just wondering if anyone has/or had a cyrus one amp and had any views?

i’m re-building my set up slowly and looking for older used kit to slowly build upon and experiment with, sort of a yardstick so i can hear the improvements as i upgrade but i also like rummaging about for kit thats a bit interesting and the cyrus seem well regarded. call me narrow-minded but i’m more interested in UK made amps.

i’ve recently picked up a planar 3 and at present am running celestion ditton 44 speakers via a rotel ra412 amp that i bought last week out of curiosity for 25quid and its a decent improvement on my old yamaha amp.

looking on ebay the cyrus seem to go from 20quid for one that needs work to 50quid up to 125quid for a working one. but at that top end i’ve also seem early rega brio amps but right now i don’t want to spend much more.

There’s a reason they are cheap… Good kit holds its value like Naim, if you want an undervalued UK made amp then Rega’s own amps are a good bet

And Creek…

Quad power amps are pretty good, especially from the 707 onwards.

Audiolab over-rated in my book.

I loved my old cyrus one (used with planar 3 and some B&W speakers). It’s not at the same level as Naim but they were and are cheaper so it’s not a like-for-like comparison. “An oldie but a goodie” was my local shop’s verdict when I was replacing it with something a lot more expensive.

Isn’t it Mission’s amp brand?

I always found Mission too bright, pretty wearing after a while.
Arcam I liked but found a bit too smooth.

+1 for older Creek amps – the pick of the bunch for me.
They boogie.
Great phono stage too.
I ended up with a NAD, which was very pleasant to listen too, but a bit of a let down after the Creek.

Always found Audiolab boring and uninvolving.

Shame about the UK only thing – there are lots of very, good Japanese amps out there for peanuts, many of which I reckon are far better than some of the UK stuff.
They rarely got reviewed in the at the time, but seem to be undergoing a bit of a renaissance.
Try a Marantz, they’re bloody marvellous.
🙂

Denon make small amps, and, eer Sansui?

My first ‘proper’ hifi was a Planar 2/Cyrus One/Ditton 100, back in the early 80’s.
I did think about buying another Cyrus a couple of years ago, for nostalgia’s sake, but opinion seems to be that after all this time there’s been pretty significant component and sound degradation i.e. musically, it’s not going to be what it was, let alone what you think you remember it being.

Having said that, this bloke can probably tell you all you need to know if you want to go ahead.

I now have cloth ears however, and am perfectly happy with Sonos.

I always found Mission too bright, pretty wearing after a while.
Arcam I liked but found a bit too smooth.

Missions speakers with Arcam amps was a brilliant balance IMO. Well in the 90’s it was, suspect things have moved on.

Yep Cyrus is/was Mission
Ive had the Cyrus 3 through a separate power supply which sounded very good.
Also had an Arcam and again a very good Amp.

Thing is and which will sound different to everyone else is that it also comes down to
what type of music you are into has well.

I also tried Linn but to me it sounded like someone had thrown a blanket over the speakers

Ive had the Cyrus 3 through a separate power supply which sounded very good.

I am using this system now, combined with the Cyrus CD player and Systym 931 speakers. The system used to be my Dad’s and was the result of around a month of trawling around hi-fi shops in the south east auditioning different set-ups.

I think it’s great, although the CD is nowhere near as good as my old Naim deck that I sold to help fund a bike purchase.

Ive had the Cyrus 3 through a separate power supply which sounded very good.

I’m currently running one of these set ups and like the sound quality. Not going to ‘blow the bloody doors off’ in terms of volume but decent quality sound. Playing Cyrus 7Q CD player through it as well as a Logitech Duet with separate DAC.

I always found Mission too bright, pretty wearing after a while.
Arcam I liked but found a bit too smooth.

Funny, I always though Mission speakers were over-bright, which didn’t work in their favour if an early Technics CD player was the source, as they tended towards over-bright as well.
Very hard on the ears after a while. Better paired with a decent t/table, or a warmer CD player like the early Denons, or the Marantz, which were excellent at the time.

I’ve got a Mission Cyrus One, which I bought new in 1987 and it’s still going strong. I’ve always been happy with the sound and certainly never found it too bright. The speakers are an even older pair of Celestion Ditton 15s, which the amp is way too powerful for, so perhaps its had an easy life.

I’ve got a cyrus one / psx running a pair of Tannoy Eyris with a Linn Karik Cd and have no complaints at all .
I’ve had the Amp/psx for about 28 yrs now. Love it .
All depends what you like to listen to as well

CZ, I was refering to the amps, not the speakers.
I LOVE older Mission speakers – some are bright, some quite dark, but they’re always fun.
–
Also got a 1987 Technics SL-P 520 CD player – one of the MASH models.
I bought it because it was a lot less harsh than the multibit players available at the time.
Every few years I drag it to a shop and demo it against the latest mid range CD players – haven’t found one I prefer yet.
Smooth, but with bags of detail.
Probably used every other day since I bought it – still works fine.

Ive got a cyrus one with marantz cd52mk2se powerin some b&w 601s
Its been replaced several times but always seems to find its way back after a service.

I have a marantz cd52 and cyrus 781 speakers/stands up in the loft somewhere. Would love to find a use for them. CD player unlikely, but the speakers should still be good.

There’s a reason they are cheap… Good kit holds its value like Naim, if you want an undervalued UK made amp then Rega’s own amps are a good bet

It’s cheap because it’s old. Cyrus amps are high quality, well respected kit.

If you’re set on a Cyrus one (I have an original Two) then try and get the magnesium (I think) cased one. The original plastic cased ones (like mine) work fine but the build quality of the metal cased ones is much higher.

On the old ones the capacitors in the pre-amp can dry out and need replacing. Dead easy if you can de-solder and re-solder. I replaced all the ones on my ‘Two for about £15 and got rid of some dreadful mains hum. Probbaly worth doing as a tactical repair on an old one.

Quad 303 pre-amp with a pair of 404 monoblock power amps is a classic combo.. Pretty much unbeatable ime
And it would show up over priced, soulless, ****, lifestyle choice Naim kit all day long

You won’t pick quad kit up as cheap as the Cyrus though..

As mostly above – early Mission stuff very good, and daft to compare it to Quad/Naim etc

It might have agedbut I don’t know if it will have been improved upon much at the same price poin.

Quad 303 pre-amp with a pair of 404 monoblock power amps is a classic combo.. Pretty much unbeatable ime
And it would show up over priced, soulless, ****, lifestyle choice Naim kit all day long

Opinion does not equal fact. I’ve owned Quad, Linn, Meridian, Arcam, Exposure, Roksan and Cyrus amps over the years. My favourite is Cyrus.

You’re right ransos.. But informed opinion can sometimes be more illuminating..

I was best mates with Tony Bolton of hi-fi news for more than two decades.. I’ve never named my ‘friend in the industry’ before as he was a very private person and wouldn’t have approved, but he sadly passed away recently..

I learned a great deal from him and we auditioned many hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of kit over the years as a result of his job..
I’ve listened to some amazing equipment, and spent countless happy hours listening to music through tony’s personal set up..

He was an amazing fella, with an amazing ear and a fantastic music collection..

RIP old fella.. I’ll raise another glass or two for you this evening 🙂

You’re right ransos.. But informed opinion can sometimes be more illuminating..

More illuminating that rather pointless insults about equipment that in reality is only subtly different to that which you prefer.

Jog on you wally 😆 how can you insult an inanimate object!?
I don’t like Naim equipment.. And it’s great fun to wind up Naim fanboys who are often extremely sensitive and a bit fruity about it..
Don’t take it personally 😆

Jog on you wally how can you insult an inanimate object!?

Your bike is total crap and you wear the clothes of a peasant.

Anyway, you were insulting the choice people make by buying it. Perhaps try reading what you wrote, and applying some basic comprehension skills. Nobber.

I don’t like Naim equipment.. Don’t take it personally

I couldn’t care less whether you like it or not. I do find your choice of language instructive, though.

Oh dear… Do you need a cuddle? 😆

Yunki…

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSINO6MKtco[/video]

Oh dear… Do you need a cuddle?

Psst. Your cables are fitted the wrong way round.

thanks guys, some interesting comments.

sadly i cannot solder but its something i am interested in learning with a view to being able to do easier repairs just like that.

actually the interesting thing about this thread is its pretty much mirrored what i have read about the cyrus ones and why they interest me, despite many better/newer amps, despite all their flaws and faults, a lot of people really like them and their sound in an almost cult’ish way. thats got to make one worth a listen i think.

Quad 303 pre-amp with a pair of 404 monoblock power amps is a classic combo.. Pretty much unbeatable ime

Agree about Quad power amps but not their pre-amps – competent but not special. Croft Micro would be a much better choice. Music First if you have the budget.

An oldie but a goodie.

thanks for all the advice on this. in the end, after quite a bit of looking, i found myself the last (tog) variant of the cyrus one that had been repaired and serviced by a dealer. it was described as used but the condition is amazing and the price delivered to my door just 115quid so very happy with that. how does it sound… i hav’nt a clue as i cant get my teenage daughter and wife out the living room to set it up so impatiently waiting until the weekend to play.