Listening to music

Queen’s “Innuendo” sounds full and bombastic. It’s a lousy mix but the Cyrus makes the most of it. You can also hear that the Cyrus’ overall stereo image is large, despite the center of gravity being found in the middle, and that works in its favor here. The guitars swishing from left to right make huge swishes without the whole picture falling apart.

In Tangerine Dream’s “Rubycon,” the rhythmic, nimble nature is evident. There is a bit more emphasis on the sounds of analog sequencers and the dark, brooding atmosphere is not present here. This rendition of Rubycon sounds more like a friendly stream over which the sunlight plays than the mythical river that divides the realm of the living and the dead.

Alyson Moyet’s grief over the end of love is tangible, and the anger and sadness on Metallica’s “Untill It Sleeps” is palpable. Drummer Lars Ullrich’s dry hits have obvious impact.

Madonna’s dance sounds come into their own and the beats pump out the speakers on Underworld. It has just enough venom to make an impact and there is enough space in sound to prevent a mush of tones in the midrange from hurting your eardrums. The Cyrus produces the dance rhythms with class, but punchy.

Cinematic Orchestra once again demonstrates that the size of its soundstage is not inferior to other amplifiers. Cyrus’ choice in how the soundstage is presented works exceptionally well for this track, offering a deep 3D space that you feel like you are looking into.

Analog 1970s recordings, such as Steely Dan’s “Katy Song,” as well as Gino Vanelli’s “Powerful People,” sound incredible on the Cyrus. Classic apparently refers not only to the origins of this line of devices from Cyrus, but also to their adherence to their sound characteristics that are very reminiscent of the analog era. You could almost argue that with the renewed focus on vinyl, the Cyrus is the perfect match in timbre and character. If you stick to your tradition long enough you will automatically become hip again!

The atmosphere of Etta James’ concert is almost palpable. Again, this is a 1970s recording and the Cyrus eats it as if it were the fuel on which the amp runs.

Classical music

Chamber music and voices please, such as the Huelgas Ensemble, Matthias Goerne and Nathalie Stutzmann in the “Alto Rhapsody. The choir in the “Alto Rhapsody” is singing along very nicely. Not only does it sound like a choir, but the details of the individual voices blend nicely with Stutzmann’s voice.

In the Debussy performance, you get many nuances in the playing of the violin and piano. The emphasis is on the performance, on what the players want to convey to the listener. The details that they bring to their playing and that the Cyrus emphasizes helps bring that across.

With Mahler and Prokofiev, a razor-sharp image of the orchestra in the soundstage is missed; it is somewhat diffuse. The various instruments and instrument groups do not have much body, it lacks some weight in the sound and that is not what you expect when hearing almost a full orchestra. Nice details in the percussion stand out, the line of the music is easy to follow, but as a whole this is not where the Cyrus shines.