CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — Cyrus Audio CDt-XR

The CDt-XR is a CD transport from Cyrus Audio and one of the first products of the company's XR series, introduced around 2020. It succeeds the CDt and pairs with XR-series amplifiers and DACs, and it is designed and built in Cambridgeshire, England. Compared with its predecessor it adds a new display, touch controls, a revised power supply layout, final reclocking of the output and a port for the external PSU-XR supply.

Key specs that matter

The CDt-XR has no DAC. Digital audio leaves through optical and coaxial S/PDIF outputs fed by a dedicated digital output driver, carrying up to 24 bit and 192 kHz. The latest version of Cyrus's Servo Evolution runs the drive. A dedicated high-efficiency power supply runs the digital control circuits, while a high-capacity linear supply feeds the servo circuit, the digital master clock, the output driver, the PLL master clock and the drive motors through independent regulation channels. The firmware can be upgraded by the user, and the iR14 remote control is included. The half-width case measures 75 x 215 x 355 mm and weighs 3.7 kg.

Engineering and use context

Cyrus states that the latest Servo Evolution reduces re-reads and corrections by about 20%, which lowers the noise produced by the servo system during playback. The data is reclocked just before the output, so timing variations picked up on the way through the transport are removed before the data leaves the unit. The XR series uses what Cyrus calls a counter-current layout, in which power flows from the quietest circuits towards the noisier ones, keeping the sensitive clock and output stages furthest from sources of noise. With the PSU-XR connected, its five independent regulated supplies take the dynamic load off the internal supplies. The chassis is an inverted die-cast aluminium shell, with the circuits suspended inside for shielding and vibration control, and it is finished in a new Phantom Black paint. A higher-resolution display offers adjustable brightness, contrast and polarity, and a menu gives access to display, time-out and system settings through touch controls on the front.

Pairing

The CDt-XR is intended for Cyrus XR preamplifiers and integrated amplifiers that contain a DAC, for example the i9-XR, connected by coaxial or optical cable. Any DAC with S/PDIF inputs can also be used, and the PSU-XR is the upgrade path within the Cyrus system.

Alternatives

The Cyrus CDi-XR is the matching XR-series CD player that converts to analogue internally.