CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — Cyrus Audio CDi

The CDi is the integrated CD player of the Classic series from Cyrus Audio, a British company making half-width electronics, and it combines a disc drive, a digital to analogue converter and an analogue output stage in one case. Cyrus built it around its own Servo Evolution CD engine and shares components with the CD Xt Signature transport. Its converter is the same 32-bit QXR DAC used in the DAC XP Signature. In the USA the list price was USD 2,100, and Cyrus covers the player with a 2-year warranty.

Key specs that matter

Playback is limited to standard Red Book discs, so the highest signal resolution handled is 16 bit and 44.1 kHz. Two pairs of fixed-level RCA analogue outputs sit on the back panel, next to a TosLink and an RCA coaxial digital output. An MC-BUS connection links the CDi with other Cyrus units, and a separate port accepts an external power supply. Discs enter through a slot at the front instead of a tray. The iR14 remote is supplied in the box. The case is 73 mm high, 215 mm wide and 360 mm deep, and the player weighs 4.1 kg.

Engineering and use context

Servo Evolution appeared in 2008 and was developed so that Cyrus no longer had to buy optical disc mechanisms from outside suppliers. Its hardware and software were calibrated together so the laser reads the data accurately the first time. In an ordinary drive the laser assembly makes small sideways movements to re-read missed sections, and this constant correction creates electrical noise inside the player. Cyrus states that reducing it passes up to 20% more information to the converter than a conventional design. Cyrus calls its slot loader a quiet, low-contact mechanism that avoids a motorised drawer. Inside, the circuit is split into two discrete sections so that an external supply can take over the DAC section. When a PSX-R or PSX-R2 unit is connected, the digital conversion stage is isolated from the power used by the drive and control circuits. The half-width format lets the player stack with Cyrus amplifiers and power supplies of the same footprint.

Pairing

Any amplifier with a line-level RCA input can take the analogue signal, and because the outputs are fixed, volume is always set at the amplifier. The second analogue pair can drive another line-level device in parallel. Owners who prefer a separate converter can bypass the internal DAC through the digital outputs, and Cyrus amplifiers joined by MC-BUS can be controlled together with the player. The PSX-R2 is the upgrade route inside the Cyrus range.

Alternatives

Within the same category the Cyrus CDi-XR replaces the first QXR converter with a second-generation version and adds a PSU-XR port.