June 25, 2025

Cyrus 40 Series Event Recap – A Night to Remember in Cardiff

June 25, 2025/ Audio T Cardiff/ Cardiff

This month, I’m talking about one of my – and our – favourite Hi-Fi brands: Cyrus. The highlight of the month was our special event at the Cardiff store, where we showcased the all-new 40 Series.

If you’ve popped into our Cardiff store for a chat about Hi-Fi, music, or just to ask what’s currently playing on our demo system, there’s a good chance we’ve talked about Cyrus Audio. For me, it’s one of those brands that’s become part of my own personal Hi-Fi journey — and I know I’m not alone.

So when Cyrus hit their 40th anniversary this year, and launched a brand new range to mark the milestone, I knew we had to do something special. A listening event was the obvious answer — an evening where like-minded enthusiasts could come together, hear the new 40 Series in action, and share in our mutual love of great sound and great music.

And that’s exactly what we did.

Celebrating 40 Years of Cyrus Audio

If you’re not familiar with Cyrus, let me bring you up to speed. This is a British Hi-Fi company that’s been pushing boundaries since 1984 — known for its compact, half-width components, clean design, and emphasis on musical performance above all else.

What’s always stood out for me is how musical their gear sounds. It doesn’t just play the notes – it gives you the feeling behind them. I’ve personally owned two Cyrus amps over the years, and I can say with confidence that few brands offer that same balance of precision, rhythm, and engagement.

When the 40 Series was announced – featuring a brand-new design, upgraded internals, and a sleek new chassis – it felt like a fresh chapter, while still staying true to Cyrus’s core DNA. It deserved a proper launch, and I was more than happy to put something together.

The Event – Setting the Stage

Hosting events like this is one of my favourite parts of the job. It’s not just about showing off shiny new kit (although let’s be honest, that’s part of the fun). It’s about creating a space where music lovers can connect, listen critically, ask questions, and maybe discover something new.

cyrus 40 series event fridat 13th June 2025

A Guest Appearance from Cyrus’s Finest

Jason Saxon, a familiar face to many of you from the Bristol Hi-Fi Show and Cyrus’s own video content, joined us for the evening. Jason is one of those rare people who combines deep technical knowledge with genuine enthusiasm – and his ability to explain the thinking behind each product while keeping things engaging is second to none.

Before the event kicked off, I sat down with Jason to record a short interview. We chatted about the early days of Cyrus (including some of the original designs from 1984), how the brand has evolved over time, and where it’s headed next. Brad from our marketing team cheekily said I was “channelling my inner Michael Parkinson” – which I took as a compliment! The video will be shared very soon, and I hope you’ll give it a watch.

A Little Cyrus System Magic

Our event system was a bit of a showstopper. It kicked off with the Cyrus TTP turntable fitted with a Benz Micro Ace low-output cartridge. For digital sources, we had both the 40 CD and the 40 ST streamer.

Then came a real treat: Jason brought along the all-new Cyrus 40 PPA phono stage and matching 40 PSU. It’s not available just yet, but it absolutely will be the focus of a future blog – I’m already first in line to order one.

At the heart of the system sat the Cyrus 40 Amp, again paired with its dedicated 40 PSU to deliver that extra edge in performance.

Power conditioning was handled by the IsoTek Sigmas, and for loudspeakers we went with something a little different: the Dynaudio Contour Legacy floorstanders. They really impressed me at this year’s Bristol Hi-Fi Show and sounded nothing short of phenomenal in our demo room.

With the system singing and refreshments laid out, we were ready to welcome our guests.

A Brilliant Evening of Music and Conversation

One of the best parts of the evening was the variety of music chosen by our guests. From classic rock to jazz, modern electronica to stripped-back vocals, it was a real demonstration of the system’s versatility.

I couldn’t resist playing Sweet Soul Sister by The Cult (from their 1989 album Sonic Temple) – a personal favourite of mine. I’ve heard that track hundreds of times over the years, but never like this. There was an immediacy and energy that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. That’s the magic of good Hi-Fi – it makes the familiar feel brand new.

The feedback from those who attended was brilliant. Whether they were Cyrus veterans or first-time listeners, everyone left with a smile on their face and a deeper appreciation for what this gear can do.

cyrus 40 series amp, st, cd, psu, ppa with psu, ttp & sigmas

What’s Next?

We’ve got more events in the pipeline – including another one this September with our friends at A Strings, just up the road from us. Across the Audio T family, our stores are always running events, so be sure to keep an eye on our website and social media for details.

As we often say: the Bristol Hi-Fi Show doesn’t have to be the only time of year to hear something special. We’re keeping the show on the road, all year round.

Thanks for reading – and if you’d like to hear the Cyrus 40 Series for yourself, or chat about building your perfect system, come and see us in Cardiff. You’re always welcome.

Matt Aaron - Audio T Cardiff

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Cyrus can be found at the following Audio T stores

Dynaudio can be found at the following Audio T stores

May 27, 2025

Power and Sound (Part 2): The Magic of Cyrus’s New 40 Series and Things to Come

May 27, 2025/ Audio T Cardiff/ Cardiff

Hi folks, Matt here from Audio T Cardiff. This month, I’m picking up where I left off in my previous blog and diving deeper into how we power our Hi-Fi systems—specifically, with a look at something I’ve been especially excited to add to my own setup: the Cyrus 40 PSU. I’ll talk through what it brings to the Cyrus 40 AMP and how it compares to my previous experience with the Cyrus Classic and PSX-R2. I’ll also let you in on something we’ve been planning that Cyrus fans—like me—won’t want to miss.

So, kettle on, favourite Colombian roast brewed (yes, I’m predictable), and let’s get into it.

Looking Back to Move Forward

Those of you who’ve followed my ramblings for a while will know I’ve had a long-standing relationship with Cyrus gear. Over the years, I’ve listened to a fair few of their amps and CD players, but there’s always been one theme running through my Cyrus journey: external power supplies.

Cyrus have been pioneers in this area since the ‘80s, back in the Mission Cyrus days. Their first PSX outboard power supply appeared in 1984 with the Cyrus 2, and it marked the beginning of a long and continually evolving approach to upgrading component performance through external power.

Fast-forward to more recent history, and I had my Classic amplifier partnered with a PSX-R2. That combination brought a clear jump in dynamics and soundstage—it made music feel bigger and more spacious, without losing the detail I loved in the Classic’s signature sound. I used to describe it to customers as unlocking the rest of the amp’s potential—and I still stand by that.

The New 40 Series: Familiar Philosophy, Evolved Execution

Now, with the arrival of the Cyrus 40 series, the game has moved on again. The 40 PSU is an evolution of everything Cyrus have been working towards—and while it may share the same principle as the PSX-R2, it’s a very different beast.

Where the PSX-R2 focuses mainly on stabilising the voltage for the front-end circuitry—think preamp stage and DAC—the 40 PSU goes further. It feeds the power amp stage directly as well, increasing output power from 2 x 100W into 6 Ohms to 2 x 113W into 6 Ohms. That’s not just numbers on a spec sheet—you can feel that extra headroom when you push the system. Yet, crucially, it also continues to refine the signal path for the DAC and preamp, just like the PSX-R2 did.

In short, it’s giving the amp a shot of espresso and a warm blanket at the same time—more drive, but more control and finesse too.

Listening Time – With and Without the PSU

Of course, the real test is how it sounds. So I did what I always do when something new comes into my system: a proper A/B demo, starting without the PSU connected.

First up: ZZ Top’s “Vincent Price Blues” on CD. Even without the PSU, the Cyrus 40 AMP is no slouch—tight rhythm section, open mids, and that signature Cyrus precision. Billy Gibbons’s guitar tone was rich and unmistakable, and the interplay between the band members really shone. (Side note: I actually had the pleasure of meeting Billy once… but I’ll save that story for a rainy day.)

For those curious, I’ve settled on the Linear Phase Fast Low Ripple DAC filter setting on the 40 AMP—it strikes the right balance between detail and musicality in my system.

Now, I hooked in the 40 PSU, restarted the track, and boom—the noise floor dropped. Like, immediately. More air around the instruments. Better vocal focus. The amp had a touch more grip, especially in the bass. A guitar nerd moment: Gibbons used a ’55 Gold Top Les Paul with P90 pickups on this track, and the way the PSU revealed the loose, overdriven texture of those single coils was brilliant. You could hear the amp working harder, and the guitar flirting with feedback in a way that just wasn’t as present before.

Switching over to vinyl, I spun Jerry Cantrell’s “Afterglow”. Same story. The bass, handled by Duff McKagan, became more articulate. It had shape, not just presence, and the separation between vocals and guitars opened up noticeably. That’s the magic of lower noise and more consistent power delivery—it doesn’t just make things louder, it makes them clearer.

Format: CD
Artist: ZZ Top
Album: Rhythmeen (1996)
Track: Vincent Price Blues

Format: Vinyl
Artist: Gov’t Mule
Album: Like a River (2023)
Track: Same as it Ever Was

Format: Vinyl
Artist: Jerry Cantrell
Album: I Want Blood (2024)
Track: Afterglow

So—Is the Cyrus 40 PSU Worth It?

In my opinion? Absolutely. I’ve lived with power supply upgrades for years, and I’ve never felt they were gimmicks. In the case of the 40 PSU, it’s not just an upgrade—it’s an unlock. It takes an already brilliant amplifier and lets it breathe, drive, and articulate to a whole new level.

If you own, or are considering, any part of the 40 Series, the PSU is something you need to hear to fully appreciate what the range is capable of.

And yes, to answer the inevitable question: I’ll definitely be keeping it in my system. It’s worth every penny.

Join Us in June – Cyrus Event at Audio T Cardiff

Want to hear it for yourself? Good news—we’re hosting a Cyrus 40 Series Listening Event right here at Audio T Cardiff on Friday 13th June, from 5pm until 9pm.

We’ll be joined by none other than Jason Saxon, UK Sales Manager for Cyrus Audio. I’ll be having a chat with Jason before the event kicks off, talking all things 40 Series and what lies ahead—including some exciting teasers about the upcoming Cyrus 80 Series.

It’s shaping up to be a fantastic evening, with hands-on demos, great music, and plenty of time to ask questions or just chat Hi-Fi. If you’ve ever been curious about what these upgrades can do, this is your chance to experience it firsthand in a relaxed and friendly setting.

Thanks as always for reading, and I hope to see some of you at the event!

Matt – Audio T Cardiff

To book your place or find out more, just give us a call on 02920 228565 or email cardiff@audio-t.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Cyrus can be found at the following Audio T stores

October 31, 2024

Riffs and Revolutions: A Very Different Kind of Vinyl Listening Event!

October 31, 2024/ Audi T Cardiff/ Cardiff

As many of you know, Matt from Audio T Cardiff is a keen musician. Recently he hosted a vinyl event in Pontypridd, one of our home counties, alongside the fantastic team at A Strings guitar shop and with sponsorship from Rega. The event took place on Saturday, 28th September. If you were lucky enough to attend, you’ll know what a fantastic day it was—but if you missed out, here’s an account of what went down."

Over the years, our branches have traditionally hosted in-store events that have been highly successful, giving us the chance to showcase and demonstrate our featured brands at their best. These events have always been a real pleasure. But how do we reach a wider, more diverse, and perhaps younger audience, you may ask?

Personally, I wholeheartedly believe that music fans and musicians alike deserve access to a great-sounding hi-fi. Am I right? Of course, I am! Everyone should have a hi-fi that truly engages them—making you smile, even shed a tear, but most importantly, gets your feet tapping. Some of us even know that special piece of music that inspires us to pick up a guitar and master that riff or solo. (Thank you, Eddie Van Halen.)

As many of you know, I’ve previously organised Audio T Cardiff vinyl events outside the store at MEC Coffee, which were fantastic. This time, though, I thought it was time for something a little different.

Time for a little time travel! No, it doesn't involve a DeLorean.

When I talk about time travel, I’m really talking about this event. As most of you know, before my days with Audio T, I worked at a local guitar shop in Cardiff for 17 years. Being a guitarist, I started thinking about organising an event that combines my three biggest passions: music, hi-fi, and, of course, guitars. Musicians are often overlooked when it comes to hi-fi, which got me wondering—how can we bridge the gap between musicians and audiophiles?

Reflecting on my childhood, I feel lucky to have experienced music in such quality, thanks to my dad’s studio days. Everyone deserves access to great hi-fi, and I wanted to show that you don’t need to spend over £10,000 to enjoy a high-quality system, especially for vinyl playback—my favourite way to listen. How could I best demonstrate this? That’s when it hit me—I should reach out to my favourite guitar shop, A Strings.

In the hi-fi world, everyone knows everyone, and I’ve known the guys at A Strings, Andrew and Adam, for years as both friends and a customer (keeping my guitar addiction alive). I asked if they’d like to co-host an event with us in their store, and they were thrilled to say yes. We set the date, and both the A Strings team and I couldn’t have been more excited!

How about a little history about A Strings?

A Strings was founded in Cardiff back in 2006 by Andrew Morgan, originally specialising in guitar strings and accessories. Stocking over 1,000 varieties of strings—ranging from the popular to the obscure—they quickly built a loyal customer base, with many of their original customers still returning to this day. Over time, they expanded to stock a range of leading guitar brands, including Fender, Gretsch, and Gibson.

Fast-forward to the present, and A Strings is now located at 66 Broadway, Treforest, Pontypridd, where they’ve been for the past 15 years. In fact, they celebrated their 15th anniversary at this location on the day of the event.

An interesting fact about A Strings: they have supplied strings and gear to legendary musicians such as Brian May of Queen, Eric Clapton, the Manic Street Preachers, Motörhead, Killing Joke, and Mark Knopfler, to name just a few.

Reaching out to the turntable kings – Rega, that is.

With a good idea of the system I wanted to bring to the event—mainly Rega equipment—I reached out to our fantastic Rega representative, Rob Noble, about promoting the event on their website as well as ours and A Strings’. I also enquired about the possibility of a turntable giveaway, and Rega went above and beyond by generously donating a Rega Planar 1 Eco deck for the event’s prize draw.

Rega’s God of amplification.

With everything in full swing—the advertising sorted and nearly everything ready to rock—I received an email from Rega’s amplification guru, Mr Terry Bateman, which was a real honour. Terry and I discussed how unique this event was compared to typical hi-fi events and how it bridges the gap between audiophiles and musicians. We also talked about amp design, especially the renowned Rega Brio, which Terry designed and voiced much like a guitar amplifier. It’s known for that rich analogue class AB warmth, reminiscent of solid-state guitar amps.

Terry shared his experiences before joining Rega, when he worked as an amp repairman for guitar amplification, focusing on brands like Fender, Marshall, and Vox. Like me, Terry has roots in the guitar industry and has even worked with notable musicians, including Robin Trower (if you haven’t heard Bridge of Sighs, give it a listen), The Hamsters, and many others. After our chat about amps, music, and classic rock, Terry said he would come along to the event. It’s a true privilege to have someone of his stature attending—as I said at the start, an amp legend!

What equipment did I bring to the event, I hear you ask?

Starting with the sources:

Rega Planar 2 turntable fitted with the all-new Rega ND3 moving magnet cartridge.
Advance Paris WTX StreamTube network streamer.

On the amplification front:

We have the Rega Brio & the Rega Elex MK4.

On the speaker front:

Dynaudio Emit 10’s in black.

Cabling: Black Rhodium Intro speaker cables and interconnects.

Hi-Fi rack and stands:

Solidsteel SS6 speaker stands.
Solidsteel S3 rack.

On the vinyl cleaning side of things:

The Degritter MK2.

And now the fun really begins.

With the system set up and ready to go in what I can only call ‘guitar heaven,’ we were all set to rock. I spoke with many people about their records, collections, and equipment, and we even did several A-B tests, playing records before and after they’d been cleaned. One rare gem was Andrew’s original pressing of Queen II, and we played March of the Black Queen. Hearing the difference post-cleaning was incredible—the improvement was, as they say, night and day.

We also put the Rega system through its paces; to say it sounded fantastic doesn’t quite do it justice. The system truly demonstrated that you can build a great hi-fi setup without breaking the bank. The event itself had an amazing atmosphere, with rock tracks from every genre filling the space. Chatting with new faces about hi-fi, music, and guitars (my three favourite subjects), spending the afternoon with Andrew and the fantastic team at A Strings, meeting their customers, and having Terry from Rega there made for an absolute joy—a perfect afternoon of rock & roll and hi-fi.

And we have a winner!

A week had passed since the fantastic event at A Strings, and it was time to announce the lucky winner of a Rega turntable! I headed back to A Strings to reveal the winner on Fear’s Friday update. Yes, I did this live, and it went well—it was an honour to be part of their regular Friday video. So, who’s the winner? Drum roll, please... congratulations to Kris Morris!

Kris came by our store to collect his brilliant new Rega Planar 1 Eco deck. While he was here, I took him through a few amplification and speaker options to help him get set up and ready to enjoy his new system.

Are there more events like this on the way, you ask?

The short answer is a big, resounding yes! The event had such a fantastic vibe that it’s definitely worth doing again. In fact, I’ve spoken with Andrew and the team, and they’re keen to host another event with us at Audio T in the near future—so watch this space!

Thank you

A huge thank you once again to Andrew, Adam, and the team at A Strings for co-hosting the event with us, and to Terry and his lovely wife for attending—it was a real honour to have them there. Most importantly, a big thank you to everyone who came to the event; it was a genuine pleasure to meet you all, and I hope to see you again soon!

Thank you all for taking the time to read my blog.

Matt - Audio T Cardiff

Rega can be found at the following Audio T stores

March 23, 2022

JOIN AUDIO T SWANSEA FOR RECORD STORE DAY 2022

March 23, 2022/ Swansea

RECORD STORE DAY 2022 is fast approaching, and hopefully we will be back to the pre-covid days of doing something special once again down at Derricks Music.

**THE INCREDIBLE WALL PAINTING AT DERRICKS - TAKE A LOOK NEXT TIME YOU ARE OUTSIDE**

As many of you know from previous Record Store Days we always try and make it a special event with a very nice system playing for you to listen to as well as having some goodies and a prize give away. Sadly, the last couple of years have put the dampers on the event and not allowed us to have our normal fun, chatting about music, playing some of your RSD purchases and talking all things vinyl.

So this year, we hope we will be back to actually seeing smiling faces beaming after spending silly amounts on gorgeous new pressings!

WILL THERE BE A COMPETITION THIS YEAR I HEAR YOU ASK?

We will of course be keeping the tradition going of giving you the chance to win a Rega Turntable in our free prize draw on the day.

This year to celebrate the 15th Year of Record Store Day - Rega have announced their RSD22 limited edition turntable. These will retail for £299.00 and be only be available to participating stores, so make sure you see us at Derricks on the day to get your entry in to be in with a chance of being a lucky winner. Images of the RSD22 turntable have just been released and it looks a cracker!

50 turntables will also have a secret voucher inside to win one of 50 artist signed books.

If you are like me you have already read the list of releases for RSD22 about ten times and amended your shopping list over and over again, it happens every year but we never learn! What starts off as just a few soon turns in to too many - but that’s half the fun of it I think. Over the years i’ve been chatting to people about the records they have bought while we are doing the competition entries or just general hi-fi chat and have ended up buying more records on their recommendations.

To have a look at the list for RSD 2022 - click here.

If you have read any of our previous blogs or posts from yesteryear at Derricks, you will know that some serious collectors will start queuing at midnight to be sure to get their first choices, so…. you have been warned - get there early if there is something you really really want.

To reward everyone for getting in line so early - Audio T will have some goodies to give away as well. We will let you know what they are closer to the day (but yes - there will be some of our famous record bags for those first in line).

Below you’ll see just a few of our lucky prize winners over the years…