Intro
Contents
If there is one British hi-fi brand that we see as quirky and outspoken, it is Cyrus. The distinctive-looking, half-din enclosures, separate power supplies and production in England are quite daring things nowadays. But they ensure that even after 40 years, the brand remains true to its roots: making beautiful, musical products. We take a look at the Cyrus 40-series AMP and PSU.
The name of the Cyrus 40 AMP and 40 PSU didn’t come out of the blue, of course. It’s an ode to the British audio company’s 40th anniversary. That’s still relatively young, and it shows that Cyrus did start a bit after the big influx (60s and 70s)
Cyrus 40 AMP
The new Cyrus 40 AMP has the well-known Cyrus form factor: a sort of half-din size. The completely new design looks good, we must say: a sharp, clear display in the center provides all the necessary information. The display can be dimmed, of course. You can also turn it off completely. Then the entire front “shuts down”. A presence sensor makes everything light up when you come near with your hand.
To the left of the display are four touch buttons. With these you can select the input, adjust balance and mute the amplifier. To the right of the display is the volume knob. The Cyrus logo is the power button (touch-sensitive).
The Cyrus 40 AMP offers both digital and analog inputs. We see four regular, single ended line inputs, Phono MM and MC, an analog pre-out (single ended) and then USB, HDMI eARC, optical spdif and twice coaxial spdif.
As befits Cyrus, we have speaker terminals that allow banana plugs. No spades. Finally, we see a PSU connection for the 40 PSU and still usb and ethernet for service/updates.
Cyrus 40 PSU
The Cyrus 40 PSU obviously does not have very many buttons or functions. All it allows is for you to connect it to the 40 AMP. This is done with a special, included cable that looks a lot like an old VGA or printer cable. It’s not, of course, but you connect it in a similar way.
If everything is connected properly, the Cyrus 40 AMP automatically switches to the external power supply. The display will indicate that as well.
