“I have a confession to make: When it comes to amplification, I have always been a power freak…” Peter D’Amario downsizes to the top-of-the-line Cyrus 8 Qx DAC integrated amplifier and concludes: “If you like your music to sound like, well, music, you desire efficiency and you want a device that dispenses with frills and gives you what you need, then this little Cyrus may be the ticket to happiness.”
Peter D’Amario talks with Peter Bartlett, technical director of Cyrus Audio, about the Cyrus approach to product design and development. Designed and manufactured in the UK, Cyrus approaches their product line with embedded “audiophile DNA” thinking that allows owners to upgrade and evolve their investment. “When one buys a piece of Cyrus gear, one is tapping into a bloodline that is long and well-developed.”
One of the lessons you learn as an audiophile is to give some thought to placing your components for optimal performance. The choices can bewilder even the most enthusiastic of audiophiles. While there are countless approaches to platforms, shelves and footers, nobody has combined an isolation platform with a line conditioner… nobody that is, until the clever folks at PS Audio developed the PowerBase. Patrick Dillon investigates.
Oliver Masciarotte surveys the field of “plugins” for audiophile music players, explaining what they are and how they can benefit your listening experience. From shufflers and measurement tools to the dreaded EQ, there is much benefit available to the open-minded audiophile willing to explore the possibilities. Oliver lists his favorites and recommendations, from free to not-so-free, and explains how to evaluate plugin quality.
Of the music players available for the Mac, Pure Music stands out as the one with the most comprehensive feature set. One of those features is its active crossover, which can be used to implement an active speaker system of up to four ways. John Reekie explains how to use the Pure Music active crossover, together with the FabFilter Pro-Q equalization plugin for correcting driver and room response.
Patrick Dillon, weary of power cable swaps, resolves to evaluate Gary Koh’s new Absolute Fidelity power cords, or interfaces, and discovers a renewed enthusiasm for the right cord with the right component. “The Absolute Fidelity power interface made such an instant impact on the sound that I almost doubted what I was hearing… I find myself thinking my next upgrades have to be Absolute Fidelity cords.”