Cyrus i9-XR + Cyrus CDi-XR Integrated Amplifier + CD Player

The Cyrus i9-XR is the flagship integrated amplifier in the new XR range. Combined with the Cyrus CDi XR reference CD player this is the ultimate CD system for your home Building on the legacy of the CDi and incorporating many novel technologies developed in-house at Cyrus over recent years. Housed within our iconic half-width chassis, The CDi XR combined with the i9 XR sits at the top of Cyrus integrated models, offering a substantive performance upgrade.

XR DIGITAL PERFORMANCE

The DAC input stage of the i9-XR features a new 2nd generation version of our 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 768k sample rate) and DSD to DSD512, 2 x SPDIF digital and 2 x optical digital inputs.

ALL NEW ANALOGUE PREAMPLIFIER

Derived from the new high-end Pre-XR preamplifier, the i9-XR analogue preamp features relay input selection and a new high-performance gain stage. This short-path design makes the analogue preamplifier extremely transparent. With four analogue inputs and phono MM, the i9-XR will cover just about any system requirement for analogue connectivity

POWER AMPLIFIER

The wideband power amplifier of the i9-XR responds from DC to beyond 100kHz ensuring ruler-flat frequency response and keeping any undesirable phase shifts out of the audio band. With a generous, over-specified power supply the i9-XR power amplifier is very capable of reproducing the scale and drama of the musical performance.

LOW NOISE PHONO STAGE FOR VINYL

Inheriting many design features of the award-winning Phono Signature, the phono stage in the i9-XR performs at a level way above its class. Featuring low background noise and high dynamic range, the phono stage is a perfect complement for a quality vinyl turntable source.

TRANSPORT / SERVO

Several years ago, Cyrus invested heavily in developing our own in-house CD ‘Servo’ mechanism, our ‘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. Our ‘Servo-Evolution’ system reduces these re-reads and corrections by around 20%, producing not only a cleaner data stream for the DAC, but significantly less noise induced in the analogue output stages.

CONTAINING NOISE

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.

The DAC has been housed on its own shielded section of the PCB, again to help contain noise transfer

SECOND GEN QXR DAC

The DAC in the CDi-XR is our own second-generation QXR DAC platform with a key notable difference in its implementation.  As a DAC usually has to handle a multitude of possible resolutions and input paths, their design is always a slight compromise on the best possible configuration for any particular source. In the CDi-XR, however, we know exactly which resolution is going to be received (44.1kHz, 16bit) and the incoming signal path that data is going to travel.  As a consequence, we are able to calibrate our QXR DAC with incredible precision. We are able to optimize, not just the inbound data path and the data conversion itself, but also the filtering stages of the DAC to render the finest analogue output possible.

PSU-XR PORT 

Both the i9-XR anf the CDi-XR 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. For the CDi-XR four of the PSU-XR power supplies are employed. One pair to provide ultra-smooth power for the analogue audio circuitry, one for the current-hungry demands of the motors and one just to provide an ultra-stable supply for the PLL digital master clock circuit, reducing any power supply related jitter to a minimum.

SPECIFICATION