Cyrus Audio Stream XR

The last ten years have been interesting ones for two-channel audio. The word ‘interesting’ can be used in whatever context you wish here. Take the Cyrus Audio Stream XR, for example. Ten years ago, a network streaming device was uncommon. Not any more. The elimination of physical media as a requirement has changed the shape of audio systems more than anything else. This has some unexpected side effects. Cyrus Audio is a case in point. The company was commendably early into network streaming. It showed considerable prescience in its hardware choices. The brand leaned into the possible changes and created an all-in-one streaming preamp and streaming transport. This was exceptionally early on in the evolution of these devices.

These changes have also required the software that makes everything happen to be capable and stable. Here, Cyrus was less fortunate. Their streaming platform was competitive with other early arrivals but didn’t evolve as fast as some rivals. Rather than continue to try and play catch-up, Cyrus ended development and considered their options. The result was to license the BluOS streaming platform developed by Lenbrook, owners of NAD and Bluesound. This created a new generation of streaming products.

Unconditional stability

The advantages of this approach are easy enough to understand. BluOS is as close to unconditional stability as any streaming front end as I’ve ever tested. It also balances this ruggedness with a handy feature set. BluOS supports every streaming service except Apple Music and can work across an impressive 42 zones. To help with this stability, BluOS is slightly more limited in format and sample rate handling. It supports Lenbrook-owned MQA and PCM to 24/192kHz. There is no support for larger file sizes and no native DSD or DXD streaming. BluOS converts DSD and DXD to PCM.

Compared to the innovative designs of those first-generation Cyrus streamers, the Stream XR is relatively conventional. It offers a variable-level RCA output, which could be connected directly to a power amp. It also provides an optical and coaxial output with matching optical and coaxial inputs. These inputs will be of dubious use for owners of the matching XR integrated amps (which have plenty of inputs) but give some extra flexibility to people with line-level-only amps. The Cyrus Audio Stream XR supports AirPlay 2 but not Bluetooth.

All Cyrus’ work

The decoding hardware and supporting electronics are all Cyrus’ work and comprise a version of the ‘QXR’ digital board built around an ESS ES9038Q2M DAC. In the longstanding Cyrus tradition, this is fastidiously implemented with components chosen by the company. Cyrus also pays careful attention to the isolation and power supply. You can then add the matching PSU XR external power supply at any time, which connects via umbilical and splits the analogue and digital sections of the Cyrus Audio Stream XR for increased performance.

The chassis is finished in the darker ‘phantom’ black of the XR Series, which helps it look and feel commensurate with the asking price. I’m not entirely sold on the display; it doesn’t add much to the functionality, but it’s easy to read at a distance. A helpful addition is the inclusion of the Cyrus system driving remote, which is no looker but offers helpful flexibility.

Critical to the offering that Cyrus is making with the Stream XR is that this is not a poor relation to BluOS devices developed in-house. If you have existing Bluesound or NAD products, the Cyrus will appear on the same list of devices, boasting the same functionality as everything else. My testing of the review unit coincided with having an unusual number of BluOS zones running, and it joined them to do everything they could. It also means that if you buy a Stream XR as your first BluOS product, your choice of hardware for your kitchen is not dependent on Cyrus bringing something to market. The Cyrus Audio Stream XR is Roon Ready.

Not just a Node

No less significant is that the Stream XR doesn’t simply sound like a Bluesound Node in a smart metal box. I had one of the Node X special edition units, which also uses an ESS chipset (albeit not the same one as the Cyrus) and could run the two units side by side. It’s an oversimplification to say that the Cyrus sounds like a Cyrus. Still, its fundamental attributes are utterly in keeping with what we might expect from the brand.

This manifests itself in the speed and agility of the consistently invigorating performance. Listening to R.E.M’s Dead Letter Office [IRS], a collection of offcuts and b-sides mapping the group’s progression from solid pub band to label-worthy act, the Cyrus Stream XR takes the hectic, almost punky ‘Carnival of Sorts’ (Box Cars) and delivers it with a visceral urgency. In the years that streamers have been evolving, so have sound signatures, but Cyrus remains a company committed to speed and articulation.

Potency cost

Interestingly, the costs of this potency seem to have become somewhat less pronounced. In times past, some of the perceived speed of Cyrus equipment stemmed from limitations to the out-and-out bass extension, but this is no longer the case. The bombastic opening Fists of Fury on Kamasi Washington’s Heaven & Earth [Young Turks] has the weight and scale commensurate with the size of the band delivering it, and this heft integrates beautifully with the upper registers. The presentation is not as airy as some digital sources can muster but it would a stretch to describe it as congested at any point.

Another Cyrus behavioural trait speaks to different aspirations from its creator. You can use the Cyrus Audio Stream XR for Spotify and Internet radio, and it’s tractable, forgiving, and wholly listenable. Compared to the Bluesound Node X parked alongside for most testing, the Cyrus clarifies that the compressed feed has limitations. The payoff for this pickiness is that the Stream XR rewards with decent mastering and high res in a way neither the Node X nor some other more closely priced rivals can touch.

Liquid fluency

A case in point is the stunning take on ‘All Around You’ on Sturgill Simpson’s Cuttin Grass Vol I [High Top Mountain]. It’s delivered with almost liquid fluency and is free of any trace of a digital fingerprint. Sturgill and his absurdly talented assembled musicians are perceivable as individuals. Still, they perform as a group, and the musical joy of the whole album is something the Cyrus effortlessly extracts from the files. The absence of emphasis on any one point of the frequency response is harnessed to produce a performance that feels unfailingly accurate without ever being joyless. This ability to reward the use of halfway decent content is something that Cyrus uses to consistently brilliant effect.

What makes the Cyrus so tractable is that this auditory brilliance is controlled by an app and software that requires you to make no allowances. I am sure that a few people reading this will discount the Stream XR because the absence of DSD and telephone number sampling rates puts it at a notional disadvantage to some rivals.

User error

This is a mistake on the user’s part. Every minute you regret not accessing some native DSD, you’ll enjoy hours of utter satisfaction. The Cyrus Audio Stream XR works flawlessly and plays nice with a portfolio of other equipment most rivals can only dream of. The choice will ultimately be up to you.

I feel it’s worth making in favour of the Stream XR, though. I am hugely impressed with how Cyrus has combined its newly licensed front end with its hardware. The result looks, feels, and, most importantly, sounds like Cyrus. The ongoing evolution of audio can be a cruel and unforgiving space. However, some careful selective breeding results have put Cyrus Audio back at the forefront.

Technical specifications

• Type Network Streaming DAC
• DAC chip ESS ES9038Q2M 32 bit (Cyrus XR tuned)
• Inputs Optical and coaxial digital inputs, RJ-45 Ethernet (GigE 1Gbps), Wi-Fi 5(802.11ac, 2.4/5Ghz), PSU-XR upgrade port, MC Bus
• Outputs Line-level analogue, Optical and coaxial digital outputs
• Supported audio formats MP3, AAC, WMA, WMA-L, OGG, ALAC, OPUS, FLAC, MQA, WAV, AIFF, MPEG-4 SLS
• Supported digital formats PCM up to 192kHz, DSD
• Control software BluOS, Roon Ready
• Signal to Noise Ratio -113dBA
• THD+N 0.002%
• Dimensions H×W×D 75 × 215 × 355mm
• Weight 3kg
• Price £2,495, $3,400

Manufacturer

Cyrus Audio

www.cyrusaudio.com

+44(0)1480 410900

Read more Cyrus reviews here

Back to Reviews