INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER/POWER SUPPLY CYRUS 8 vs2 + PSX-R WOJCIECH PACUŁA Translation: Krzysztof Kalinkowski

Lately we write quite regularly about Cyrus (CD-Xt+DAC XP; Phono X). This is OK, as this company is an icon of the British hi-fi. Not many companies, like Arcam , and in this group also Cyrus, came from the traditional, semi garage way of thinking about their business, to modern type of manufacturing, something, that in all price categories has to bring certain benefits. Of course we are talking about wide adoption of SMD, integrated circuit switches and regulators, microprocessor control, and similar. All this we have in the majority of China made rubbish. So where does Cyrus stand out? By having perfected some solutions, reserved only for genuine audiophile devices besides the modern technique. First of all, we have a beautiful, rigid enclosure, being fully cast, together with the heat sinks. There is also splendid power supply, with separated sections, that – from the “8” series up – may be upgraded by an external power supply, PSX-R, that takes over the power supply of the input and steering section. In addition a short signal path (one of the assets of SMD) and very good elements in critical sections. So this is Cyrus – skillful combination of tradition and modernity.

SOUND

I listen to Cyrus devices from a few of its generations and I must say, that people that make decisions there, have the right touch (and hearing). Their sound betters generation to generation while keeping the original character. And the latter is based on warm midrange, good dynamics, strong bass and sparkling treble. Vividness is the keyword here. The vs2 series has all this, but the paradigm has been changed slightly. Earlier, taking the Cyrus, I would pair it with lively speakers, having strong treble and without rumbling bass. In some way I would be modeling the sound of the system. This is a classic method of assembling components to a system, confirmed and used widely like vitamins. The best devices, loudspeakers, cables, do not need such pairing, compensating for their mutual shortcomings. As I mention this works, but only to a certain extent. The best devices have inherently a very good tonal balance, and the combining of it is not to compensate, but to integrate, to find coherence coming from their added assets. And I think, that Cyrus reached now the level, when adding to it loudspeakers with vivid treble will have no influence on its tonal balance, meaning that the vivid treble will sound just like that. The same is with the attached cables. The cable Atmos Air from the company In-Akustik that was plugged in at first, having a laid back treble and edgy midrange was displayed as such. And maybe the best choice will be the cables from Hotline and Audionova , that are quite expressive and dynamic, but not exaggerating in any way. Besides that, those can be ordered with BFA plugs.

The second thing to consider is the PSX-R. This is not an additional element, but a necessary one. One can think about it as an upgrade, but to be considered rather quickly. In itself, the Cyrus amplifier is just splendid. I listened to it not long after the brilliant model Azur 840A Cambridge Audio (tested in Audio) and I must say, that in terms of sound class, Cyrus was not far from it. But it is a completely different school of sound. 8 vs2 has incredibly dense, internally coherent sound, making thick, pastel drawing. CA sounds with better bass, meaning better defined, more thorough, but without such a rich timbre palette as the Cyrus. The latter shows the plasticity of every instrument separately. On the splendid disc Ros On Brodway (Decca (SKL 4004)/First Impression Music, LIM XR24 017, XRCD24), where a large band, or rather a small swing orchestra, was registered, Cyrus splendidly showed the character of every group of instruments, drew a full sound stage. It was not set very deep, and even brought a little closer, but within the boundaries of the sound window it had its logic and sense. There were also no trace of thinning of the air, what happened to the CA from time to time.

Previous generations of this company's amplifiers unified the sound of the discs in some way. On one hand, this was very pleasant, because no recording was striking with technical imperfection, but also did not allow reference recordings sound in a reference way, but just very good. The new model, in some way retains that ability, because the not very well recorded disc The Very Best of Freddie Mercury Solo did not hurt the ears. Partially this is due the dense midrange and the somewhat sparkling treble, but also due to the pretty good resolution – together this gave an insight in the quality of the recordings (as those come from different years and differ among each other), but did not put all the shortcomings in your face. Here the ability of the amplifier to beautifully reproduce the atmosphere accompanying the recordings. Slower pieces were celebrated, had their atmosphere, etc. This is the reason that the beautiful disc from Dead Can Dance - Spiritchaser (4AD/Sonic Records, SON 122, CD), and especially the brilliant piece “Song of The Dispossessed”, sounded hypnotizing. Also the very good bass draws attention – maybe not as low as with the CA, but beautifully filled and only slightly longer reverberating – let us listen to the piece “Song of The Stars” and we will know what it is about.

The amplifier has its limits. First of all, it can sometimes sound as if the treble would play somewhere to the side of the midrange. This happens probably due to the fact, that the upper range is strong, not recessed, just like the midrange, but the upper part of the midrange is quieted down in terms of dynamics, creating an “in between”. With lower quality recordings one can have the impression of roughness, which comes from the recordings, but the amplifier seems not handling it fully. Absolute change is brought when connecting the power supply. You should ask for a demonstration, even if we are opting for another device, as this can be quite revealing. The sound seems quieter, and we have to turn the volume up. But everything is now tightened together; the sound becomes noble, and gains depth, as if the amplifier would gain self confidence. The differences could be heard clearly on the disc Load - Metalica (Vertigo/PolyGram, 532 618-2, CD). Without the power supply the sound was vivid, dynamic, and rough – as the disc itself – and could really be liked. Besides the slightly slower bass and softened dynamics no power limitations could be heard. After connecting the power supply it seemed at first, that the sound is worse, as some of the predatory character was lost. But after a while one had to rethink that – it sounded now as played from vinyl, and earlier as played from CD. And with metal this is a huge compliment, as in general it sounds only from vinyl. Nothing was filtered out from the sound, or better said, now the midrange was reproduced without roughness and sharpness. And to confirm that, it is enough to play something slower from that disc, like “Until it Sleeps” and we will know what is going on.

Good devices have such characteristic, that I can write long about them. Cyrus is one of those. It has its limits, but it will be a nice alternative to the extremely well done, but having a different set of characteristics, Cambridge Audio 840A. And do not forget about the PSU – this is a mandatory equipment of the Cyrus. And if this is not enough for a recommendation, then let us add that the handling is ingenious, very sensible and easy, and the headphone amplifier works like a dream! Only the Edgar SH-1 with a good NOS tube and expensive power supply cable will be able to sound better.

DESCRIPTION

As usual with the Cyrus, both the amplifier 8 vs2 as well as the power supply PSX-R were put in the same, cast, rigid aluminum-magnesium enclosures. The shell encompasses five walls of the enclosure; the bottom is covered by a plastic cover – to minimize the influence of metal on the electronics. And the latter is mounted “on the back”, similar to tube amplifiers. The front is narrow, and the knobs and display are located on an aluminum element. On the back many connector are to be found: seven line inputs (this is superb – it is really handy at home!), preamplifier output, recording output and a headphone output. Speaker terminal are doubled (bi-wiring), but because Cyrus follows applicable laws and due to lack of space (I wonder what the most important reason was) BFA sockets are employed. Superb plugs supplied for example with Audionova cables fit there, and the Cyrus sounded very well with those cables. There is also an IEC socket (without the grounding pin) and a mechanical on/off switch.

As usual with the Cyrus, both the amplifier 8 vs2 as well as the power supply PSX-R were put in the same, cast, rigid aluminum-magnesium enclosures. The shell encompasses five walls of the enclosure; the bottom is covered by a plastic cover – to minimize the influence of metal on the electronics. And the latter is mounted “on the back”, similar to tube amplifiers. The front is narrow, and the knobs and display are located on an aluminum element. On the back many connector are to be found: seven line inputs (this is superb – it is really handy at home!), preamplifier output, recording output and a headphone output. Speaker terminal are doubled (bi-wiring), but because Cyrus follows applicable laws and due to lack of space (I wonder what the most important reason was) BFA sockets are employed. Superb plugs supplied for example with Audionova cables fit there, and the Cyrus sounded very well with those cables. There is also an IEC socket (without the grounding pin) and a mechanical on/off switch.

The basis for all audiophile products is the power supply. The one in the 8 vs2 is especially enhanced, in the front we have a very big toroidal transformer covered with resin, filling almost all the space of the enclosure. Two power supplies are accompanying it – one for the current section, and one stabilized for the voltage-steering section. It is worth to notice, that care was taken for the details, as the diodes in the output bridge are uncoupled with small polypropylene capacitors, what reduces significantly the noise generated by the switching diodes. Active elements are only transistors, with a single pair of bipolar Sanken (2SA1386+2SC3519) per channel. The input is selected by the integrated circuit switch Sanyo LC78211, and the volume control is based on a IC resistor ladder from Wolfson (also a British manufacturer) XWM8816 (identical chip can be found in the amplifier Audio Aero Prima Amp). Next to those a tiny op-amp is placed, the TPA152. This small chip is a splendid headphone amplifier. Let us add, that only the speaker terminals are gold plated. The remote is systemic, plastic and not really comfortable.

To go up in terms of sound quality we can upgrade the amplifier adding an external power supply PSX-R, that takes over the supply of the current section. The distributor underlines, that it is not about increasing the power, but about the change of the quality of power supplied – we switch then to a rarely used (it can be found in the Nagra), because it is quite expensive, system of stabilized voltage for the output transistors. This is the reason, that after the PSU is plugged-in not many changes on standard measurements. The PSU was placed in the same enclosure as the amplifier; however there is only a LED in the front panel, and in the back an IEC socket, power switch and a short cable with a 5 pin XLR plug, to plug in the amplifier. The devices are automatically reconfigured after the plug is in place.