Another hi-fi question….Cyrus, Lynn or Arcam?

I asked for some advice on upgrading my hi-fi last week. It was greatly appreciated.

I have been doing a bit of ebay research and I am now considering changing my old Linn Majik for an Arcam FMJ A32. These seem to go for about £450.

However, the Cyrus 8vs seem to go for about £350.

Working on the principle I can get £150 – £200 for the Majik, either “upgrade” wouldn’t cost too much.

So, which of these would you recommend, an Arcam A32, Cyrus 8 or keep the Linn Majik?

I know its subjective but I welcome your opinions.

Had Cyrus stuff before and build quality and sound excellent
think you find both the Arcam and Cyrus to sound much different to
the Linn to be honest.
i’l take it you have Linn speakers too?

Cyrus 8

As above Cyrus or the Arcam 🙂

As above, depends a lot on your speakers. I’m an ex Cyrus owner, and wouldn’t go back to them. With my Dynaudios it was just too thin and harsh. I picked up a used Nait, and it’s a great match.

I have never heard them side by side but I would expect that Cyrus and Arcam to sound very different. Arcam is a very warm, rich and full sound. Cyrus is very detailed and fast – some may say thin,harsh and bright as above.

IMO Cyrus has better build quality or a least feels better made.

If you are interested I have a perfect Arcam Alpha 8R I would sell. I picked it up off e-bay from some very very rich family in Cobham!!. It has clearly been well looked after, original box etc etc. Looks are a bit dated mind, but they still sell very well on e-bay. You could save yourself some money 😆

I would expect that Cyrus and Arcam to sound very different

I’d agree with that. The Arcam stuff I’ve listened to had a very warm comfortable sound.

Could you get Linn to service/upgrade the amp? I thought Linn was generally a step above the Cyrus/Arcam stuff.

Honestly, I think you would most likely end up spending money for the sake of spending money. You may get lucky and prefer either the Arcam or the Cyrus, but it would be just that luck.

The Linn Majik (I’m guessing you have the older Majik I integrated amp) was a great integrated amp and so long as it’s driving your speakers perfectly well, you would likely have to go a bit higher on your budget to guarantee getting something that was appreciably ‘better’ as opposed to just ‘different’.

Amplifier design hasn’t changed a great deal in the last 10-15 years so again, it’s less likely that something that is newer will by default be better.

In your previous thread you refer to changing your source by going to a PC based system with a DAC. What did you end up doing in the end?

Your source, in this case, is where you’re more likely to find an inherent improvement by going with something more modern. The improvements made in CD replay over the last 10 years has been huge, largely driven by the popularity of PC based music and the subsequent regeneration of demand for external DACs. There have been some really big advances in DAC software and hardware that has been passed onto CD players as well, so that now, for less than £500 you can get a CDP that’s at the the same level of performance as a machine costing four or maybe five times that from say 10 years ago.

Finally, buying second hand HiFi is always a gamble. At a certain price point, and it’s not very high, the issues move away from ‘appreciable improvement’ to ‘appreciable enjoyment’, which goes back to my earlier point. System matching and personal preference are more relevant than getting a better sound and that’s more so the case with amps (and it’s absolutely the case with speakers) I think that with a CD player.

But, if you’ve got an itchy trigger finger (and I know what that feels like!) then the Cyrus will have a few key advantages over the Arcam, mainly based around it’s ability to upgrade via the PSX power supply that makes a big difference. You also have far greater choice with Cyrus power amps than Arcam if you also want to go down the route of adding a power amp in bridged mode.

I’m an ex Cyrus owner, and wouldn’t go back to them. With my Dynaudios it was just too thin and harsh.

Cyrus is very detailed and fast – some may say thin,harsh and bright as above.

Strange, I have Cyrus gear (CD8X, PreVS2 & 8 power) with Dynaudio Audience 62’s. The sound is far from thin and harsh – however, much of the Naim I have heard has been almost unlistenable, with a very tiring, pushy sound that only suits a very narrow style of music.

I have had my meridian setup for 10 years, with a 551 pre-amp driving Quad 21L – still listen to it every day.

much of the Naim I have heard has been almost unlistenable

Strange. Almost the exact opposite of my experience.

I think a lot of this expensive equipment is very sensitive to how it’s set up.

What speakers are you planning to use? If I were going for a second hand amp in that price range I would buy an Exposure XV, Naim Nait or if I could find one a Sugden a21. I reckon any of them would show your shortlist a clean pair of heels.

I’ve had a LINN Classik for over 10 years and it’s just brilliant – one of the genuinely best things I’ver ever purchased.

As far as I can remember, the Majiks were similar to the Classiks? I’m not sure if the others are ‘enough’ of an improvement to move away from something you know is reliable into the great unknown…

Maybe you just need to buy some special speaker cable? 😉

Rachel

I think a lot of this expensive equipment is very sensitive to how it’s set up.

I think a lot of this expensive equipment is sensitive to personal taste.

much of the Naim I have heard has been almost unlistenable, with a very tiring, pushy sound that only suits a very narrow style of music.

Has that mostly been at shows? We’ve definitely had issues with boundary reinforcement speakers being sub par with thin hotel room walls. SL2s for example were extremely room dependent. I wouldn’t deny that the house sound is fast and forward, which is a bit of a love/hate thing.

I still say a bit of a service and keep what you have.

I’m agreeing with Joolsburger. I’d try and have a listen to some new kit by those companies if you do want a change. Naim Nait 5 would be similar money as well, just as a bit of a plug. Designed by a mountain biker too 😉

I’ve tried all three brands and much prefer Cyrus. The amps are a great match for dynaudio and audiovector speakers, so try and demo with those. My best system was Cyrus 8 amp and cd player, both with psx-rs and dynaudio audience 52s. Having said that, it’s all about personal preference.

much of the Naim I have heard has been almost unlistenable, with a very tiring, pushy sound that only suits a very narrow style of music.

Has that mostly been at shows?

A friend of mine has about £20K’s worth of Naim (running through Wilson Benesch Arcs) which I found really hard to listen to until he upgraded his CD player last year which transformed the system. I went with him to a Naim demo evening at Hoole Hall in Chester 18 months ago and the room was awful, even my Naim loving friend was wincing until the price tag got to about £35K, at which point I will admit the stuff was sounding very good ! As an aside, the same chap has taken a job where he has to stay away four nights a week and he’s bought a Cyrus integrated amp with a squeezebox for the week nights after listening to my setup.

I still say a bit of a service and keep what you have.

I would agree. At least give it a try.

Thanks for all the advice.

I must admit that I do love the build quality and the look of the Arcam FMJ stuff. I know that isn’t a sound quality reason!

Geetee – The PC and the DAC was not a replacement for the hi-fi – nothing is better than a bottle of wine (or 2) and a rack of cds. Thanks for the info on the cd players, I might try the cd upgrade path.
Do you think something like the Rega Apollo would show an improvement over the old Linn Mimik I have?

GJP – Thanks for the offer of Arcam 8, The first “proper” cd deck was a Alpha 8, I loved it, I also love the 90’s look of the Alpha kit, though I think the s/h prices on ebay are inflated from what they should be.

Richpenny – I would love to have a play with Naim but it is expensive even s/h. I’m sure it’s very good and I might have a dabble. If I was looking to upgrade the Linn Mimik cd deck, what Naim cd would you consider? (I know your biased but I would appreciate an objective response!

I used to sell this stuff before i was in bikes.

IF reliability is a concern then i would sidestep Arcam – they may be better than they were but every monday was a call to the service desk.

Always liked the Cyrus.

A great 2nd hand buy if you can find one is a Meridian 551. Overlooked by many but a lovely lovely amp.

I had a linn genki at one point, similar to your majik. I would say a CD5 would be comparable. If your majik does have a digital out then the external dac suggestion is a good one. You could just buy a few cases of god wine and a load of new cds though 🙂

Rich- I often consider the wine or hashish options!
Any decent stereo sounds brilliant with the correct chemical adjustments to the audio chain 🙂

There is a new Rega Apollo due out by the end of November – see pjhifi.co.uk – £548. So there may be some good deals on existing Apollo players. I have the Rega DAC and for the money I think it is fantastic. I plan on having a listen to the Apollo for use as a transport.

If looking at NAIM CD players then a s/h Olive CD3.5 would get my vote – newer than the CD3 and can be upgraded with an external PSU. Can be had for circa £300 but prices vary widely – I have seen a few go for nearer £500!!!. Spare mechs are still available – so still fully serviceable. But you are still looking at a 12 year old player.

Then there is the CD5, which by reports many people seem to prefer to the later CD5i and CD5i italic.

An olive CDX would be better but at least twice as much money say £700. At this sort of money I am a little put off s/h cd players, but I am very risk averse.

But what geetee1972 says about CD players coming on a long way is definitely true. I have a 1999 £1100 Naim CD3.5 owned from new, relatively light use. But 12 months ago I bought a new £600 Audio Analogue Crescendo as a stop gap. I think I still prefer the naked Naim CD3.5, but I am very emotionally attached to it and am a Naimite through and through. However, I think I lot of people would say the new Audio Analogue outshines the Naim.

I have also just bought a s/h Cyrus CD6S for a dabble, but it hasn’t arrived yet so am unable to comment on how it compares to everything. Will be up to 4 CD players in a few days and I only have 5 bikes. I may have my priorities wrong

Encouraged by the wine mentioned earlier I have bought a Rega Apollo for £230 off Ebay.

I know I was looking at the amp but it would appear that the source is where I can make the best value improvement.

Its just for a bit of a dabble and I will have to clear out my hi-fi collection now, the Mrs will go mental when she sees it!

Excellent – dabbling and an itchy finger is good. No wife at this end so my dabbling is unconstrained 😆

The Apollo has a very good reputation, although i never had the opportunity to listen to one myself.

I’ll let you know how I get on.

I now have a Linn Mimik, arcam alpha 8, Arcam FMJ DVD 27 and an old Technics deck.

I going to listen to them all and sell the losers, I am just stupidly attached to Arcam 8 so I might keep that one!

i have a full arcam seperate setup and looked at rega and cyrus when undertaking the original purchase 5 years ago. At the time i got a good deal on the arcam which i preferred listening to.

after listening to several audiolab and naim setups i now wish i had spent that little extra as the quality and sound of music is much better. These are what i will be upgrading to when my current system starts failing.

With regards to arcam quality as mentioned previously. I have had issues with my amp and recently my cd player has started playing up and not opening the cd tray!! Although when my cd breaks i may try out digital streaming as the improvements in music quality via this method has moved on heaps and bounds.

Excellent – dabbling and an itchy finger is good. No wife at this end so my dabbling is unconstrained