Anyone using a Cyrus One? Back to the future!

[mightyquin]

A bit of an impulse buy, but I picked up a very clean and boxed example of the Cyrus One (it's the earlier version I think with the plastic top case).

I'd heard about the Cyrus before of course and recently have become a bit critical of my Cambridge Audio A500 amp - it sounds great with acoustic/jazz/slower vocals but when I play something with a bit of power it kind of 'wraps' it up in cotton wool and sounds a bit muffled.

I haven't 'auditioned' the Cyrus yet - hope to do that tonight - but am I expecting too much from an old basic design, or will it give me the extra ooomph I'm missing from the A500? Obvioulsy I will add my own thoughts once I've listened to it but I'm sure there must be a number of owners/ex owners on here.

Another question - I know the other standard classic amps, which all seem to hail from the same period (Nad 3020, Pioneer A400 etc), but what are some more recent classics that offer similar characteristics?

 

[MajorFubar]

I can't answer the second part of your question but I can certainly answer the first. The Cyrus One is is a very energetic amp and certainly won't wrap anything up in cotton wool. If you have any complaint at all it will probably be that you're having problems reining it in: if your speakers or source have a tendency to be bright or a little bass-shy, the Cyrus One will empasize that trait more than hide it.

But fundamentally it's a very open amp, especially in the mid-range, I used one in my home studio for ages before I got active speakers, because you really feel you can hear everything going on.

 

[RegB]

I acquired one just yesterday. Apparently it's faulty, but the donater isn't very technically minded, so there's a chance it might just be a simple fix.

 

[MajorFubar]

I acquired one just yesterday. Apparently it's faulty, but the donater isn't very technically minded, so there's a chance it might just be a simple fix.

 

It would be useful to have more info, but if basically it just won't switch on, before anything else try the in-line fuse built into the mains socket on the back. The fuse pulls out in a little holder. The fuse can blow if the power-switch isn't off when you plug the amp into the mains. Speaking of the power switch, note that if it's a later model with the toggle switch (instead of the earlier push button), up is on and down is off, just to confuse you.

 

[mightyquin]

Thanks for your comments MajorFubar.

I hooked it up last night after listening to a few favourite tracks through my existing Cambridge Audio amp and then listening to the same tracks on the Cyrus.

What a difference in sound! The CA has a lovely warm sound but I have been feeling that something was lacking. The Cyrus is much more energetic and a little 'shouty' - it's a bit like the difference between listening to your audio from another room and being in the room, kind of.

The downside is that with vynil it picks up a lot more noise which the CA suppresses. And a couple of niggles - the sound wavered a bit, coming out of one speaker until I jiggled the input selector - the amp was unused for some years apparently so I'm guessing it's just a little dirt on the contacts. The other issue is a little hum coming from the speakers if the phono input is selected and the volume is turned up. It's very feint at 'normal' volume levels and I don't hear it when I'm playing a record but I'd like to eliminate it if possible.

The guy I bought it from had it from new and said he'd not used it in years but to let him know if there were any problems, but I'm guessing such issues are to be expected on an older piece of equipment.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

up is on and down is off, just to confuse you.

I've been living in America, where the light switches work that way, for nearly sixteen years and it still confuses me. The logic, apparently, is that things tend to get knocked downwards by accident more often, and so "up for on" requires a deliberate action and is therefore safer.

Mind you, Americans still haven't got round to doors that open both ways at the shops, let alone automatic sliding doors, so....

 

[RegB]

I acquired one just yesterday. Apparently it's faulty, but the donater isn't very technically minded, so there's a chance it might just be a simple fix.

It would be useful to have more info, but if basically it just won't switch on, before anything else try the in-line fuse built into the mains socket on the back. The fuse pulls out in a little holder. The fuse can blow if the power-switch isn't off when you plug the amp into the mains. Speaking of the power switch, note that if it's a later model with the toggle switch (instead of the earlier push button), up is on and down is off, just to confuse you.

As I suspected, there's nothing wrong with it. On first connecting the right channel was missing but a light rub of the inputs and all is well. I suspect the owner was looking for an excuse to get something modern with a remote control.

Energetic is a good description of the sound, certainly in comparison to my A19. I shall compare & evaluate over a few weeks but I like it on first hearing. Not so keen on the volume control, the notched increments are quite significant increases, again in comparison to the A19, which has a useable range for me of between 22 and 44, the same range on the Cyrus is delivered in about 6 clicks.

Oh, and powering on is actually done with a rocker switch, which seems quite appropriate.

 

[mightyquin]

You got lucky it seems!

I have a project Debut turntable which sounded great on my Cambridge Audio amp but I must say I'm wondering if the Cyrus is a good match for it - some records sound a bit 'raspy' and you certainly hear any cracks and pops much more clearly.

My plan is to keep listening to the Cyrus for a while then switch back to the CA and see how I feel then, although I'm really thinking you need more than one amp to match whatever music it is you want to play! Does anyone do that?

I read somewhere else that all good amps should sound identical, which I can understand in that it shouldn't affect how the source presents the sound. What I don't know is, does the CA or Cyrus come closer to the 'real' sound. I suspect it's the Cyrus.

 

[MajorFubar]

Glad you both seem to be liking it so far. With regards to tonal balance, it's very true that the Cyrus 1 and 2 can be very forthright and do not handle brash sources or speakers very well. But get the synergy right and they give you a wonderfully lucid midrange.

RegB: I understand what you mean about the volume control. If you're finding there's too much of a 'jump' in levels between the notches it's a fairly easy task to remove the ball bearing behind the pot:

Mightyquin: It's normal for the phono input to have a tiny amount of hiss when you crank up the volume control with nothing playing, but it should be well below the noise floor of the record. If it isn't, you may have a fault. However these old amps aren't keen on electrically-noisy devices such as Powerline adaptors and remote controlled mains sockets, and the noise-floor and hum/interference (particularly on the phono input) will increase if you have such devices on the same mains spur or nearby.

You both might find with modern digital sources the volume gets louder sooner on the knob than you'd like. Remember when these amps were launched in the mid 80s the main source was a turntable, and line-level devices like tuners and tape decks delivered usually less than 1400mV. Modern CD players and digital devices can deliver double that, so you might feel you're not getting much control over the volume at lower levels. You can change that with attenuators, but I've got better things to throw £40 at so I've learned to live with it.

 

[Edbo2]

I own a Cyrus One from new since the late 80s and use it everyday. When I first bought the Cyrus I used it with a Technics CD player and JPW AP2 loudspeakers. I have since moved to KEF IQ10 speakers with a Sonos Connect as the front end taking music in Apple Lossless tracks stored on a WD MyBookLive NAS. The sound is very tidy, dynamic but as the amp is rated at 25W per channel it is not a head banging amp. Mid-range is detailed with crashing cymbals and relatively deep bass but not in large quantities. The problem with the intermittent input selector is a common problem. I took the top of the amp and sprayed Maplin Switch cleaner into the switch assembly. Turned the input selector dial a few turns to clean the contact and it is now perfect. The noise when the Phono is selected also heard on mine when the volume control is about 9 o'clock position but I have no turntable connected though. If you like the polite, detailed but toppy presentation the Cyrus One offers stay with it - I have.

 

[mightyquin]

Glad to find that the phono hum isn't a fault as such - it's hardly audible if the volume is set to 2-4 which is about as loud as I can really go most times.

I've somehow gotten into 'retro' hifi now, having added a Creek T40 tuner I picked up at the weekend to the mix! Listened to that last night and what a great sound.

Vynil was great on my system until now but the Cyrus is making it somewhat 'tinny' but not all records so perhaps it's partly the amp and partly the individual recordings. I will try hooking up my Project phono stage to the Cyrus and see how that sounds (although I know that the phono stage was meant to be particularly good on the Cyrus).

It's all good fun though.

 

[MajorFubar]

Quite. No harm in experimenting.

 

[Edbo2]

I owned a BSR Quanta 800 turntable fitted with Ortofon VM20E cartridge. I found the sound was reasonable but not to CD standard. Should have bought a Rega Planar 3 or Linn Sondeck LP12. When the motor packed up I ditched the turntable and bought a CD player. I also used, and still have, a Denon TU260L FM tuner but I found that to be bass shy compared to CD. Although it was very clear with voices and good with live broadcasts as the New Year Strauss Concert from Vienna and the BBC 2 radio programme Friday Night is Music Night and Radio 4 plays, pop music sounded flat and not particularly involving. Tuner is now in the loft ready for rediscovery.

 

[Joe Cox]

New Cyrus One incoming

 

[plastic penguin]

IMHO early Cyrus equipment is speaker dependant. Get it wrong and it sounds shrill - get it right and they sound a joy.

 

[MajorFubar]

New Cyrus One incoming

Interesting. But i hope it's more than just a token gesture to capitalize on the 'legend' and fill the sub £1000 void.