Cyrus 1 and 2 amps - still a great second hand buy?

[admin_exported]

My Cyrus 1 amp recently died (the result of a freak accident) after 14 years great service. I'm thinking getting another second hand Cyrus 1 (or the 2 which is supposed to be even better) but can these classic amps still compete with the modern ones?

A Cyrus 2 just went for £180 on Ebay so they still seem to be in demand. But would it sound as good as a new amp like a Cambridge Audio 540A V2 or 640A V2. My CD player is a Cambridge Audio Azur 640 C and i have Mission 780 speakers.

 

[John Duncan]

They were good in their time, but age has an effect even on amps, and you would probably find that they sound a bit lacklustre compared to the comparable budget amps now.

Note also that I think that 180 quid for that Cyrus 2 on eBay was an anomaly - most are under a hundred quid. You could probably pick up a '1' for about 50 quid, but I'd be more inclined to get a '3', which at least would match current Cyrus gear and allow you to upgrade with power supplies and power amps. Last couple have gone for around the hundred mark, which to me is very good value.

 

[Anonymous]

I reckon they remain pretty solid to be honest. Mine Cyrus One is still in fine use at my brothers driving a pair of 1000pound Celestions from a CD63KI and it sounds pretty fantastic. Problem might be brightness with less capable ancilliaries, but it's hard to judge that without trying it out. For 50 quid, it's hard to go wrong.

Concur completely that 180quid for a two is way OTT, if you choose that route you should be looking for 2 with a contemporary PSX for about 150 I think.

Only consider Mk2s which have the die-cast case rather than the Mk1s which have folded sheet metal cases.

Other things to consider are the Audiolab 8000a which will cost about 150quid and the Pioneer 400a that many people rave about (although I consider a Cyrus2 or Audilab superior, that may just be personal taste).

 

[Anonymous]

I think it's worth buying older gear like that. Look at the older Quads going on eBay like the 405/45 amps, etc. Fantastic. Personally I would budget to get them serviced by the manufacturer though as old amps will be begging for new capacitors, etc.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies. I read somewhere that the Cyrus 2 sounds better than the Cyrus 3?

 

[John Duncan]

Maybe so (haven't looked for references yet), but has much better upgrade potential as it's compatible (physically and aesthetically) with all manner of current Cyrus power amps and supplies.

 

[John Duncan]

http://www.audioreview.com/mfr/cyrus/amplifiers/PRD_115745_1583crx.aspx

for reference. One guy doesn't like it, others very positive.

A Hifi Choice review also positive (at £500)

 

[John Duncan]

And (even better) you can replace it with an 8vs without anybody noticing the difference

 

[Anonymous]

I have a Cyrus 2 for sale if your interested, also have a Cyrus 1 as well.
The 2 is in excellent condition except for a slightly sensitive volume knob, but if you take igglebert's advice and get it serviced by Cyrus Audio, I have their address, they will do the service and repair at a very reasonable price. Top amp, I only upgraded because I wanted two sets of speaker outputs and still use it for BBQ's etc from the shed.

If your interested, do a search on google for cyrus 2 and it should come up in the listings ranked about 9th.

 

[tonky]

Did someone say lacklustre!!.

I own both the Cyrus 2 and a Pioneer A400. I marginally prefer the A400 as I prefer it with some JBL L20T speakers i own. My daughter is fortunate enough to use the Cyrus 2 in her bedroom and appreciates the high quality detailed sound. If you can purchase second hand - go ahead!!

 

[Anonymous]

The caps in any original Cyrus One are going to be more than a little tired. Cyrus will service for you, or as I did, try Quadfidelity near Oxford. When my Mission 778 died recently I went looking for Cyrus 1's on ebay and went the quadfidelity route. I now have a re-capped Cyrus One that sounds stunning.
Apparently the later series 3 versions were supposed to sound better (which is the one I have).

Cheers

Paul

 

[Dutus]

Just read this thread. I've owned a Cyrus 2 and PSX for a good many years after picking them up in a local branch of the Music and Video Exchange for about 110 pounds for the pair. The amp was serviced by Cyrus a few years ago (for a very reasonably cost) and more recently locally. The rest of my system comprises a Musical Fidelity A3 CD player, Nakamichi Dragon and 680 cassette decks, Pioneer DV-LX50 DVD/SACD, and Pioneer BDP-320 Blu-Ray. I recently added a Rega Planar 3 with RB-300 arm and Linn K5 cartridge. The speakers are Castle Inversion 10s. Spotify is taken care of via Tascam US-144 MkII usb audio interface. Connecting leads are either QED Qunos or Ixos. The lack of inputs on the Cyrus compared with the number of souces I use is taken care of by a B-Tech 3-way input control box for the extra sources (this degrades the sound, but by an extremely marginal amount).

My tastes are very eclectic and I find that the Cyrus copes admirably with whatever you feed it. I owned an Audiolab 8000S and then an 8000A for a while (got them for the plethora of inputs including 3 tape loops). However, I found both of them lacking in vitality (in my system) compared with the Cyrus so they ended up back on e-bay!

I have been considering changing the Cyrus for a more recent version, like a 6 or 7 (a new one is beyond budget), mainly because of the greater number of inputs and the headphone socket (my 2 doesn't have one). But would this be a worthwhile upgrade from the Cyrus 2?