that it could be your CDP stuffing out (relatively) poor quality bass. Have to say that I really do think it's worth checking out a better CDP.
 
dont get me wrong, your prob right, its just that I think I hav emore chance of borrowing a PSX-R rather then a expensive CD player :p

Aslo I figured that since everything was in total control with the smaller easier to drive speakers then it would would be the Amp that would need more muscle to control the bigger speakers. didnt even think the cd player would be the direction to look at.

Ill try and get into my local shop this weekend and see what they say. why do I get the feelin gthis is goin gto be expensive :rolleyes:
 
I know I keep banging on about the importance of source, but it is for a good reason. For quite a while I had a fairly "mullet" level system, with a pair of speakers that vastly outclassed my CD front end. It really wasn't until I sorted out the CDP that things became really enjoyable.
 
I've got the Cyrus DAD3Q24 to go with my 3 and it's brilliant. Some cyrus fanatics argue that it's very close in quality to the CD8x, and is in the running for the best ever Cyrus CD player alongside the 7Q.

I've also head that buying a PSX-R for the 3 is worth it, but another good option that you should definitely consider is bi-amping with a smartpower or other cyrus power amp. I've not got the cash or the time to compare the merits of them both, but if I had to chose I'd seriously consider the power amp, especially when you look how well the PSX-Rs have held their price compared to the older power amps.
 
interesting, so would I be able to add a single power amp to my existing intergrated cyrus III amp, I thought the were monoblocks so I would need 2 of them

Mr_Sukebe, I really do appriciate your coments and I will defo try and get hold of or at least try and listen to a better CD player in my system
 
Have you actually heard the B&W sound better in another set-up ???
Maybe that's how they are meant to sound !!! People often bang on about wanting More/Bigger Bass, sounds like B&W have looked to fill that market request !!!
More is not always better !!!.... I would go for tighter better controlled less bass every time.
You might need a tighter/leaner CDP, and stonking pre-power amp to get things right.....
Personally I'd go back to the Missions, and feed them with a better CDP and amp set-up, before looking to change them !!
Also note if the B&W are brand new, they could take many hours/days/weeks to run in and tighten up.
 
Yes, I have heard the B&Ws in a setup costing around 4k and they sounded absolutly amazing. so I know what they are capable of given the right equipment and more importantly money. trying to emulate that sound on a tight budget is proving very difficult. Oh, they are not new, so they have been run in already.

Going back to the missions is not an option, granted there are a great speaker, but they are a great £300 speaker and the B&Ws are a great £700 speaker. and in every department except the snappiness of the bass they are a far better speaker then the missions, vocals and soundstage are just amazing

Maybe im whinging to much, the bass is in no way unruly or anything, it just doesnt have the complete taughtness of the 751s.

I took a look at the smart power amps, and yes they are stereo ( 60watts ) or you can use it as a 120watt mono block :D , they are still going for quite a lot of cash though, and im not 100% if I could use my Cyrus III intergrated amp as a preamp if I bought one.

Didnt get chance to nip down to town to try and blag a PSX-R, to much suff on. will try and get down this week. Might try and 'borrow' a few types of speaker wire too. the stuff im using is OK but not great, its only QED Bronze Special Edition so maybe thats another option, I did try some QED Silver XT Speaker Cable in my old setup but found it a bit too bright, might be just the answer now though. and a hell of a lot cheaper then a new CD player or AMP
 
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