Hi folks, and welcome to the latest article from us here at Audio T Brighton. We’re in for a bit of streaming playback bliss this month as we’re taking a look and listening to a classic British Hi-Fi brand, Cyrus Audio. Cyrus has a long-standing history in many facets of the Hi-Fi industry and their kit has been widely acclaimed all over the world. Distinctive looks, practical 1/2 standard size case boxes and great sound have long been synonymous with the Cyrus name, so let’s have a closer look at some of their more recent offerings, the Cyrus Stream XR and Cyrus i9-XR integrated amplifier.

First, a little bit of history behind the Cyrus brand...

I have long remembered Cyrus from my early foray into the world of hi-fi during my university days in the mid-eighties. I have fond memories of the Cyrus 1 amplifier, launched in 1984, which a mate of mine owned, sporting a distinctly different sound to that of my NAD 3020, being both more detailed and dynamic than the warm and cosy NAD.

Horses for courses, but a great head-to-head shootout in the days when none of us could afford a Naim or Exposure amp on a student grant (remember them?)

Cyrus today...

The Cyrus brand has certainly moved on in the 40 years since my Cyrus v NAD head-to-head, if not much in the way of visual change but certainly technological advancements and range expansion. Cyrus has always maintained its half-case appearance and family sound, one that is familiar and has encouraged a loyal following over the decades.

Audio T in Brighton has a range of Cyrus products, including a Cyrus Stream XR, Cyrus i9-XR amplifier, Cyrus CDi-XR CD player, Cyrus PSU-XR power supply,

Our resident vinyl guru and shop manager, John Killick, heartily recommends the: Cyrus Phono Signature Phono Stage, Cyrus PSX-R2 power supply. We will endeavour to cover a couple of these products during the rest of this blog.

Cyrus Stream XR - Bringing tears to your eyes

The Stream-XR streamer is great addition to the Cyrus range and the decision to use the Bluesound BluOS app to operate the streamer is a smart move by industry veterans.

Well established as a functional and reliable application, the Bluesound BluOS app allows use of the Cyrus Stream-XR to be a breeze, allowing connection to streaming services such as: Spotify, Tidal and our personal favourite, Qobuz, to be a relatively seamless user experience. Connection to the internet can be made wirelessly via your home network router, or better still, using the RJ45 Ethernet port on the rear, which we generally recommend anyway.

Equipped with a single pair of RCA analogue outputs, 1 x optical output and 1 x co-axial digital outputs, the Cyrus Stream-XR can be used as a standalone streamer or as a streaming transport if use with an external DAC is desired.

The Cyrus Stream-XR sounds great on its own, but as with their other products in the XR range, a Cyrus PSU-XR power supply upgrade will wring the last ounce of performance and musical engagement when funds allow, and is the first and most logical upgrade path for Cyrus owners to pursue.

Equipped with 1 x optical input and 1 x co-axial digital input, the Cyrus Stream-XR can also function as a DAC to output into an analogue amplifier, should they not be equipped with their own internal DAC. Many of the latest modern integrated amplifiers have built-in DACs so the options come down to personal taste and use case.

Partners in rhyme... Cyrus i9-XR amp

cyrus stream-XR with partnering cyrus i9-xr integrated amplifier

We have already mentioned some of the dance partners for the Cyrus Stream-XR earlier in the blog, but we do need an amplifier and a pair of speakers in order to listen to assess its talents. Keeping equipment in house, so to speak, we have been listening to it via its sister amplifier, the Cyrus i9-XR integrated.

Comprehensively equipped, the Cyrus i9-XR integrated amplifier comes with a plethora of inputs; quite an achievement given the small real-estate available on the rear panel. With 1 x MM phono input for turntable playback, 4 x RCA analogue, 2 x optical, 2 x co-axial and 1 x USB digital input for a computer, twin speaker outputs and a headphone amplifier output on the rear, the Cyrus i9-XR really does fit a quart into a pint pot!

Rated at 91 Watts into a 6-ohm load, the Cyrus i9-XR has plenty of power-on-tap into most normal speaker loads.

Together, the Cyrus Stream-XR & i9-XR bundle perform to a very high level, offering tight, detailed and punchy sonics, with imaging and clarity being strong points. Again, adding the Cyrus PSU-XR power supply upgrade brings forth remarkable gains in focus and clarity, with leading edges of notes, dynamic subtleties and timing moving from very good to excellent with the power supply in place.

A perfect dance partner...

System matching is an essential part of building a satisfying hi-fi system and our resident Wharfedale Linton speakers & stands proved a great partner for the Cyrus setup, offering a touch of warmth and richness to the sound, balancing nicely with the detail, clarity and transparency of the Cyrus pairings. The Wharfedales not only look good on their matching stands, but they sound grand for not a lot more than that, offering a remarkable value to sonic prowess ratio.