It seems the brio is highly praised online, and somewhat less among the community, sometimes stated as a little overrated. The Cyrus one seems highly regarded among the community and somewhat less online compared to the new brio. Are they comparable? I'm not interested in headphone outputs or Bluetooth, strictly stereo production. The biggest difference to me is one being class ab and the other class d. What do you guys think is the 'better' amp and why?
Rega brio or Cyrus one
- Thread starter Nelis87
- Start date
insider9
Well-known member
Do you want to know:
- Which we (individually) prefer?
- Which we think you would prefer?...will depend on how you like your music presented.
- Which we think will work best with your speakers (when we know what they are)?
Can you demo with your speakers....and preferably in your room?
- Which we (individually) prefer?
- Which we think you would prefer?...will depend on how you like your music presented.
- Which we think will work best with your speakers (when we know what they are)?
Can you demo with your speakers....and preferably in your room?
chebby
Well-known member
Both a similar size, both made in England, both available from my local dealer with same warranty, both have integrated MM phono.
Neither would win a beauty contest but I prefer the Rega’s looks.
On paper, I would save £101 and opt for the Brio. I have 11 year’s experience enjoying Rega electronics and a lot longer using their turntables (from late 1983 until 2010) and have a sort of affinity with the way they operate. (I even have their book!)
Neither would win a beauty contest but I prefer the Rega’s looks.
On paper, I would save £101 and opt for the Brio. I have 11 year’s experience enjoying Rega electronics and a lot longer using their turntables (from late 1983 until 2010) and have a sort of affinity with the way they operate. (I even have their book!)
BigH
Well-known member
Not heard the Cyrus, but not keen on the looks. I was underwhealmed by the Rega Brio. About the same price you can get a Creek 50A, if you don't want the phono stage. When I had some demos of amps around £600-£1,000 I thought the Creek was the best. It's about £720, so I think it's worth a try.
When you've narrowed it down to two, how can anyone alive tell you which one of the two you're going to prefer? All this auditioning hifi by proxy - ie based on someone else's recommendation on an internet forum whom you've never met - is beyond my comprehension, and is a recipe for disappointment. You need to go listen to them. That's the only way.
davidf
Well-known member
The accompanying speakers will be interesting to know...
The Cyrus should sound gutsier - it’s a very capable amplifier (not that the Rega isn’t), and one of the few amps under £1,000 that I’ve found that drives the LS50s really well. Some may find the Cyrus a tad forward or aggressive sounding with similar sounding speakers, but if you have speakers that need a wake up call, the Cyrus One will definitely provide that. Didn’t disgrace itself with PMC Twenty.23s either.
The Cyrus should sound gutsier - it’s a very capable amplifier (not that the Rega isn’t), and one of the few amps under £1,000 that I’ve found that drives the LS50s really well. Some may find the Cyrus a tad forward or aggressive sounding with similar sounding speakers, but if you have speakers that need a wake up call, the Cyrus One will definitely provide that. Didn’t disgrace itself with PMC Twenty.23s either.
BigH
Well-known member
Yes I agree with the Major, don't limited yourself to 2, go and hear several different ones within your budget. It depends on what speakers you have also.
Seems he has: Sonus Faber Principia 3
Seems he has: Sonus Faber Principia 3
Al ears
Well-known member
MajorFubar said:
Where did I say I have narrowed it down to two? I havent. Where did I say I am going to buy any of them without listening myself? Im not gonna. Not everybody who asks a question here is going to buy blind. I just want to start an open discussion about two kinda similar and popular amps. I can demo both, with al sorts of speakers, and I will. But I also like to read about and discuss HiFi, so yeah I like to know what people think here, what matchups work for them, what they prefer. I enjoy it.. Sorry for that.
I just want to set up an open discussion between the two, not speaker related, not room size related, not listening levels not related or type of music related.
E: dont want to sound rude, just stop making assumptions.
chebby
Well-known member
BigH
Well-known member
chebby
Well-known member
insider9
Well-known member
BigH
Well-known member
chebby
Well-known member
BigH
Well-known member
chebby said:
OK I meant in about the same price as the Cyrus, sorry it should have been clearer.
QuestForThe13thNote said:
Haven't heard either so can't comment on that.
Worth pointing out that the Cyrus's topology allows for very little dynamic headroom. Although the Brio is less powerful it will make, to some extend, up for that.
I find both interesting and would assume they will sound somewhat different. My personal incling would be the Rega for looks but the Cyrus because ... its a Cyrus.
I am of course not biased at all.
Ok so I changed my mind. That didn’t take long...
The Rega Brio is a common but good class a or ab type amp it looks like with what looks like a fairly standard spec compared to the cyrus. Contrary to what was said in this thread, the cyrus is much more powerful. At 6 ohm type loads the rega outputs around 60 Watts per channel whereas the cyrus outputs 100 Watts, so it’s nearly double the power. Presumably the less heat the amp produces equates to even more efficiency so there is no doubt the cyrus is more powerful.
the cyrus uses class d amplification which is much more efficient and the case won’t get hot, but class d can to some tastes produce an undesirable sharp sound quality, compared to traditionally considered smoother class a amplification. It will very much depend on the speakers and the combination of course (smooth speakers with class d may work to some tastes eg cyrus stereo 200 and pmc 20-23) .
Whereas the rega states it has a few power supplies in its description, the cyrus has 11 separate power supplies to “maximise separation to different circuits”.
In addition to the moving magnet phono stage and headphone amp which both amps have, the cyrus has Bluetooth. Whilst not required by the op, it could be used in the future. Also the cyrus has dual binding posts for potential bi wire or bi amp applications if your speakers suit, depending on your views of bi wiring and amping. In addition the cyrus has pre outs for connecting up a future power amplifier if you want to upgrade in the future. Cyrus’ r and d manager David Marato hinted at a recent roadshow I went to of a new component to partner the one being in the pipeline, and it’s conceivable that they may make further components like streamers etc, in the ‘one’ affordable range. I suspect the one case is going to be the new cyrus case accross the board. the rega doesn’t have pre outs so it’s upgradeability is limited. There is also a firmware upgrade socket in the one for new features being added. Both have headphone sockets with an ab headphone amp I think, and both are at a similar price. The cyrus has a linear power supply.
I know that the cyrus one uses speaker impedance matching as apparently it’s difficult for class d amplifiers to produce the same frequency response to speakers of different impedance. So when you switch the one on it detects the speakers impedance and varies the signal accordingly.
Now onto sound, I heard the Brio on some spendors at a show and it was working very well, but the cyrus one was working with very big speakers and really coping well too. Clearly the demo was to show off how good class d can work with driving bigger and more demanding speakers. Now I must admit I haven’t heard the amps side by side with the same speakers, but on paper at least the cyrus appears much more capabale in sound quality and specification with it’s more efficient powerful amp. I know that they used the specification of the £1750 stereo 200 class d amp to develop the one, and the stereo 200 is a very nice amp. So not that I’m being brand loyal to cyrus just because I own their stuff, but I would expect the cyrus to beat the rega. More power gives more room for clarity, and the dynamic shifts of the music too making it more real. Also imaging and soundstage - a bigger sound.
which got me thinking, why have what hi rated the cyrus one with less dynamics than the Brio in their review, when on paper the cyrus is much more powerful and the cyrus class d is very much more dynamic than cyrus basic ab amps like the x power. That’s a comment I’d be checking out in comparative tests of the Brio and cyrus one if I had these on my list. Whilst what hi speaker reviews are more often than not bang on the money, their amp reviews are sometimes not but I geuss it’s much harder to get it right for amps, bearing in mind speakers mostly ‘do the most of the sound’ and the issues with compatibility.
But at the end of the day all that said, much comes down to taste and essentially the speakers being used. But I’d urge anyone comparing these two, to have a listen to things like clarity and dynamics, and soundstage etc, and buy on the qualities of the sound and not first impressions. To me bearing in mind the specs and performance, with the right speakers that suited both amps, I’m sure the cyrus would win in a comparative test against the Brio
The Rega Brio is a common but good class a or ab type amp it looks like with what looks like a fairly standard spec compared to the cyrus. Contrary to what was said in this thread, the cyrus is much more powerful. At 6 ohm type loads the rega outputs around 60 Watts per channel whereas the cyrus outputs 100 Watts, so it’s nearly double the power. Presumably the less heat the amp produces equates to even more efficiency so there is no doubt the cyrus is more powerful.
the cyrus uses class d amplification which is much more efficient and the case won’t get hot, but class d can to some tastes produce an undesirable sharp sound quality, compared to traditionally considered smoother class a amplification. It will very much depend on the speakers and the combination of course (smooth speakers with class d may work to some tastes eg cyrus stereo 200 and pmc 20-23) .
Whereas the rega states it has a few power supplies in its description, the cyrus has 11 separate power supplies to “maximise separation to different circuits”.
In addition to the moving magnet phono stage and headphone amp which both amps have, the cyrus has Bluetooth. Whilst not required by the op, it could be used in the future. Also the cyrus has dual binding posts for potential bi wire or bi amp applications if your speakers suit, depending on your views of bi wiring and amping. In addition the cyrus has pre outs for connecting up a future power amplifier if you want to upgrade in the future. Cyrus’ r and d manager David Marato hinted at a recent roadshow I went to of a new component to partner the one being in the pipeline, and it’s conceivable that they may make further components like streamers etc, in the ‘one’ affordable range. I suspect the one case is going to be the new cyrus case accross the board. the rega doesn’t have pre outs so it’s upgradeability is limited. There is also a firmware upgrade socket in the one for new features being added. Both have headphone sockets with an ab headphone amp I think, and both are at a similar price. The cyrus has a linear power supply.
I know that the cyrus one uses speaker impedance matching as apparently it’s difficult for class d amplifiers to produce the same frequency response to speakers of different impedance. So when you switch the one on it detects the speakers impedance and varies the signal accordingly.
Now onto sound, I heard the Brio on some spendors at a show and it was working very well, but the cyrus one was working with very big speakers and really coping well too. Clearly the demo was to show off how good class d can work with driving bigger and more demanding speakers. Now I must admit I haven’t heard the amps side by side with the same speakers, but on paper at least the cyrus appears much more capabale in sound quality and specification with it’s more efficient powerful amp. I know that they used the specification of the £1750 stereo 200 class d amp to develop the one, and the stereo 200 is a very nice amp. So not that I’m being brand loyal to cyrus just because I own their stuff, but I would expect the cyrus to beat the rega. More power gives more room for clarity, and the dynamic shifts of the music too making it more real. Also imaging and soundstage - a bigger sound.
which got me thinking, why have what hi rated the cyrus one with less dynamics than the Brio in their review, when on paper the cyrus is much more powerful and the cyrus class d is very much more dynamic than cyrus basic ab amps like the x power. That’s a comment I’d be checking out in comparative tests of the Brio and cyrus one if I had these on my list. Whilst what hi speaker reviews are more often than not bang on the money, their amp reviews are sometimes not but I geuss it’s much harder to get it right for amps, bearing in mind speakers mostly ‘do the most of the sound’ and the issues with compatibility.
But at the end of the day all that said, much comes down to taste and essentially the speakers being used. But I’d urge anyone comparing these two, to have a listen to things like clarity and dynamics, and soundstage etc, and buy on the qualities of the sound and not first impressions. To me bearing in mind the specs and performance, with the right speakers that suited both amps, I’m sure the cyrus would win in a comparative test against the Brio
No that’s not actually the case though drummerman. The class d amps in cyrus circles are more than up there with class ab amps cyrus produce. In fact the stereo 200 class d is a lot better than the cyrus x power, but the ab mono x300 tops them both on power.
If you are saying cyrus is not dynamic compared to say rega, then have a listen to the stereo 200 as a power amp. Or check mine out.
But having a more efficient class d amp allows more powerful amps in the box, less problems with heat and wasted energy and therfore better dynamic capability. You can put more powerful amps in a smaller half width box without fans. It’s just developing the topology to a sound signature which is pleasing is tricky. But I think cyrus have cracked it with class d. The reason my x200 signature ab amp left the range, albeit monoblocks, is because the stereo 200 is at least as good, maybe better in some circles. But you can use the stereo 200 as monoblocks too. But as I say that’s why speaker matching and taste matching is all important.
If you are saying cyrus is not dynamic compared to say rega, then have a listen to the stereo 200 as a power amp. Or check mine out.
But having a more efficient class d amp allows more powerful amps in the box, less problems with heat and wasted energy and therfore better dynamic capability. You can put more powerful amps in a smaller half width box without fans. It’s just developing the topology to a sound signature which is pleasing is tricky. But I think cyrus have cracked it with class d. The reason my x200 signature ab amp left the range, albeit monoblocks, is because the stereo 200 is at least as good, maybe better in some circles. But you can use the stereo 200 as monoblocks too. But as I say that’s why speaker matching and taste matching is all important.
insider9 said:
Probably Dali or Sonus Faber. Source cd and streaming, most likely a yamaha wxad-10. Medium sized living room, around 25x15 feet.
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