REPRODUCED FROM HI-FICHOICE
These annoyances are thrown into sharp reliefin part because the rest ofthe Cyrus is very good indeed. W ithout any significant changes to the m etalworkand overalaestheticsthatthe com pany has used for m any years, it looks and feels efortles lym ore m odern than the previous6 and 8 Series m odels.The new display in particularis an orderofm agnitudeeasierto read thantheprevious version and the m ove to touch-panelbutonslooks sm arterthan the olderraised alternatives without them being any harderto use.The build quality is good too,with a solid overal feeland excelent finish.The rem ote controlisn’tthe pretiestgoing, but it ofers scope to controla com plete Cyrus system .The i9-XR is m ore expensive than the i7, but it stil m anages to feel good value. The prospect of there now being a BluO S-based stream eratsom e pointin the future also addsto its appeal. Sound quality The‘worth’ofthei9-XR iseasierto appreciatewhen you stop poring overthe spec and sitdown and listen to it.Initialy,Iem ployitin the sam e m annerI tested the i7,with aUSB feed from aRoon Nucleus and connected up to a pair ofFocalKanta No1 standm ounts (HFC 454).The Kanta is nota hard speakerto drive.Atno stage in the tim e Iused it with the les powerfuli7 did that am p struggle, even when levelswere setfairlyhigh.Even alowing for this, however, the i9-XR brings such an efortles nes and authorityto theperform ancethat itfeelslike aprofound step forward. Revisiting the gloriousswooping instrum entalpost rock ofGod IsAn Astronaut’sAl IsViolent,Al Is Brighton the i9-XR is ilum inating.W ithoutlosing any ofthe traditionalspeed and fluency forwhich Cyrus am plifiers are known,the i9-XR handles big transientm om entswithanauthoritythatfeelssom e wayinadvanceofits91W output.Thisisstilnotthe m ostvastand spacious sounding device you can buy at this sort ofprice,but within the space it delivers the perform ance there is no perceivable congestion. Instrum ents are presented with a convincing tonalrealism and the balance thatthe i9-XR walksbetween refinem entand excitem ent– even when used with the Focalspeaker,which can be provoked by some electronics – is very
im pres ive indeed.The true abilty ofthe i9-XR com es when you putthe Focalto one side and substitute in the NeatM ajistra (HFC 486)instead. The Neatisles expensive than the Kanta,butthe isobaricdesign m akesitatrickierspeakerto drive. Without significant changes to the overal look,itfeels m ore m odern than before The i9-XR grips itin a way thatI’ve neverrealy seen from a Cyrusintegrated before.The resultis quite sensational bas as the speed of the integrated com bineswith the cloutofthe speaker fora perform ance thatham m ers its way through W hiteLies’Am IRealyGoing To Diewithstunning enthusiasm. The digital board might be unchanged from the i7-XR, but it stil com plem entsthe am plifierstage beautifuly.Even when pushing hard with les than pristine recordings, the Cyrus is stil a detailed but im pres ively refined perform er.The phono stage is also a starturn.The extra powerofthe i9-XR realym akesitselffeltherebecausethelowergain ofvinylneeds a highervolum e level.The i9-XR alows for this with enough spare headroom to ensure that even the hefty live perform ance of PublicService Broadcasting’sGo!on theirLive At Brixton album isdelivered withoutcongestion or strain.Thisisa phono stage thatisfarm ore than justa convenience feature.Connected to a Rega Planar 10 (HFC 456)m ounting a Vertere Sabre m oving-m agnetcartridge,atno stage does the Cyrusfeellike a device thatisn’tup to the job of doing justice to this seriously capable vinylfront end.
MUSICATHOME+ 63
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