Nothing stands as sweetly perfect in memory as first love. And for many who were young in the 1980s, the love of hi-fi was awoken by the English Cyrus amplifiers. Small, ungainly plastic “lunchboxes” that didn’t take up enough space to be impressive in a stereo rack. But which were all the more breathtaking in their sound. They were a little more expensive than the NAD 3020 amplifier, but also had a little more power and a little more refined sound. According to some.
The little brown NAD amplifier caused a sensation. No one had heard such great sound from a small amplifier that cost so little.
Time hasn’t stood still, and should you come across an original Cyruys One (25W version) or Cyrus Two (50W version), you should expect to have to replace some of the nearly 40-year-old components. And then it will still lack remote control and digital inputs.
The Cyrus, however, is thriving today. And now you can purchase the past in a completely up-to-date and modern version. In the form of a revised version of the integrated amplifier, aptly named Classic AMP. You can also get a pure preamplifier version. Yes, it’s actually called Classic PRE. Common to both is that they have input for (MM) pickup, four analog line inputs and four digital inputs (two optical two coaxial).
The integrated amplifier (top image) has an output power of 70 W into 8 ohms load – considerably more than the original models. The construction principle is not disclosed, but based on the power consumption and the fact that there are actually proper heat sinks in the cabinet, we’re betting it’s good old-fashioned Class AB. Of course, the preamplifier doesn’t have that. But it does have balanced XLR outputs.
We haven’t got Euro prices yet, but the UK prices are GBP 1,995 for the Classic AMP and GBP 2,595 for the Classic PRE.