diff --git a/src/ca65/main.c b/src/ca65/main.c
index 66ba331dd..296b65b5e 100644
--- a/src/ca65/main.c
+++ b/src/ca65/main.c
@@ -411,9 +411,6 @@ static void SetSys (const char* Sys)
 
     }
 
-    /* Define the symbols for evaluating .cpu */
-    DefineCpuSymbols ();
-
     /* Initialize the translation tables for the target system */
     TgtTranslateInit ();
 }
@@ -1254,6 +1251,9 @@ int main (int argc, char* argv [])
         SetMemoryModel (MMODEL_NEAR);
     }
 
+    /* Define the symbols for evaluating .cpu */
+    DefineCpuSymbols ();
+
     /* Set the default segment sizes according to the memory model */
     SetSegmentSizes ();