Cyrus SoundKey portable DAC

[god-bluff]

This all very off topic but I bought Fiio's very first product the E3 'amp' / signal booster which lasted a few weeks. Had the E1 iPod amp/ remote. Interesting concept but pretty unusable through poor design. Finally original Fiio X3. Pretty poor effort terrible interface and congested sound IMO

They do make nice elastic bands which together with their excellent L3 LOD cable had served me well for several years with my iPod Classic / GS Voyager setup.

Any way enough of that, this thread is about soundKey which is a truly great sounding device and hopefully will become popular as more people actually hear it rather than speculating having not even listened to it.

 

[brams]

Quick update to my initial impressions.

With the Soundkey now connected to a Samsung tablet as a source and listening to the same tracks as yesterday via the k10ua all indications of an upper midrange/lower treble lift has dissapeared. Deep bass is now well developed and the overall signature is now more neutral ... perhaps even slightly warm.

So your impressions of tonal balance will definitely vary with your choice of source to a greater extent than I had expected. What has not changed is the excellent clarity, detail and dynamics. This is really an excellent little unit!

Happy listening!

 

[god-bluff]

Very good service from Cyrus they replaced my USB cable which had a loose connection. It arrived the next day and works perfectly

 

[LucQc]

   
Ok I'll do, I made the order late yesterday. Could you do the same in return if you order?

 
SoundKey listening experience seemed better with Focal Listen and Grado RS2 after a couple of listening sessions. Today I made another test. I plugged both in the mp3 input of Cambridge Audio AV Receiver with JM Lab Speakers.
 
I listened to 3-4 minutes of those tracks:
 
Livingston Taylor - Isn't she lovely ( 24 bits - 96000 Hz )
Frederick Fennell-Dallas Wind Symphony - Beachcomber ( 16 bits - 44100 Hz )
Beck - Wow ( 24 bits - 96000 Hz )
Michel Jonasz - Le temps passé ( 16 bits - 44100 Hz )
Doug MacLeod - Chill on Cold ( 16 bits - 44100 Hz )
 
The vocal and whistling of Taylor were rendered more naturally with SoundKey. Same with Jonasz vocals. Bass seemed more tight on Beck's and Jonasz's songs. With Beachcomber it felt more like I was in the Concert Hall with the SoundKey, I guess the image is better. Winds, Strings and Percussions seemed rendered more naturally.
 
The K1 was getting closer with MacLeod's Chill on Cold. So for someone enjoying Blues a lot this might be a good choice as it is cheaper and pretty close to SoundKey. 

 

[LucQc]

  The second cover popped out today. I will do a better workaround this weekend with clear adhesive film, a kind of DIY Invisble Shield that will keep the covers in place.

 
I am now using this 3 ft cable:
 
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerLine-Micro-USB-3ft/dp/product/B012VWH6PQ/
 
It seems way easier to put the Micro USB Male Connector inside the key than with the shorter one coming in the box.

 

[Jimster480]

   
SoundKey listening experience seemed better with Focal Listen and Grado RS2 after a couple of listening sessions. Today I made another test. I plugged both in the mp3 input of Cambridge Audoi AV Receiver with JM Lab Speakers.
 
I listened to 3-4 minutes of those tracks:
 
Livingston Taylor - Isn't she lovely ( 24 bits - 96000 Hz )
Frederick Fennell-Dallas Wind Symphony - Beachcomber ( 16 bits - 44100 Hz )
Beck - Wow ( 24 bits - 96000 Hz )
Michel Jonasz - Le temps passé ( 16 bits - 44100 Hz )
Doug MacLeod - Chill on Cold ( 16 bits - 44100 Hz )
 
The vocal and whistling of Taylor were rendered more naturally with SoundKey, Same with Jonasz vocals. Bass seemed more tight on Beck's and Jonasz's songs. With Beachcomber it felt more like I was in the Concert Hall with the SoundKey, I guess the image is better. Winds, Strings and Percussions seemed rendered more naturally.
 
The K1 was getting closer with MacLeod's Chill on Cold. So for someone enjoying Blues a lot this might a good choice as it is cheaper and pretty close to SoundKey. 

So I'm assuming you bought a K1 now and compared them?

 

[LucQc]

 
So I'm assuming you bought a K1 now and compared them?

 
Yes.

 

[god-bluff]

I can only compare the soundKey to my LH Geek Out 720 V1 . 
 
There's not a lot between them but I'd give a slight edge to the GO. Its a little warmer richer, with greater depth to the sound, a bit more atmospheric. The Cyrus is lighter more nimble. Clarity is about the same.
 
The Geek Out is a fraction more high end sounding and a little bit more enjoyable. This is via the 47 ohm output which suits my Beyers better Using the 0.47 output the sound is closer between the 2 devices and with different phones things will no doubt be err.. different.
 
Bear in mind I thought the Geek Out was very close to matching the Chord Mojo when I had that, this is a good result. The GO is also far less practical then the Cyrus being larger, very high in energy consumption; being only suitable for computer use (which I rarely use for music) and can get pretty hot.
 
If I was to keep one it would be Cyrus as I will find myself using it far more often but both have there place
 
Now we need comparison to the Audioquests but I imagine the soundKey would be a Dragon(fly) Slayer as the Geek Out was when I owned one. Probably closer to the Red in signature.
 
EDIT I hope any of my descriptions of sound differences makes any sense. Not my forte SORRY !

 

[brams]

I had a chance to do a brief comparison of the Soundkey to the Dragonfly today using my iphone 6 running Tidal as a source and powering an AKG Q701 Quincy Jones headphones. The comparison was done at a local audio store using their demo Q701 in quiet surroundings. Impressions were corraborated by two other patrons in the store.

Playing Macy Gray's "Stripped" which is recorded at a lower than typical level and the iphone volume at its highest setting the Q701 was driven to a comfortable listening level. Bass was extended, fast and tight without being thin. It was not the deepest, but was beautifully balanced with no trace of bleed into the midrange. The midrange had a nice neutral balance, a slightly forward presentation and excellent clarity. Treble was extended and clean with a very slight trace of brightness. I would characterize the sound as neutral and detailed without being lean or overly analytical ... if that makes any sense. Keep in mind though that this was with very well recorded material and there was simply no time to try other music.

Overall the match was excellent and I could easily see this as a very satisfactory, near end-game setup for those preferring a neutral presentation.

Unfortunately with the same setup and material the volume from the Dragonfly was so low that no meaningful comparison could be made. I don't really know why this was the case and will enquire as to the exact model of the Dragonfly the next time I visit the store.

I grow more impressed with the Soundkey every day.

 

[Jimster480]

  I can only compare the soundKey to my LH Geek Out 720 V1 . 
 
There's not a lot between them but I'd give a slight edge to the GO. Its a little warmer richer, with greater depth to the sound, a bit more atmospheric. The Cyrus is lighter more nimble. Clarity is about the same.
 
The Geek Out is a fraction more high end sounding and a little bit more enjoyable. This is via the 47 ohm output which suits my Beyers better Using the 0.47 output the sound is closer between the 2 devices and with different phones things will no doubt be err.. different.
 
Bear in mind I thought the Geek Out was very close to matching the Chord Mojo when I had that, this is a good result. The GO is also far less practical then the Cyrus being larger, very high in energy consumption; being only suitable for computer use (which I rarely use for music) and can get pretty hot.
 
If I was to keep one it would be Cyrus as I will find myself using it far more often but both have there place
 
Now we need comparison to the Audioquests but I imagine the soundKey would be a Dragon(fly) Slayer as the Geek Out was when I owned one. Probably closer to the Red in signature.
 
EDIT I hope any of my descriptions of sound differences makes any sense. Not my forte SORRY !

Thanks alot for this.
I was looking for a comparison with the LH products too.
They seem to have some mixed reviews themselves and not very practical.

 

[god-bluff]

Thanks alot for this.
I was looking for a comparison with the LH products too.
They seem to have some mixed reviews themselves and not very practical.

Yes I can highly recommend at leat the original GeekOut (no experience of the V2) Can be picked very cheaply and represents possibly best value out there

As I hinted at though I find I use the soundKey a lot more. It's so tiny and efficient in terms of power consumption

I use it daily with my Z3C phone and usually my Sony 10rc on ears. A fantastic combination. So pure, open and refined. Hard to believe what I hear is coming from a relatively humble set up. The Cyrus is performing faultlessly with replacement cable.

Audioquest et al should be worried when this is released properly. That's if there's any justice which there often isn't on here. Many (often British) devices go ignored

 

[ids777]

@god-bluff  can i ask what Media Player you ended up using? 
 
I too have a Z3C and opted for Neutron Music Player (in Direct Driver Mode);  has a quirky GUI but i kinda like the flexibility it gives and the DEV has been very reactive to the bug I reported in the v1.93.0 - now v1.93.2 as a result  

 

[god-bluff]

@god-bluff
  can i ask what Media Player you ended up using? 

I too have a Z3C and opted for Neutron Music Player (in Direct Driver Mode);  has a quirky GUI but i kinda like the flexibility it gives and the DEV has been very reactive to the bug I reported in the v1.93.0 - now v1.93.2 as a result  

To be honest I just use the 'Walkman' app or at the moment Google play (3 month free trial via Sony Xperia Lounge offer!)

I have always had UAPP but I find the gain is uncontrollable. 15 % volume being deafening. I find its only usable with devices with seperate physical volume control (ie Mojo Etc) with bit perfect

Very happy with the performance now. Only occasional clicking sound when using my phone for other things at the same time or in between tracks of differing bit rates. Nothing bothersome

Edited for usual silly mistakes

 

[ids777]

To be honest I just use the 'Walkman' app or at the moment Google play (3 month free trial via Sony Xperia Lounge offer!)

I have always had UAPP but I find the gain is uncontrollable. 15 % volume being deafening. I find its only usable with devices with seperate physical volume control (ie Mojo Etc) with bit perfect

Very happy with the performance now. Only occasional clicking sound when using my phone for other things at the same time or in between tracks of differing bit rates. Nothing bothersome

Edited for usual silly mistakes

 
Glad the default option is working for you - i struggled to be happy with the amount of clicks/pops and bangs,  hence my move Neutron...

 

[god-bluff]

I was looking for a portable DAC I could put in a small pocket while commuting to work that would enable me to enjoy a better sound quality using on Desktop at work with Focal Listen or with Laptop at home. Was not willing to pay much as I do not want to leave the headphone and a higher price DAC in a drawer which got a lock that could easily be broken.

SoundKey fits my needs, they only need to fix the issue with covers popping out. Something that can be easily fixed with a better design of the enclosure.  

How does the Cyrus sound with the Focal Listen?

Very interested in this phone. The Spirit Classic was my all time favourite spoiled by terrible cracking of headband (3 pairs before I gave Up).

Sounded absolutely sublime with Mojo but got s feeling it would sound very good with the Cyrus.

It looks like the Listen has a more durable build and if it had similar sound (smooth but dynamic, detailed & naturally effortless) I'm in.

Your thoughts would be appreciated