Cyrus 40 AMP

The_Lecht_Rocks

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Mar 24, 2023
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I started rebuilding my hifi system when I returned to the uk in 2020….
I had a Cyrus 1 back in 1986 and I really wanted to buy back into the British brands…
I demoed Cyrus (I9 XR series), Naim, Arcam, etc…..
I just couldn’t get my head around the Cyrus and Naim pricing….
All I could guess was that it was double the price of the Cambridge, NAD, etc as a result of it being British…..
Then Cyrus release the 40 series, and once again, I can’t see the “value”…..
The pricing seems astronomical for the performance ( is the 40 series any “better” than the I9 ?

Then there’s the issue of the separate PSU….. £2495 a pop and they reckon it adds more to the part if paired with each device ?

£4000 amp, £3000 streamer (seriously???), 2x PSU £5000. Total cost £12,000……….

I’d love to know the thoughts of others, especially those that have bought the suite of components!
 
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Kosmikat

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Jan 4, 2025
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My Dad bought me a Cyrus One along with a Linn Axis and some Mission bookshelf speakers back in '85. The Axis is still running fine but the Cyrus has long-since stopped working. If he were still with us I'm sure the price of modern Cyrus would have finished him off.
 

Hifiman

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Apr 17, 2020
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My Dad bought me a Cyrus One along with a Linn Axis and some Mission bookshelf speakers back in '85. The Axis is still running fine but the Cyrus has long-since stopped working. If he were still with us I'm sure the price of modern Cyrus would have finished him off.
I bought exactly the same system and, thankfully, all 3 components are still working and sounding great. I think your Dad made some good choices.

Regarding the relentless march upmarket by U.K. manufacturers, my own theories regarding the companies’ rationale include:
1. Since the separates market is shrinking, it is hoped that this can be mitigated by wringing a larger margin from each sale, especially since audiophiles are likely to be an ageing population with more disposable income.
2. Perhaps the UK is no longer the main target market for UK manufacturers and that US, Middle and Far Eastern customers are thought to be more willing to pay a premium for British designs. It helps that the weak GBP may not make the prices seem quite as eye watering to them.
3. I have heard from dealers that after the 2008 financial crisis at least some UK manufacturers felt that they would need to contain costs and introduce cheaper lines but that, in retrospect, they felt that was a mistake and so are currently trying this ‘premium’ approach. .

If my speculation is correct then I have concerns. There is the obvious question regarding how budding young audiophiles will ever be introduced to British hifi like the older generation (the ones I do see are ordering rapidly evolving and incredibly affordable components directly from the Far East). Beyond that, I have a feeling that, like @The-Lecht-Rocks, many existing audiophiles will question the new prices and - even if they can afford them - will be of the opinion ’can pay, won’t pay’. Also, how large is the market when we get to the rarified heights of these new Cyrus products, especially when, probably through groupthink, every manufacturer is chasing it? Lastly, we know overseas markets can be fickle: just ask premium European car brands how well they are now faring in China.

I just hope that for the long-term success of all these wonderful companies that my unease is misplaced and that they have made the right strategic call.
 
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LongPlay

Active member
Oct 26, 2024
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Hello,
I'm not sure that this model with such a high price will find as many owners as the legendary 3. I was also the owner of the 3, the price was €750 (in Germany 750 DEM). If I add up all the extras, unfortunately, I would rather opt for the Hegel 390/400, or one of the Luxmans, and also which MF is cheaper, and there would still be good models for a lower price. Unfortunately, they have exceeded all the limits of normal prices this time.
BR,
Joe
 

Mrmason62

Well-known member
Jun 8, 2020
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I've been iktu cyrus for almost 30 years. I currently bi-amp and have a Psxr2 on either side. The power supply cost a grand each. No small amount. My amps and supply's cost around £6k.
Now cyrus have more than doubled the price of the power supply.
I've never been keen on cyrus DACS. Chord are superior with their custom FPGA chips.
I wouid recommend anyone interested in high quality UK hifi to look at second hand cyrus products . The company has excellent upgrade paths.
I'll wager there's little discernable sound difference between older cyrus and this new kit.
I'd also recommend lumin network bridges/streamers over cyrus streamers.
Cyrus are high quality but I'm not impressed with their new kit.
If you're really after the best sound from streaming then you've got to have roon. It is superb.
I firmly believe that you reach a point with hifi where you simply can't hear any difference in sound quality. No matter how much you spend.
I wouid say this new cyrus kit qualifies for the point of diminishing returns status.
So you'll get some really bargains with second hand cyrus. And save a lot of money into the bargain. Cyrus is also future proofed. Unless they abandon their long held traditions of customer care.
 
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The_Lecht_Rocks

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Mar 24, 2023
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Peter Tyson have a fire-sale on the XR series. There's some seriously good deals to be had. a shame I am not needing at the moment although I could chuck my EVO150 for an I9-XR, XR PSU and STREAM XR but there's no eARC HDMI, only optical........
 

The_Lecht_Rocks

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Mar 24, 2023
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I'd also recommend lumin network bridges/streamers over cyrus streamers.
Cyrus are high quality but I'm not impressed with their new kit.
If you're really after the best sound from streaming then you've got to have roon. It is superb.
how does ROON improve sound quality ?
 

The_Lecht_Rocks

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Mar 24, 2023
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You'll have to listen and see
I moved from aurelic lightingds to roon. I also changed from aurelic to lumin bridges.
Roon is superb and vastly superior to lightningds
The software is very stable
interesting, it's available as a free trial I think; may give it a whirl.
 

Mrmason62

Well-known member
Jun 8, 2020
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Peter Tyson have a fire-sale on the XR series. There's some seriously good deals to be had. a shame I am not needing at the moment although I could chuck my EVO150 for an I9-XR, XR PSU and STREAM XR but there's no eARC HDMI, only optical........
I do like tysons. That's the only hifi shop left now up here. They do some excellent deals and customer service is very good. I've bought quite a few items from them
 

Mrmason62

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Jun 8, 2020
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interesting, it's available as a free trial I think; may give it a whirl.
you do need a powerful PC to get the best out of roon. I am listening at present and power usage is very high
The best setting arent immediately obvious. To get the best out of roon you need to look on the internet for tutorials.
Thats the only side of roon thats not well thought out.
I started with the free trial and i am now on my second yearly subscription.
 

The_Lecht_Rocks

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Mar 24, 2023
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you do need a powerful PC to get the best out of roon. I am listening at present and power usage is very high
The best setting arent immediately obvious. To get the best out of roon you need to look on the internet for tutorials.
Thats the only side of roon thats not well thought out.
I started with the free trial and i am now on my second yearly subscription.
yeah; i saw that on ASR forum; way too much faffing about for marginal gains and ROON not exactly good VFM either.
 

Mrmason62

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Jun 8, 2020
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yeah; i saw that on ASR forum; way too much faffing about for marginal gains and ROON not exactly good VFM either.
Seems fine to me. Sounds brilliant
Aurelic are regarded as being just about the best around and roon is in a different class.
If you are going to subscribe then it's worth the faffing around.
If you can't be bothered then listen to mp3 on your iPhone and pretend it's hifi.
Personally roon is the best I've heard. But I've not got an iPhone.
Roon is around £2 a week.
Is that too much to pay for excellence?
Not sure what £2 buys these days
I was sceptical about roon until I tried it.
There's a lesson there for sceptics.
After all, if you're going to spend many thousands on a quality hifi then I'm sure spending a couple of quid a week doesn't matter.
I also believe that roon is best for vinyl and cd rips and not substandard services like qubert and tidal. GINGO and all that
You also need a good DAC, bridge . Etc etc
You do need a powerful pc to get the most out of roon. I've seen people using a NUC with roon. Their specs aren't exactly powerful. Not powerful enough to really make room worthwhile. I am just looking at some NUC specs of room users and they aren't up to much.
 
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The_Lecht_Rocks

Well-known member
Mar 24, 2023
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Seems fine to me. Sounds brilliant
Aurelic are regarded as being just about the best around and roon is in a different class.
If you are going to subscribe then it's worth the faffing around.
If you can't be bothered then listen to mp3 on your iPhone and pretend it's hifi.
Personally roon is the best I've heard. But I've not got an iPhone.
Roon is around £2 a week.
Is that too much to pay for excellence?
Not sure what £2 buys these days
I was sceptical about roon until I tried it.
There's a lesson there for sceptics.
After all, if you're going to spend many thousands on a quality hifi then I'm sure spending a couple of quid a week doesn't matter.
I also believe that roon is best for vinyl and cd rips and not substandard services like qubert and tidal. GINGO and all that
You also need a good DAC, bridge . Etc etc
You do need a powerful pc to get the most out of roon. I've seen people using a NUC with roon. Their specs aren't exactly powerful. Not powerful enough to really make room worthwhile. I am just looking at some NUC specs of room users and they aren't up to much.
I stream Qobuz, max resolution 24/192 via my on-board DACS. \wouldn't ROON only offer a library service and alternate UI ?
 

Mrmason62

Well-known member
Jun 8, 2020
25
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4,545
I stream Qobuz, max resolution 24/192 via my on-board DACS. \wouldn't ROON only offer a library service and alternate UI ?
I don't know what the options are for streaming services. I don't use them
Roon has a myriad of options for improving sound quality and resolution. I use them. I play at dsd256 and use other settings. They really do improve the sound
I don't know if they are available for streaming services
You do need a powerful pc to take advantage of the upscaling etc settings as they do require a lot of power.
I recommend sample rate conversion and parametric EQ.
The latter isn't easy to use at all. There's tutorials avaliable
But once you've got the hang of it then it's fine
 
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The_Lecht_Rocks

Well-known member
Mar 24, 2023
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570
ah, so you don't use TIDAL nor Qobuz nor Amazon Music HD, but you are a proponent of ROON and suggest my listening is akin to an iPhone playing MP3.......riiiiiiigggghhhhttt.........:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 

jerrywesterby

Active member
Jan 14, 2025
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Back in 2013 Peter Bartlett, Cyrus former owner/md, said in interview that not only were all Cyrus products manufactured in the Uk but the majority of components ( bar the cast bodies from Sweden (?) ), were sourced from British suppliers. He made a point that nowt was manufactured in China and he would not rely on Chinese sourced parts, and had no plans to do so. Now, today’s Cyrus board still maintain that their products are proudly British and emblazon them with an iconic flag. The thing is, this ain’t true. The major radical design change of the 40 series is of course the new display fitted to the larger chassis. This was in fact outsourced to Midas Display, a fine British innovative company which manufactures the parts under a shared design/research team located in…….China from where they are imported and assembled in Cyrus’ factory. Midas are quite transparent about this but Cyrus is less so, it seems. Just saying.
 

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