How to buy second-hand and vintage hi-fi amplifiers

Hifiman

Well-known member
Apr 17, 2020
54
19
1,545
I still use one of the first Mission Cyrus Ones from 1984 and, even by today’s standards, it performs wonderfully well and, of course, has a phono stage built in. Not bad for something that cost £129 new. I doubt I will ever bring myself to sell it second hand but if you get a chance to buy a good example then you are unlikely to be disappointed.
 

djh1697

Well-known member
Nov 27, 2008
149
27
18,620
"I still use one of the first Mission Cyrus Ones from 1984 and, even by today’s standards, it performs wonderfully well and, of course, has a phono stage built in."

I too had an original Cyrus One from 1984, with a very low serial number, I think it was 79, the CD input was harsh. The phono stage was absolutely wonderful though. Indeed, I used the tape output to feed a Naim 5i, so I could listen to my LP's in the meantime . My turntable is a Pink Triangle 1, Rega RB300, Elys2 cartridge. I had some upgrades to the arm, a Mitchell Technoweight, and an AO rewire. This was put together by the LP12 expert Peter of #Cymbiosis fame.

The plastic case of the original Cyrus was an issue, but I could live with that.

When I got the "upgrade bug" I tried the Rega phono stage, still, the Cyrus phono stage was superior.

Further upgrades saw the Naim 5i, still using the Cyrus 1 as a phono stage, changing into a 112x/150/Flatcap/Stageline offered an upgrade. The stageline now sells for £469, although it was far less when I got it circa 15 years ago. The Cyrus 1 sadly moved home at that stage.

My Pink Triangle, now almost 40 years old, still has pride of place. my other source is digital March DAC1 as Roon endpoint.

My amplification is a Naim 200/202/Stageline the preamp is powered by a TeddyPardo Teddycap. Speakers are Kudos x3's, with Kudos KS1 cable. My power supply and Naim 200 use Titan STYX mains cables. I am very happy with my system, and realise that it would cost me a lot of money to upgrade, something I am sadly lacking at the moment.

The Cyrus 1 was my best sounding amplifier for many years, I tried a Pioneer A400 for a while, which was sadly lacking compared to the Cyrus 1. The £129 price point was increased soon after launch as I recall
 

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