Cyrus amps - what do they sound like?

I don't think that they're colored. They are, however, very dynamic, and bursting with energy. Very enjoyable.

The add-on power supply was, in my opinion an extremely well thought out design, especially if you use the builtin (and very good) phono preamp. When the PSX was connected to my cyrus 2 the internal power supply powered only the phono preamp. With the newer gear I think it powers the microcontroller and remote stuff, leaving the PSX to power the audio stages.

I also remember that the Cyrus PSXs sold for a lot less than the (ridiculously priced) Naim power supplies. In fact we took my PSX apart and found that the selling price was roughly equal to the parts cost (admitedly Cyrus sources in quantity at lower cost ... but I still thought it was a good deal).

I remember comparing a Cyrus 2 with PSX (total cost about 800 GBP at the time) with an Audiolab 8000Q and 2 8000M monoblocks, through KEF 103.4 reference speakers. None of us could hear the difference, even though the audiolab gear (itself considered good value) cost nearly twice as much as the cyrus gear. The cyrus 2 with a PSX supply was a real piledriver of an amp ... in fact it had way more power than I could ever use. My only criticism was I never got the volume past 9 oclock, so channel balance could be off at low volumes on the volume pot.

If I were in the market for an integrated amp (I'm not .. I like my Densen B100) I'd certainly have the cyrus at the top of the list. If I had sensitive speakers and or a smallish room I wouldn't bother with the PSX. If I had difficult speakers (low impedance current suckers) or a big room, I'd budget for the PSX.

Hi. I was impressed by a friend's old Cyrus 1 drive ability so I went out and got myself a used Cyrus 3. The Cyrus 3 has very poor drive ability. It absolutely cannot handle anything but 8-ohms speaker. I tried a 4-ohms speaker and the protection circuit cuts in before 11 o'clock. In fact, there is a warning label on the amp to NOT use 4-ohms speaker. As for the plus side, the 3's is extremely refined and the 1 is simply not in contest. It's one of the most refined amp I ever come across.

i too am really interested in cyrus for the usa. just noticed that they are importing them through a distributor in dallas, tx. info is on the cyrus website in the uk!!

I had a Cyrus 1 (mkII) for a long time, and loved the power that came out that small, shoebox-sized (metal!!) case. It really had the speaker in a firm grip, delivering lots of detail, good soundstaging and firm bass. Eventually I bought new speakers (some kevlar-coned B&W's), and that was a bit to much. The natural replacement at that point was the Cyrus III, to which I listened but didn't like. With the III, Cyrus had a little dip, but according to the reviews, they're back. Great thing about the Cyrusses is the way you can upgrade them bij adding a PSX-power supply, or buying separate power amps.
As for Naim: the older gear has their own, to my ears oddball, sound. They're superfast, very rhytmic and very detailled, but also a bit forward and with no soundstaging. It seems that newer models have a more mor-sound, so maybe I'm judging to harsh, but I didn't like Naim. But if you got a chance: listen to it, it might be what you're looking for.

Thanks for the info. I will be looking forward to giving them a listen when there is a local distributor.