tutetibiimperes
100+ Head-Fier
First of all thank you to American HiFi for sponsoring this product tour.
Source Gear
- Bluesound Node 2i with Apple Music and FLAC rips on USB (source for both chains)
- RME ADI-2 DAC (headphone chain)
- MiniDSP DDRC-22D Dirac Processor (speaker chain)
- Emotiva PT-100 Preamp (speaker chain)
- MassDrop THX AAA 789 Headphone Amp (headphone chain)
- Bravo V2 Tube Hybrid Headphone Amp (headphone chain)
- Crown XLS 1502 Speaker Amp (speaker chain)
- Infinity Intermezzo 4.1t
- Beyerdynamic T1.2
- ZMF Auteur Wenge
- Audeze LCD-3
- Audeze EL-8 Titanium
- Hifiman HE6se
- Grado PS1000e
- Sony MDR-MA900
Overview
As someone who runs a speaker setup and a headphone setup in the same room the possibility of reducing clutter and finding a 'one device to rule them all' solution is always compelling. In many ways the Cyrus OneHD comes close to being that device, and performance in many ways exceeded my expectations. However, a number of usability issues, bugs, and shortcomings ultimately means this isn't the device to do that for me.
With a powerful speaker amp section, a wide variety of inputs (both analog and digital), and an innovative take on headphone amplification from an integrated amp that allows the full power of the speaker amp power supply to be directed into a separate Class AB headphone amp there are many things to like about the Cyrus OneHD.
Build
Solidly build out of metal with two large knobs and high-quality feeling binding posts, the OneHD feels like a high quality product. It comes packed extremely well - double boxed with form-fitting inserts to keep it from jostling on its way to your door.
The dimensions are a bit odd - it's very narrow while also being very deep. Because of that it hung over both the back and front of my audio rack (see photo below) and because of the narrow dimensions the inputs on the rear are closer together than would be preferred for ease of use in connecting/disconnecting gear (though in a non-review setting that likely wouldn't be an issue as you'd 'set it and forget it').
Making the unit wider-but-shallower would also allow for space to include XLR inputs on the rear and an XLR headphone jack on the front, potentially with more power to be able to drive more power-hungry headphones.
Speaker Amp Performance
My favorite thing about the Cyrus OneHD was it's excellent performance as a speaker amp. It's powerful, punchy, has an incredibly low noise floor, and easily trounced my Crown XLS 1502 in terms of audio quality. I hadn't realized how much my XLS 1502 was holding my speakers back until I hooked up the OneHD - it was a revelation how much clearer the sound became and how imaging and soundstage improved. Despite having considerably less wattage than the Crown amp, I found that at even 50% of the volume knob my Infinitys were much louder than I'd ever need in my listening room. I can heartily recommend the Cyrus OneHD as a speaker amp.
Headphone Amp Performance
Most receivers and integrated amps with headphone jacks just include one as an afterthought with very little time spent optimizing the quality of the experience for headphones. It's clear that the Cyrus team went above and beyond there, however, building-in a dedicated Class AB headphone amp that pulls power from the main transformer that normally drives the speaker taps.
I found that the OneHD performed best with high-impedance dynamic headphones. There's a certain warmth and richness to the sound, though it's thankfully not syrupy or blurred as one might get from an inexpensive tube amp or tube hybrid. I've never heard my Beyerdynamic T1.2s sound as good as they did from the OneHD - the stellar imaging that the T1.2s are known for was in full effect, with an extremely natural tone devoid of any sibilance or harshness in the treble. Likewise my ZMF Auteurs loved the OneHD, with strong meaty bass, powerful transient attacks, and an open natural sound.
Lower impedance dynamic headphones like the Sony MDR-MA900 and Grado PS1000e didn't seem to gain as much from the OneHD as the aforementioned ones, but they still sounded as good as they do from my THX 789.
Where it didn't stack up well was with power-hungry planars. While the LCD-3 is relatively high efficiency for a planar, the OneHD didn't seem to be able to drive it with the same quick attacks and slam as the THX 789, and the Hifiman HE6se fell apart on the Cyrus - with a sound that was loose and muddy. The Audeze EL-8s, however, which are designed to be run from mobile sources, worked extremely well with the Cyrus OneHD, sounding considerably better than they do running off of my iPhone, with deeper and more pronounced bass and a more present and lifelike midrange.
Usability Issues
This is ultimately where the unit didn't live up to what I'd want for something I'd purchase myself. While the Cyrus app works very well, it's nowhere near as convenient as a physical remote control that can be operated without having to pick up the phone or tablet or switch screens/apps while using other apps while listening. Strangely, both the lower-model in the One series, the Cyrus One, and the one above this, the Cyrus One Cast, both come with physical remote controls. The choice by Cyrus not to include one with the OneHD is baffling and makes usability suffer.
On a positive note, the app does allow you to change the brightness of the front-facing LEDs (the default value is eye-searingly bright, unfortunately), as well as to quickly change inputs. I like the idea of an app to delve into deeper settings, but a basic remote that allows for volume and input changes should be included.
I ran into an issue with the built-in DAC while using my Bluesound Node 2i with Apple Music. When connected to the Cyrus OneHD via the coaxial digital input the OneHD would seem to lose sync whenever a new album would begin, and sometimes in the middle of an album, resulting in the sound stuttering and cutting in and out for 30 seconds or so before eventually beginning to play smoothly. Oddly this did not happen when using the Node 2i to play FLAC rips off of a USB stick plugged into the back of it. This behavior isn't present in either my RME ADI-2 DAC or the built-in-DAC in the Emotiva PT-100. I do not have any other devices with ESS DACs, so I don't know if it's an issue endemic to ESS or just Cyrus's implementation of it. Once it did 'sync' and begin to play freely the built-in DAC did sound lovely, however.
Upon connecting the app to the unit with a headphone plugged in you will be greeted by a message stating that balance control is not available on the headphone output. Again, this is a baffling omission as being able to adjust balance is even more important on headphones than speakers - being able to correct for slight channel imbalances in headphones (or for one's own hearing) would be a welcome addition.
The unit also creates a 'pop' or 'thud' sound in the connected speakers every time it's turned on - even if headphones are connected first before the unit is powered on. Some sort of soft-power-on feature would be much appreciated as it's disconcerting to hear one's speakers pop every time you turn on the amp.
Comparisons
vs Crown XLS 1502
There's really no comparison here, the OneHD is a far superior speaker amp to the Crown, there was absolutely no area of sound where the OneHD wasn't notably audibly superior.
vs Massdrop THX AAA 789
This is a tougher comparison as the OneHD beats the 789 in terms of 'organic' or 'natural' sound, but lacks the same amount of power that the THX AAA 789 has. Head-to-head I'd say that the THX 789 has more overall detail and more pronounced treble articulation, but there was a certain je ne sais quoi to the sound of the OneHD when driving the T1.2 or Auteur that made me clearly prefer it to the THX 789 for those headphones. For headphones that can benefit from copious amounts of power, however (or for those that demand it) the THX 789 took the lead.
Conclusions
My time spent with the Cyrus OneHD was both enlightening and frustrating. There are things about the OneHD that I absolutely loved (speaker amp capability, sound of the headphone amp with the cans that worked well with it), things that made me wonder why they weren't addressed in the development process (balance control for headphones, the popping sound when powered on, the lack of a remote), and things that made me want to start pulling my hair out (the syncing issue when using the internal DAC from my Node2i as a streaming source).
Ultimately while the performance was above expectations for the things it does well, the usability concerns would make it a no-go for me. The step-up unit Cyrus One Cast would seem to be the more compelling option - with integrated support for a number of streaming services without having to resort to lossy Bluetooth and with a physical remote it would solve two big issues, though as someone with a variety of headphones, some of which need more power than the unit can produce, I believe it would still ultimately fall short. Perhaps in the future Cyrus may want to offer a unit that can redirect the full power of the speaker amps through the headphone jack (preferably with an XLR connection) similar to what Schiit does with the Ragnarok.
Note: This review is also available on Head-Gear here: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/cyrus-one-hd.25349/reviews
Last edited:
