Cyrus i9-XR Amplifier + CDt-XR CD Transport Bundle
Cyrus i9-XR Amplifier
Cyrus has nearly four decades of experience crafting award-winning products, designed and assembled entirely in-house at Cyrus in the UK. From the start, Cyrus’s mission has been to infuse the latest in technology with superb engineering to create ‘emotional’ musical experiences.
A fundamental step change in design approach for XR series has been possible due to an accumulated understanding of DAC technologies and power supply designs, combined with Cyrus’s recently updated manufacturing processes and the availability of higher-grade components. XR series, whilst faithful to the Cyrus core acoustic philosophy, provides remarkable sound quality benefits and substantially increased dynamic range, allowing every layer and nuance of the music to shine through. Indeed, the clarity and detail of the XR series will keep the listener wanting to go back and listen to tracks heard a thousand times before.
One of the driving principles behind the design of the XR series has been noise reduction. Tremendous efforts were made to protect and isolate the signal path from potential sources of noise. Another
significant area of focus was power supply design. Using only the best components, XR delivers outstandingly high quality and reliable power to every bit of the circuitry to ensure optimal performance. Last but certainly not least is the crucial DAC that reconstructs analogue signals with incredible accuracy and precision.
The newly designed i9-XR amplifier is built with relay input switches and Schottky diodes. The efficiency improvements generated grant a far greater burst power capacity, enhancing the amplifier's ability to accurately track the music signal and leading to much lower levels of distortion. A key new feature Cyrus has introduced for the XR series amps is user-selectable DAC filters. These filters can be changed easily on the front of the product, or via the remote from the comfort of your listening position.
The i9-XR integrated amplifier is equipped with four analogue and five digital inputs (two optical, two Coax, one USB), a new software update port, and pre and fixed level outputs, as well as dual speaker outputs on the back panel. The DAC input stage of the i9-XR features a new 2nd generation version of the award-winning QXR DAC, but with an all-new high-speed analogue buffer stage. Seven digital filter alignment options are user adjustable to suit the taste of the listener. Input options include USB audio (to 384k sample rate) and DSD to DSD512, 2 x SPDIF digital and 2 x optical digital inputs.
To cater for the continued growing market for vinyl, it also features a built-in moving magnet phono stage that inherits many design features of the award-winning Phono Signature. This phono stage in the i9-XR performs at a level way above its class.
The i9-XR also includes a port for the new PSU-XR power supply. Thirty years ago Cyrus broke new ground with the introduction of the PSX-R, the first-ever regulated power supply upgrade that automatically adapted to match perfectly the power requirements of any connected product. The PSU-XR raises the bar by sourcing no less than five independent regulated supplies in a single box. For the i9-XR a pair of these are assigned to provide ultra-smooth power for the preamplifier, and a second pair to provide a huge dynamic boost for the power amplifier.
Naturally, the XR series also features a new aesthetic. All products in the new XR series are wrapped in a new "Phantom Black" paint finish, introduced especially for the XR series. If you’re worried that they won’t coordinate with your existing Cyrus products, don’t fret. The colour is sympathetic to both the existing core and signature range.
The XR series user interface is also new, incorporating capacitive touch buttons with satisfying audible feedback. The new UI also features a high resolution LCD screen and reassuringly weighty solid metal rotary encoder.
Cyrus CDt-XR
Cyrus has nearly four decades of experience crafting award-winning products, designed and assembled entirely in-house at Cyrus in the UK. From the start, Cyrus’s mission has been to infuse the latest in technology with superb engineering to create ‘emotional’ musical experiences.
A fundamental step change in design approach for XR series has been possible due to an accumulated understanding of DAC technologies and power supply designs, combined with Cyrus’s recently updated manufacturing processes and the availability of higher-grade components. XR series, whilst faithful to the Cyrus core acoustic philosophy, provides remarkable sound quality benefits and substantially increased dynamic range, allowing every layer and nuance of the music to shine through. Indeed, the clarity and detail of the XR series will keep the listener wanting to go back and listen to tracks heard a thousand times before.
One of the driving principles behind the design of the XR series has been noise reduction. Tremendous efforts were made to protect and isolate the signal path from potential sources of noise. Another significant area of focus was power supply design. Using only the best components, XR delivers outstandingly high quality and reliable power to every bit of the circuitry to ensure optimal performance.
The CDt-XR is designed as a reference CD transport, building on the legacy of the CDt and the CD XT Signature models, but incorporating many novel technologies developed in-house at Cyrus over recent years. Housed within the iconic half-width chassis, The CDt-XR sits above the existing CDi and CDt models, offering a substantive performance upgrade. Listeners will notice a dramatic lowering of the noise floor, bringing enhanced clarity and nuanced detail, brought about through significant design improvements in many areas, yet the characteristic ‘Cyrus-sound’ has been retained.
Several years ago, Cyrus invested heavily in developing their own in-house CD ‘Servo’ mechanism, called ‘Servo Evolution’. The design principle is to read as much information as possible from the disc itself first time, rather than having to rely on ‘re-reads’ or ‘error-correction’.
Whilst it is true that the data on a CD is stored in ‘1s and 0s’, the way it is read, picking up different frequencies of reflected light, has analogue elements to it. Therefore, precision engineering can improve performance. Off-the-shelf mechanisms produce significant ‘system noise’ when the stepper motors of the mechanism are required to be used during the error correction processes when the data was not picked up on the first pass. The ‘Servo-Evolution’ system reduces these re-reads and corrections by around 20%, producing not only a cleaner data stream but significantly less noise.
The CDt-XR, like all products in the XR series, has had a complete overhaul of the power supplies to each circuit section. The power supplies are much stiffer and have enabled the Cyrus engineers to the get the remarkable SE engine to run even more quietly.
Upgraded components along with intelligently designed circuits using ‘counter-current’ methodologies to reduce noise pickup are in evidence throughout the design. The fundamental principle is that power starts at the ‘quietest’ part of the circuit, before flowing towards the ‘noiser’ sections. Less noise is therefore ‘carried’ or induced into the power paths, limiting the transmission of noise inside the product. Whilst this sounds logical, the application in practice is incredibly complex, and needs to be considered at a system-wide level. Even the geometric alignment of individual components has been optimized to facilitate the cleanest possible flow of power and musical signal.
A key improvement in the CDt-XR is the re-clocking of the digital signal just before it exits the case. Although noise and timing accuracy are both carefully managed throughout the circuit, this final re-clocking ensures the absolute purity of the outbound digital signal through both the optical and coaxial connections.
It’s worth noting that whilst an integrated CD player offers exceptional value and, although the CDi-XR is as close to ideal as technology reasonably allows, the presence of a DAC circuit in the same case, means the sound can never be as ‘absolutely’ clean as that from a dedicated transport. That, coupled with the fact that the integrated and pre-amplifiers in the XR series, all have pristine on-board Gen 2 QXR DACs, means the CDt-XR is, when used with a complete Cyrus system, the ultimate choice.
Naturally, the XR series also features a new aesthetic. All products in the new XR series are wrapped in a new "Phantom Black" paint finish, introduced especially for the XR series. If you’re worried that they won’t coordinate with your existing Cyrus products, don’t fret. The colour is sympathetic to both the existing core and signature range.
The XR series user interface is also new, incorporating capacitive touch buttons with satisfying audible feedback. The new UI also features a high resolution LCD screen.
Cyrus i9-XR
4 x Analogue inputs
1 x Phono MM input
2 x Optical inputs
2 x Coaxial digital inputs
1 x Asynchronous USB input
1 x Analogue preamplifier out
1 x Headphone output
PSU-XR upgrade port
2 x 91W into 6 Ohms / twin speaker outputs
Headphone amplifier, 2 x 138mW into 16 O (<0.1% THD)
SPDIF supported formats 16/44.1k – 24/192k
USB supported formats 16/44.1k – 32/384k
DSD supported formats up to DSD512
DOP supported formats up to DOP128
Custom input naming
iR14 Remote control included
Dimensions (H x W x D) – 73 x 215 x 360 mm
Weight 6.5kg
CDt-XR
Digital CD transport
Servo Evolution technology
Optical and coaxial outputs
PSU-XR upgrade port
User upgradable firmware
iR14 Remote control included
Dimensions (H x W x D) – 73 x 215 x 360 mm
Weight – 3.7kg