Exellent bass, detail, open sound

My Cyrus IIIi and PSX-R sound better than every amps I've heard before (like Alchemist Nemesis, Classe 101 ...).

I've had the IIIi amp for 5 years before I bought the PXR-powerbox. The difference was total. Sound became warm but distinct, relaxed but interesting, and with a much better musicality.
Cyrus IIIi alone is good, but is not outstanding with good speakers(such as my EPOS ES14), but with the PXR- power it became outstanding.

Simple and flexible, good input options, Can upgrade facility to bi - amp. Smooth sounding system, warm bass, not to harsh upper frquencies.

Can be too smooth suits classical music, acoustic rock/pop, jazz. Does not suit indie rock less well produced music. If used by itself can lack detail

Initially I purchased an entry level set up from the Cyrus range 3i integrated and DAD3 CD player, Good smooth sound though limited, rock/indie music could sound dull and uninvolving unless well produced. Classical, Jazz, acoustic and less cluttered well produced music fairing well. I later added a Cyrus Power and Bi amped using the 3i to drive the bass and the Power to drive the treble - what a tremendous difference, heavy well defined bass, good soundstaging and detail in the upper frequencies. Conclusion is that the 3i is average to good on its own however add a power amp and youve got an excellent entry level set up (recommend use floor standing speakers) The 3i can also be used as a pre amp only, connected to two cyrus powers in a bi amp config and you've got one heck of a sound, detail and power, can take on most kinds of music.

Similar Products Used:

Heard Arcam alpha, Marantz

I have this integrated amp with the PSX-R power supply for over a year now and must say it is absolutely wonderful. There is the convenience of the remote control and extra inputs compared to my previous Cyrus 2, but the bottom line is the sound. Detailed yet non fatiguing highs and strong, tight bass. It is probably not as great sounding as the YBA Integre DT amp, but with a much lower price and remote, is a hell of a better deal and definitely beats out any other integrated amp from Britain or elsewhere. As for power, it can blast my Kef 104/2's to astonishing levels with no clipping or distortion. Cyrus/Mission keeps the amp simple in design, and concentrates on the sound and quality, that is why it's been an international award winner for years. It's also the most beautiful amp on the market, better than any Bang & Olufsen product.

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Due to lack of submission on this CYRUS III component, I would like provide my personal opinions on it. I initially bought the CYRUS III without the PSX-R pwr supply and used it for about 6 months. During that time, I thoroughly enjoyed its musical and excellent dynamic qualities but it was tonally bias to the leaner side and has a mid-range freq. dominance. It was able to present all types of music with the emotional contents intact, no matter how complex or demanding the music mix can be. The HF was extended, transparent with lack of graniness while the bass balance was detailed, relatively well delinated and punchy, though I would love a bit more LF extension. Though rated at nominal 50watts/pch. into 8 ohms, it sounded musch more powerful than its rating. Very revealing of the source components and any deficiencies in the speakers. I persoannly found the asthetics and built quality are "wayyyyy cool" & "sexy".
Subsequently, after upgrading the the Mission 752 freedom speakers, I also upgraded my Cyrus III with the PSX-R. Now, almost all sonic areas improved a few notches upwards. Overall soundstaging, acoustic depth, ambieance retrieval, and stereo imaging improved. Most importantly, my slight reservations on its tonal balance without PSX is basically gone. The PSX "filled up" the freq. extremes very well and there were some extra "organic" warmth being injected into the lower HF and the mid-range freq. Bass was definately more extended, and the overall tonal balance was relatively more homogeneuos and correlated. The PSX seemed to be "amoured-proofing" the Cyrus III and it provided seemingly umlimited current reserves for the amp. It just drives my 752F effortlessly. Also used the CyrusIII+PSX to drive following speakers to satisfying high volumne levels and I detected no congestions nor distortions from the Cyrus amp and generally musical sounding; Celestion A1s & A2s; Epos 11s,12s,14s,22s; Mission 750LEs,753F and 754F; Jamo Concert 8s; B&W P4s,CDM1s,CDM7s; AVI Positrons; Mordount Short Performance 860s; and Dynaudio Contour 1.8s. The best pairing ??? ... Well, personally, the Jamo Concert 8 and the Epos 22 are my preference. One day when I can afford to .... the 752F will have to do at the moment. Mind you, the 752Fs are not easy "push-overs" and seemed to have a relatively well matched synergy with the Cyrus III/Psx, and the 752s should be bi-wired and sounds balanced when using solid core speaker cables. My next upgrade is to bi-amp my 752Fs... get the Cyrus Power, and use the Power to drive HF while the Cyrus III/PSX to drive the LF of my 752Fs. Anyone tried this combination yet ??

So my rating, based on totally subjective and relative comparisons = 4 stars. I have not auditioned enough of other similarly priced integrated amps (or pre/power amp combos) to fairly warrant my appreciation of Cyrus III + PSX 5 stars.

The total cost for the Cyrus 111i & the PXR power supply is approximately $2,000. The 111i sounds superb on its own, but ad the PXR and you have truly hi end amplification. The combination does something that MOST others within the $1500 - $3500 category do not do. Make music. I listened to several amplifiers which were reviewed and rated as top products, and the mission combination sounded the best to my ears. Incredible detail without fatigue, tight and extended lows and pin point imaging. Like any other quality amp, upstream electronics are important. No $500 CD players allowed because you will hear exactly what you pay for. At the end of the day, this really just one man's opinion, so listen for yourself.
Cheers.

I bought my Cyrus III nearly 5 years ago, when they first hit the shops. I wanted a remote control amp with enough inputs to handle a video recorder, plus a phono stage. This narrowed down my choice to the Arcam Delta 290 and the Cyrus. I was upgrading from an ancient Trio (Kenwood) KA3700 amp.
I chose the Cyrus because it was more detailed and transparent, compared to the Arcam which had a fuller bass, but also a woolier, less precise sound. I had cheap speakers at the time, and felt the Cyrus would be more revealing as I improved the rest of the system. The salesman reckoned the Cyrus was not as 'lean' as the audiolab 8000a, and very broadly speaking was somewhere between it and the Arcam, which was definately warmer.

When subsequently auditioning speakers up to £500, which I thought would be a reasonable price to pay, such as the Mission 752, Ruark Icon, Neat Petite/Mystique, Proac Tablette 50 and Castle Severn, I was disappointed with the sound that I got. What I found was that adding the PSX-R (which the salesman was very happy to do!) made all the difference, especially in the bass and to a lesser extent the treble. I also found two speakers which stood out, albeit at a price premium - the Ruark Talisman II which worked very well right across the frequency range *without* the PSX-R, and the Monitor Audio Studio 2SE (PSX-R'd) which had a very clean and open mid-band.

So, in the end I bought nothing, and ended up with a very second-hand pair of cheap Celestion SL6is. I have now added a PSX-R, mainly because of fears over speaker compatability, and will start the auditioning process again later in the year.

I have a Cyrus III / PSXR combination. It sounds great when it works, tight bass and clear and open sound. The problem is I have had three failures in two years which is very disappointing. I will now be replacing it with something more reliable! 4 star sound but 0 stars for reliability.

My system consist, Cyrusllli, PSX-R, Marantz 63KI Signture CD Player, Chord Company Solid interconnect, Van Del Hul The Clear Water SPeaker Cable and Mission 737R Speakers.....I listen to a lot of modern Jazz, to the old school, Soul R'N'B, Ambient (Cafe Del Mar Volume 4), Dance, Drum and Base, and the sound you achieve from the amp, its just magic, Bass sound tight (very confident), Treble just talks to you, you recieve such a warm sound, basically the amps talks to you making the speakers sing, this is very hard to achieve from amps these days, who ever reads, if you have any doughts don't, you wont regret it at all, simply perfection....Magic