- Cyrus Audio Ltd, the long-established British HiFi manufacturer, describes the new Cyrus 40 Series as a new chapter in the company's history.
The English HiFi manufacturer Cyrus Audio Ltd. has been recognised as an expert in compact HiFi systems for many years, and its products fully reflect the direction in which the market is heading, at least for the most part: products that are as compact as possible, yet extremely flexible. Such HiFi systems can be easily integrated into any modern living environment by music lovers who are enthusiastic about fine sound.
It therefore comes as no surprise that Cyrus Audio Ltd. is once again relying on this highly successful concept for its latest product line, centred around the Cyrus 40 Series. This is currently presented with the solutions Cyrus 40 AMP Integrated Amplifier, Cyrus 40 CD Integrated CD Player, Cyrus 40 ST Streaming Music Player and Cyrus 40 PSU External Power Supply.
Cyrus 40 Series – Designed for the modern lifestyle
The new Cyrus 40 Series has an extremely appealing design right from the start. The English company has moved away from the more classic, conservative design language of the Cyrus Classic Series or Cyrus XR Series, for example.
This can certainly be described as a very stylish appearance, as the solutions all feature a metal housing in matt black with a slightly contrasting front, where the control panels shine in white, as do the displays of the devices, if available. Any rotary encoders are also adorned with white lighting. All of this gives the devices an exclusive, modern touch.
As already mentioned, all the systems in the new Cyrus 40 Series are extremely compact solutions, yet they are products that clearly belong to the premium HiFi class in terms of performance potential.
Broad product line
Right from the start, it is clear that Cyrus Audio Ltd. relies on a broad product line, thus offering customers the opportunity to realise the HiFi chain that best suits their needs.
The central interface is of course a stereo integrated amplifier, the Cyrus 40 AMP Integrated Amplifier, which can be upgraded with the optional Cyrus 40 PSU External Power Supply, as can all other devices in the product line. An audio CD player in the form of the Cyrus 40 CD Integrated CD Player and a streaming client in the form of the Cyrus 40 ST Streaming Music Player are available as source devices, and as if that wasn’t enough, the company is already revealing that next year it will also be offering a matching phono preamplifier, which will probably be called the Cyrus 40 PHONO.
Cyrus 40 AMP Integrated Amplifier
The Cyrus 40 AMP should prove to be a flexible stereo integrated amplifier, equipped for both analogue and digital sources. Its compact size should not mislead you, the rear panel is truly littered with interfaces.
Four analogue inputs are available as pairs of RCA sockets, and there is even a phono preamp, although this is reserved exclusively for drives with MM cartridge systems.
For digital source devices, this stereo integrated amplifier offers two coaxial and one optical S/PDIF interface and can be connected directly to a PC or Mac via a USB-B port. Although the RJ45 interface of the Cyrus 40 AMP allows integration into the network, it is only used for firmware updates; the same applies to the USB-A interface.
The HDMI port of the Cyrus 40 AMP is therefore much more exciting, as it can be used to directly integrate a TV set, because in addition to an eARC, it also supports HDMI CEC for centralised control.
The signal processing of digital content is based on an ESS ES9039Q2M 32-bit Sabre DAC chipset with HyperStream IV Dual DAC Technology from ESS Technology Inc. with up to 32 bits and 768 kHz for Linear PCM and DSD256 for DSD content.
The Cyrus 40 AMP is capable of delivering two outputs of 100 watts to speaker systems with an impedance of 6 ohms.
In addition to an analogue output with a fixed level, there is another pair of RCA connections at the rear as an analogue output with a variable level, and there is also a headphone connection.
The Cyrus 40 PSU serves as an optional extension to the Cyrus 40 AMP, which we will discuss in detail below.
Cyrus 40 CD Integrated CD Player
Cyrus Audio Ltd. points out that the development of audio CD players has been one of the company’s strengths for years and that it is still convinced that the audio CD format is highly relevant.
As a result, the new Cyrus 40 CD is nothing less than an audiophile audio CD player that reads CDs as accurately as possible and, in conjunction with a particularly high-quality D/A converter, guarantees a performance of the highest quality.
As with the amplifier in the product range, an ESS ES9039Q2M 32-bit Sabre DAC chipset with HyperStream IV Dual DAC Technology from ESS Technology Inc. is used for signal processing, whereby analogue signals can be output via two pairs of RCA sockets. Alternatively, digital outputs are also available, namely an optical and coaxial S/PDIF interface.
Any firmware updates can be imported via an RJ45 Ethernet interface and a USB-A interface; beyond this, they fulfil no function in day-to-day operation.
It should be emphasised that the Cyrus 40 CD can also be expanded with the Cyrus 40 PSU, even though the power supply integrated into the CD player is designed to minimise interactions between the analogue and digital circuits and the servo for controlling the drive. To achieve this, the power supply is segmented so that the digital control circuits are supplied by a special, highly efficient power supply unit, while the other parts of the player are fed by an oversized universal power supply unit.
Nine individual level controls smooth and distribute the power within the player as required, according to Cyrus Audio Ltd.
Cyrus 40 ST Streaming Music Player
The streaming client of the Cyrus 40 Series is particularly exciting, as it is based on the BluOS streaming platform from the Lenbrook Media Group. The BluOS Hi-res Audio Streaming Platform not only ensures that you can easily access your own content on the network via file sharing using SAMBA, but also that countless streaming services are directly accessible. This platform also supports Apple AirPlay 2 and is labelled as Roon-ready, the BluOS app enables extremely convenient control and multi-room Hi-res audio streaming with all solutions from other manufacturers that are also based on BluOS.
The signal processing here is also based on an ESS ES9039Q2M 32-bit Sabre DAC chipset with HyperStream IV Dual DAC Technology from ESS Technology Inc., although the limit here is actually BluOS itself, as this ‘only’ allows data in Linear PCM format with up to 24 bits and 192 kHz, but does not yet support DSD.
The Cyrus 40 ST can be integrated into the network via an RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet interface as well as WiFi in accordance with IEEE 802.11ac, it has two analogue outputs in the form of pairs of RCA sockets and, in addition to digital outputs, digital inputs are also available, both in the form of optical and coaxial S/PDIF interfaces. The USB port, which can be found here as a USB-A interface at the rear, is used to play back audio data stored on corresponding storage media. The Cyrus 40 ST can also be upgraded with an optional power supply if required.
Cyrus 40 PSU External Power Supply
The Cyrus 40 PSU is an optional extension to all systems in the Cyrus 40 Series and is therefore an external power supply, whereby different benefits are to be realised by an upgrade depending on the product.
For example, Cyrus Audio Ltd. promises not only a higher output power for the Cyrus 40 AMP, namely two times 113 watts on speaker systems with an impedance of 6 ohms instead of ‘only’ two times 100 watts in the standard configuration, but the performance should also gain in dynamics and sovereignty, as promised by Cyrus Audio Ltd.
With the CD player and streaming client, the optional Cyrus 40 PSU is specifically designed to ensure that the performance has a particularly low noise level, as it eliminates any disruptive influence on the sound quality of the internal power supply.
The Cyrus 40 PSU has an on-board microprocessor which, according to the manufacturer, ensures that the various components are always optimally supplied with power. It is connected using a special cable with a 15-pin connector.
Prices and availability
The solutions in the new Cyrus 40 Series should be available from specialist retailers these days, according to the British HiFi manufacturer. The recommended retail price for the Cyrus 40 AMP is € 4.795,-, while the Cyrus 40 CD and Cyrus 40 ST will cost € 3.595,-. The optional Cyrus 40 PSU power supply is estimated at € 2.995,-.
Getting to the point
The products in the new Cyrus 40 Series, which are now being presented by the traditional, renowned English HiFi manufacturer Cyrus Audio Ltd. with the Cyrus 40 AMP, Cyrus 40 CD, Cyrus 40 ST and Cyrus 40 PSU systems, should prove to be a modern line of premium-class HiFi solutions that fully meet today’s consumer requirements. A stereo integrated amplifier with integrated D/A converter and phono preamplifier is now complemented by an audio CD player and a BluOS-based streaming client. If desired, all components can be upgraded using an external power supply and next year Cyrus Audio Ltd. will probably add a separate phono preamplifier, the Cyrus 40 Phono.
| Product | Cyrus 40 Series |
|---|---|
| Price | Cyrus 40 AMP Integrated Amplifier € 4.795,- Cyrus 40 CD Integrated CD Player € 3.595,- Cyrus 40 ST Streaming Music Player € 3.595,- Cyrus 40 PSU External Power Supply € 2.995,- |
| Brand | CYRUS AUDIO LTD. |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Cyrus Audio Ltd. |
| Distribution | Bellevue Audio GmbH |
| More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG |
