Cyrus Soundkey DAC & Headphone Amplifier - Ruby

Product Information

Inexpensive; sweet-sounding audio signature, great for instrumental or vocal-based music; three types of connection cables included. Like other Chord DACs, the Mojo 2 features a custom-coded FPGA processor responsible for the distinctive Chord house sound. The Mojo 2 also features lossless DSP (digital signal processing), an advanced ‘digital tone control’ equalization promising no degradation in sound quality.

FiiO’s DAC is a little like listening to an artist rehearse, while the soundKey reveals a defining performance. Cyrusisa manufacturer of specialist hifi and personal audio equipment, operating from Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England, where all of the company's acclaimed products are conceived and designed. Cyrusboastsan extensive range of highly regarded amplifiers, CD players, DACs and power supplies many of which have claimed countless awards and accolades over the years. At the end of this review, if you’re looking for a clean, clear, powerful, crisp, dynamic and punchy DAC/AMP that has a good amount of speed to its bass, can drive most IEMs and even a good number of headphones, and which is pretty practical, you should totally consider the Cyrus Soundkey. Cyrus’ soundKey is a portable USB DAC (digital-to-analogue converter) and headphone amp, aimed at use for smartphones and tablets. While these devices have their own built in DACs, they are often low quality units which can really hinder your music. The soundKey bypasses onboard DACs and uses it’s own dedicated circuitry to provide you with a much better sound performance. This is an interesting part in this review, because I wasn't expecting the SoundKey to be anything special, but actually, it is a really good portable DAC/AMP.Cyrus Soundkey vs FiiO K3 - Starting with FiiO K3, they are pretty different devices. The thing that is interesting here is that K3 is a desktop device only, and drains a portable way too fast to be practical as a portable DAC/AMP, and its physical size and shape makes it even less ergonomic for portability. In terms of sound, when placing them side by side, the Soundkey sounds more bright, more open, more airy, where K3 sounds more hot and a bit metallic in the treble. Both have good details and similar size for their soundstage, and both are pretty clearly good products, but they are intended for different usages, but, this being said, you can use the Soundkey both for portable and desktop usage, while K3 is only for desktop. Set up is pretty straight forward, as all we have here is a 3.5mm headphone output and a micro USB connection. If you use anything other than an Apple product it couldn’t be easier. Plug the mini USB into your phone or tablet and attach the headphones. However if you use iPhone or and iPad, you’re going to need to buy a separate Apple camera kit to make this all work. This does add some additional bulk and wires to the process, but the DACs small stature does aid this a bit. You can also use the soundKey with your laptop via the USB connection so if that’s your thing, you’re more than covered. It has been really fun reviewing the Cyrus Soundkey, and considering its price point, of 150 USD, it makes a good entry on the market. There are DAC/AMPs that are cheaper and similar in shape and design, but the Soundkey surely delivers something new in terms of sound, so it holds its place on the market. The physical design is clean and simple, with buttons on the side and a crisp OLED display on the front. An included case offers protection from scratches and fingerprints, as the shiny, larger body is prone to both.

The little Cyrus Audio Soundkey is a DAC/AMP in the 150 USD price range, having a few competitors like the FiiO K3 (110 USD), Shanling M0 DAP (110 USD), and the Audirect Beam DAC/AMP (100 USD). Listeners can toggle oversampling on and off, enabling and disabling the digital filters. Oversampling mode increases resolution and sample rate while decreasing noise. With oversampling off, phase, artifacts, and jitter are reduced, and coherency is improved. In my opinion, if a speaker/headphone amplifier under test it is a good idea to measure its SINAD at -3db(1/2 max power, where max power is the power where THD+N reached 1%), it's common practice if not a standard.

Summary

The iFi GO bar has a clean, crisp sound signature and, by default, does not emphasize the lower frequencies. This gives it a lively and resolving presentation that listeners can tune to their liking using the XBass and XSpace controls. Where to buy

The driving power is enough for pretty much any portable IEM, and even for some headphones, including Brainwavz Alara, which is impressive, to say the least. Deoaece magazinul care mi-a oferit sample-ul pentru acest review este din Romania, voi adauga si un mic rezumat in Romana. The midrange is generally very clean, clear, well textured, and a bit on the analytical side. The soundstage of the Soundkey is wider than it is deep, but it has a really good width for the 150 USD price range. There is a good amount of texture, so instruments that are textury, like trumpets, really shine with it. The upper midrange is not enhanced in a special way, so you don’t get a hot or metallic tinge with your music. One more point, the DUT is powered by USB "5V" rail which actually seldom more than 4.2VDC under 100-300mA of the load, hence, 0dfs THD+N will strongly depend on USB port rail current limiter IC(like TPS2061C) setting.When you look at it, you know it is going to be a good portable DAC/AMP, but let's be honest, how portable is it? At the end of this review, if you're looking for a clean, clear, powerful, crisp, dynamic and punchy DAC/AMP that has a good amount of speed to its bass, can drive most IEMs and even a good number of headphones, and which is pretty practical, you should totally consider the Cyrus Soundkey. We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each! Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 28th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.)

If we're asked to make a trade-off between transparency and ultimate dynamism, we'll come down on the side of the Cyrus every time. Some will be turned off by Chord’s quirky design language, the unintuitive menu system, and the relatively high price. Building on the success of the BTR5, the FiiO BTR7 features a new THX AA-28 amplifier stage, larger battery, and updated Bluetooth chipset – albeit at about twice the price of the 5. If you own a pair of Sennheiser HD 800, HD 800S or HD 820 and were looking for their perfect match, the HDV 820 is what you need. Granted, it’s expensive, but it’ll provide a wide soundstage reproduction, excellent tonality and incredible driving capabilities.Innovative in its small design, the Soundkey is one of the most compact and lightweight headphone amplifier and DACs available today. Taking into account that most people listening to music through a mobile phone will likely be on the move, Cyrus has designed the Soundkey to weigh a mere 16g, making it light as well as compact. The smooth and rounded edges of the outer shell reduce the possibility of catching or snagging on anything. The overall sound signature is very smooth, focusing on warmth and immersion at the expense of complete clarity and neutrality. If you want an upgrade on listening to music through headphones then the Cyrus soundKey is definitely worth a look. Pop down to your local Richer Sounds and bring your smart phone to listen for yourself.