Cyrus products and support

[martinwguy]

Hi all!

I just inherited mt deceased father's Cyrus Stream X FM receiver but due to poor packing, it arrived from my family with two of the channel select buttons missing.

It turns out that all the fascia buttons except one are part of a single plastic moulding, not actual buttons, which fall out if knocked, and wil probably not stand the test of time. Anyway, I just wrote to Cyrus asking if they could send another such piece of plastic. Answer: no, send the unit to us, that'll be 250 pounds please!

So, two warnings to potential Cyrus customers:

1) The electronics may be OK, but the casing and front panel are cheap plastic mouldings that scratch easily and if it takes a knock, the buttons fall out like rotten teeth

2) When this happens, you have the choice of being fleeced by Cyrus to have them insert another piece of cheap plastic, or to struggle on with less and less buttons to press as time goes by... or throw it in the skip and buy from a serious company instead

Bad Cyrus!

Disgusted of Bromley

 

[Frank Harvey]

The front panels are all aluminium - the case is magnesium alloy, and the facia is aluminium - only the buttons and readout displays are plastic. This is something that would be quite tricky to replace, hence, which I presume would be the reason for them wanting the unit to go back to them to perform the change. It generally saves users getting into higher repair costs...

I've been dealing with Cyrus since the very early 90s now, and I personally have never seen a Cyrus unit with missing buttons - I know various parts have gone through simulation tests to replicate so many hundreds of thousand (or something silly) of presses, so if there was any issue with them not being up to the job, I suspect Cyrus would have realised this by now. That's not to say it couldn't happen under normal use though - anything is possible.

If you feel that badly, I'd say the best bet is to contact Cyrus either by email or phone and let your concerns be known to someone high up.

 

[Al ears]

This is not the first time this sort of problem has cropped up with Cyrus kit. Agree it reflects badly on them and is bound to cost them custom.

This is a bit like having to take an out-of-warranty car back to the main dealers to fix a minor problem that could be sorted by myself swiftly if only I had the part.

A rip-off indeed. Cyrus should just be content with at least receiving some income just by selling you the part.

One reason I have never included Cyrus kit in my system.

 

[Crossie]

Quite a first post rant! Cyrus kit is not perfect but buttons do not fall out like rotten teeth. Your kit was damaged by poor packaging not a Cyrus manufacture failure. Now, you may think that £250 is a lot to pay for repair and that is valid but you didn't buy the stream X (FM receiver?) in the first place. Perhaps a quiet chat to a local Cyrus dealer might produce a better result.

 

[MakkaPakka]

A bit quick to judge I think, Al. Perhaps his email wasn't clear or was just misinterpreted by the reader. Maybe a follow up email is due clarifying that there's no functional issues and he will fit the part himself. I'm not defending them (never had cause to contact them) but I don't think there's sufficient information here to criticise.

The £250 I believe would involve a full checking of the unit and a six month guarantee so it's not money for nothing.

 

[Deliriumbassist]

Yup, the £250 will be for a full service- replacing components inside (and often actually upgrading the components), extensive soak test (same as new units go through) and a 6 month guarantee on the work done. I do agree, it sounds like maybe there are crossed wires or a misunderstanding somewhere, based on what's been said,

 

[jjbomber]

Quite a first post rant!

The clue is in the first sentence; his father has just died. Cut him a bit of slack on this occasion.

 

[DandyCobalt]

There's a Cyrus repairer that's been recommended on this forum which is a lot cheaper for older kit than sending to Cyrus.

I think it was this one...

http://www.amprepairservices.co.uk/#/home/4558956841

 

[kmlav]

I have been a cyrus customer for years and have always found them to be excellent. A full service is just that and the unit will come back good as new.

 

[sweety7272]

To be fair to Cyrus, that must have been one heck of a bump to knock the buttons off the fascia! I've shipped and bought via the post plenty of their boxes of various vintages, and I'm pretty sure that the regular DHL couriers don't carry the boxes around like a precious cargo once it's been collected.

Never seen a problem like that before....

And I concur with the other posters, the casing is far from cheap plastic - it's a moulded alloy metal box with heat sinks built in, same design for yonks, and would hardly be something I would describe as scratching easily.

Now, the cost of their service is a different matter, but you've got a couple of options there. As well as the very good advice given in other posts about how you could potentially get that cost down, you will find that the re-sale values for Cyrus kit are pretty high, even for damaged goods. So if you have no intention of using it, you could sell on a forum or auction site in its current state making it clear the unit is damaged.

 

[sweety7272]

To be fair to Cyrus, that must have been one heck of a bump to knock the buttons off the fascia! I've shipped and bought via the post plenty of their boxes of various vintages, and I'm pretty sure that the regular DHL couriers don't carry the boxes around like a precious cargo once it's been collected.

Never seen a problem like that before....

And I concur with the other posters, the casing is far from cheap plastic - it's a moulded alloy metal box with heat sinks built in, same design for yonks, and would hardly be something I would describe as scratching easily.

Now, the cost of their service is a different matter, but you've got a couple of options there. As well as the very good advice given in other posts about how you could potentially get that cost down, you will find that the re-sale values for Cyrus kit are pretty high, even for damaged goods. So if you have no intention of using it, you could sell on a forum or auction site in its current state making it clear the unit is damaged.

 

[sweety7272]

To be fair to Cyrus, that must have been one heck of a bump to knock the buttons off the fascia! I've shipped and bought via the post plenty of their boxes of various vintages, and I'm pretty sure that the regular DHL couriers don't carry the boxes around like a precious cargo once it's been collected.

Never seen a problem like that before....

And I concur with the other posters, the casing is far from cheap plastic - it's a moulded alloy metal box with heat sinks built in, same design for yonks, and would hardly be something I would describe as scratching easily.

Now, the cost of their service is a different matter, but you've got a couple of options there. As well as the very good advice given in other posts about how you could potentially get that cost down, you will find that the re-sale values for Cyrus kit are pretty high, even for damaged goods. So if you have no intention of using it, you could sell on a forum or auction site in its current state making it clear the unit is damaged.

 

[DandyCobalt]

I've had a new DAC XP+ arrive direct from Cyrus with the front buttons wedged in. The unit didn't work and had to go straight back.

Cyrus were very attentive and responsive, a replacement unit fresh off the production line arrived a week later.