You should all be familiar with Cyrus by now. The high-end and specialist hi-fi brand who make gorgeous shoebox-sized separates that perform with the same capacity as their full-sized counterparts, whilst taking up literally half the space. With Cyrus, you could get a big-speced system without having to sacrifice too much space. A few years ago, Cyrus decided to go against their own well-established grain and make something different. Something… all-in-one.
The result came in two parts: the Lyric 5 and the Lyric 9, and while the sound and the functionality of both were well received, the aesthetics of the units divided opinion. Cyrus took this feedback… and have now answered with this.
That’s the brand new Cyrus Lyric All-In-One Hi-Fi System. It’s taken the features of the old 5 and 9 and combined them, which means there’s only one all-in-one to chose from (well, unless you count the two finish options!). As you can see, it’s had a bit of a facelift which certainly sorts out the styling issues of its forefathers.
The new finish features both gloss and matt combined in black and silver, with an offset face plate set off nicely in gold. The display looks much more swish and modern too, making the whole thing look distinctly non-Cyrus… but I think that might have been the point. Well, some of the point.
There’s more to the new Cyrus Lyric than just its dashing good looks, however. It’s packed with every feature you could want from an all-in-one: CD player, internet radio, wi-fi, streaming, Bluetooth and even a DAC. In true all-in-one fashion, all you have to add is speakers! It goes against traditional Cyrus’ in nearly every way, it’s full width (as opposed to half!) and can’t be used with any extras. And unlike everything else that Cyrus makes, it can’t be upgraded. What you get is what you get, but what you get is pretty damn awesome.
Cyrus have knocked £500 of the price (from what the original Lyric 9 stood at) yet what you get is actually of much greater value. There are more features, it’s a real pleasure to use (incredibly easy – just the way an all-in-one should be!) and frankly, an improvement all around… at a much lower price. Win! The only competitors I can think of would be the Naim Uniti 2 and the Linn Majik DSM, and while they are both awesome systems, they are both £500 more expensive. And you don’t need me to tell you how far that goes!
Best of all is it sounds really nice. An upbeat, friendly sound that isn’t too bright and works beautifully with any genre – seriously, try it out!
If you want a system you can upgrade and intertwine with others, this really isn’t the unit for you. But if you just want a one-size fits all system that is a little bit less expensive then its competitors, this is something you need to take a look at.
Have a look at the full specs by clicking here! Cyrus may not have been your first port of call for an all-in-one system, but they have really surprised us with this amazing bit of kit. Let them suprise you too!