Cyrus One - anyone else a bit excited?

Cribbster

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I have seen visions of this little beauty popping up over the past month or two and I must admit to slight feelings of excitement and anticipation. I am (sort of) in the market for a new amp and am a definite fan of Cyrus although struggling a little at the cost of the current integrated amp offerings. Have been auditioning a few amps over the past few of months (Arcam A29, Audiolab 8300, NAD 356BEE DAC, Primare i32, Rotel RA-12 with a few more on the list to try) but spotting the new One I am thinking this might be a potential winner. It feels like Cyrus creating an amp to compete in the budget high end category (if I can put it like that) and one that could really be competitive strike agianst the curent Arcam / Rotel / NAD / Rega offerings around that sort of price. For perspective, of the amps I have tried I quite liked the Primare although it ultimately felt a bit underwhelming even though it sounded veyr competent and I very much liked the Audiolab. Didn't like the NAD and was underwhelmed / bit disapponted with the Arcam. All of these were tried with B&W CM6 S2 speakers, as I am not planning to change them any time soon so my new amp needs to work well with them. I do appreciate that any of the above amps could sound significantly different / better with a different set of speakers.

Anyway, anyone else picqued by the new Cyrus? Anyone heard one yet?
 
One of the biggest differences is the amplification Cyrus are using. From the list you've mentioned (other than the Primare, but this is £300 more), they're all using conventional ClassA/B amplification, so it'll be interesting to see how the Cyrus compares using a Class D derivative, which is based on their £1750 Stereo 200 power amplifier. This is the aspect I'm most interested in, as many amplifiers around this sort of price point don't quite have the control for big speakers that produce big bass, or for the more demanding models like ATC or the KEF LS50s. Traditionally, I find, B&W speakers like being told exactly what to do by the accompanying amplifier, leaving the listener with a soft, lacklustre sound lacking punch, if the amp isn't doing its job properly.

I really like the looks too - I hope it looks and feels suitably hefty in the flesh.
 
I am liking the looks of it too. The A29 is also a hybrid amp but I found it just didn't quite sparkle as much as I had hoped it might do. Whereas the Audiolab did make me sit up and think, ooh, I like this. I would need to hear it again though and contrast it with other possibilities - the Cyrus being one of them.
 
Sounds like you prefer a brighter sounding amp so the cyrus would definitely appeal.
 
To a degree, yes I do. In general though what I am after is a full, well balanced sound. I like to hear the subtleties of the higher frequencies while at the same time being able to experience the full richness of the bass end without either sounding muddy or distorted. Doesn't seem much to ask but based on my auditions so far, not such an easy thing to find. I have had a Cyrus system in the past and very much liked it - it sounded very balanced and detailed without being harsh or sharp (characteristics one would find in traditional "bright" systems). Oh, and I would like that all without having t break the bank. :)
 
As a matter of interest, does anyone know when these will actually be available? Cyrus website says late summer. Based on the current weather we must be there now, surely. :)
 
Thank you David. Can't wait. Will you guys be carrying them as well?
Sorry, been rearranging he store due to the expansion of the record section, and booking more vinyl in!

We will be keeping the new Cyrus in yes - I'll make an announcement in our sponsor thread, and probably here too. Maybe some photos...
 
This looks a bargain. I'm a big Cyrus fan. I've got a bi amped Cyrus set up and the sound is extremely impressive. But, so it should be for the money.
I've seen the specs for the Cyrus 1 and it almost looks too good to be true for the money.
100 watts per channel is a lot of power at this price point. But how good is it a driving speakers.
I don't mono bloc but the biamped set up I've got is 55 wats( I think) and that pushes my Tannoys extremely loud. I've got a very large sitting room so it needs some power. 100 watts is unnecessary. Cyrus amps more than twice £700 aren't rated Anywhere near 100 watts.
My big question is, where us the compromise.? I would imagine it's in the power supply for starters.
But on paper this amp looks good.
Cyrus never put anything out that's less than good.
 
This looks a bargain. I'm a big Cyrus fan. I've got a bi amped Cyrus set up and the sound is extremely impressive. But, so it should be for the money.
I've seen the specs for the Cyrus 1 and it almost looks too good to be true for the money.
100 watts per channel is a lot of power at this price point. But how good is it a driving speakers.
I don't mono bloc but the biamped set up I've got is 55 wats( I think) and that pushes my Tannoys extremely loud. I've got a very large sitting room so it needs some power. 100 watts is unnecessary. Cyrus amps more than twice £700 aren't rated Anywhere near 100 watts.
My big question is, where us the compromise.? I would imagine it's in the power supply for starters.
But on paper this amp looks good.
Cyrus never put anything out that's less than good.
So far, with the exception of the Stereo 200 power amplifier, Cyrus amps have been based on conventional class A/B amplification. This type of amplification produces heat due to not being particularly efficient. The Cyrus One is based around the class D amplification of the Stereo 200, which is much more efficient, so you get less loss and more power. This produces less heat, and uses less electricity.
 
Ooooh, excellent. Be great of you can post your initial thoughts on it when you do get to listen to it. Also maybe some idea of how it handles a few different speakers (thinking ahead to potential auditions myself)
 
Interesting choice. Based on my preferences and previous experiences Cyrus and the LS50s are a harsh match. I suppose it will be interesting to see how the new One gets on with them. I'd also be keen to see how they go with Tannoy, the new PMC 25s, Spendor, B&W and the R500s.
 
Funnily enough, I was also thinking of a pair of PMC TwentyFive speakers - again with the deep end - maybe a pair of 23s. Initially, I want to know how transparent it can be, and what sort of speakers it can drive (comfortably).

My guess is that if it can cope with LS50s, it will cope with any speaker south of £1k. Above £1k gets trickier, as speakers generally become more demanding. I can't see the TwentyFive models being out of its reach, and if it has enough bass control, the KEF R Series and B&W CM Series should be fine too. ATC would be an acid test, and some of the Spendors which are also a low sensitivity. I wouldn't generally be putting speakers that cost any more than twice the amplifier cost on the end of any amp anyway (rough guide).
 
Initial impressions are very good! I'll fully comment when we get a full production model in our demo rooms.

They made LS50s sound the way I like them - tight, controlled, punchy, effortless, detailed. Many amplifiers have a habit of making them sound a bit too bassy, warm and a little soft. Not this amp. There's no need to struggle to hear detail with this amp, as its all there for you to take in at your leisure, and there's a lot of it! It's almost as if the Cyrus One resets the plane between the speakers several feet forward.

Whilst the LS50s are the sort of speaker that stretches the capabilities of amps in this price range, I thought I'd try something a little more expensive - the PMC TwentyFive.23s. The Cyrus One allowed the 23s to show how much better they are than the LS50s. This combination seemed an even better match than the LS50s! More of the same, only displaying a bit more natural depth to the soundstage, and with some of the more delicate detail treated a little more, well, delicately. I had expected the 23s to show the shortcomings of the Cyrus One, but it seemed to be having none of it. It'll be interesting to try some other speakers when we get our demo one, and try and find its shortcomings - it must have some!

Tracks used via a Naim HD5XS streamer as a source:
Bomb Track - Rage Against The Machine
1969 - Boards Of Canada
Aerodynamic - Daft Punk
The Last Remaining Light - Audioslave
Genesis - Justice
Angel - Massive Attack
 
Thank you David - much appreciated. And definitely very excited now. Be interesting to see how it goes with my CM6 S2s. Of my recent auditions the Audiolab 8300 has been noticeably the best of the amps I have tried and I suspect that the Cyrus may have the edge on that. At a better price too makes it even more tempting. Very interesting that it handled the LS50s so well. My last experience with the LS50s was with an 8 DAC and that combination was unbelievably harsh. So looking forward to giving it a test drive.
 
Interesting view. Broadly seems a positive review although I will still be using my ears to determine what I think of it. Still excited by it and at that price point certainly has the potential to be a market leader. Looking forward to finding out. :)
 
So has anyone bought one of these? If not, someone must have had a listen to one?! Just curious to see if anyone else's opinions are similar to mine, or differ.
 
Not had a chance to listen to one yet or compare it against a couple of the other amps that I think may be in the running to consider. Out of curiosity, what do you think?
 
Not had a chance to listen to one yet or compare it against a couple of the other amps that I think may be in the running to consider. Out of curiosity, what do you think?
You can see my impressions in post #18 :)
 
I wasn't 100% sure as the names are different although it did look a bit close for coincidence. I guess your other post looks like an official HIFiX post vs a personal post above. Been past a couple of times recently as my son is currently living and studying in Coventry but not had time yet to try and book a demo with yourselves to listen. Will have to work on that. :)
 

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