Cyrus Audio Classic PHONO
The Classic PHONO uncovers vinyl with a jet-black background, fast transparency and richly resolved decay, while four individually configurable MM/MC inputs make cartridge swapping unusually effortless. HomeTheaterHifi found it organic and unfatiguing; Hi-Fi Choice praised its exceptional silence and even-handed detail. Balanced outputs, remote setup and optional PSX-R2 expansion complete a seriously adaptable phono stage.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
92/100
Cartridge Compatibility
96/100
Build Quality
91/100
Value for Money
94/100
Pros
Exceptionally quiet, transparent presentation reveals low-level detail, note attack and decay with strong instrumental separation.
Four independently remembered MM/MC inputs, broad loading and gain adjustment, and remote control make multi-cartridge setup exceptionally flexible.
PSX-R2 upgrade path meaningfully improves refinement, transparency, soundstage scale and instrument separation.
Cons
No mono mode, a useful omission for listeners with mono LP collections.
Its neutral, revealing balance can sound cool and is less forgiving of bright or poorly recorded LPs.
The optional PSX-R2 delivers a clear performance lift but adds significant cost.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 92/100
Reviews portray the Classic PHONO as an exceptionally clean, revealing phono stage with an unusually silent background and a fast, composed presentation. Its neutral balance is highly resolving rather than forgiving, rewarding well-recorded vinyl and careful cartridge setup with strong detail, fluency and spatial separation.
Transparency Noise Floor
94/100
HomeTheaterHifi heard a blacker background, greater transparency and clearer access to note attack and decay. Hi-Fi Choice goes further, describing an absolute absence of idle noise and saying the stage was completely inaudible when no music was playing.
Tonal Balance Musicality
91/100
Reviewers describe a fast, transparent and organically whole sound that remains free of fatigue. Hi-Fi Choice found it extremely even from top to bottom and emotionally revealing when the recording contains that information, although its lack of midrange emphasis can make it sound a little cool or less flattering with poorer recordings.
Dynamics
92/100
The Classic PHONO is praised for satisfying speed, clear transient definition and the ability to follow the interaction and decay of notes. Hi-Fi Choice calls its delivery of demanding music spellbindingly fluent, while the supplied Cyrus Signature assessments also show how correctly selected gain can bring greater immediacy, presence and graded dynamics.
Soundstage Imaging
91/100
HomeTheaterHifi heard greater separation of instruments across the soundstage, helped by the quieter background. Hi-Fi Choice found that a capable MC cartridge brought extra three-dimensionality and naturalness, indicating that the Cyrus preserves the spatial information available from the cartridge and record.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Cartridge Compatibility
96/100
This is unusually accommodating for multi-turntable users: it supports four MM or MC inputs, each able to retain its own settings, with 40-70dB gain choices and adjustable impedance and capacitance. Reviewers found it easy to obtain productive cartridge matching, and the level meters, remote-configurable settings, balanced outputs and rumble filter make setup especially practical; only a mono switch is absent.
Build Quality
91/100
The supplied reviews describe a solid, heavy component with firm-feeling controls and excellent fit and finish. Cyrus also uses a low-noise DC supply, carefully selected capacitors and an updated baseplate intended to improve isolation and resistance to electrical interference; Hi-Fi Choice additionally points to the long service record of the related Cyrus design.
Value for Money
94/100
At the stated $2,395 MSRP in the HomeTheaterHifi review, the reviewer considered its functionality, convenience and transparent playback sufficient to justify the price. Hi-Fi Choice was even more emphatic, calling it the class of the field below £2,000 and highlighting system flexibility that rivals struggle to match; the optional PSX-R2 power supply adds a substantial further cost.
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Specifications
- Connection
- up to four MM and MC cartridge turntables
- MC inputs
- configurable for gain, load and capacitance
- Stereo output
- level meters with peak hold to optimise MC gain
- Outputs
- XLR balanced and RCA
- Warp filter
- reduce bass excursion on warped records
- Ground lift
- switch to help eliminate ground hum problems
- PSX-R2
- port for the ultimate upgrade
- Dimensions
- 75 x 215 x 365 mm
Manufacturer's Description — Cyrus Audio
The new Classic PHONO is arguably the most advanced phono pre amplifier available anywhere in the world today. Designed to exceed the expectations of the most serious vinyl audiophiles, particularly in areas such as outright musical performance, accurate cartridge matching and flexibility of use.
The Classic PHONO allows up to four turntables to be permanently connected because many vinyl enthusiasts enjoy multiple turntables, arms or cartridges for different records. Each of the four inputs can be accurately matched to the exact specification of the cartridge and the acoustic preference of the user. Adjustment is provided for MC cartridges in gain, resistance and capacitance. In addition a switchable warp filter is provided to maximise amplifier performance.
Four turntables may be permanently connected allowing the listener to easily switch between turntables, arms or cartridges as desired. Each input may be adjusted between; MM or MC, gain, resistance and capacitance. Settings are conveniently saved to memory for future reference.
Stereo output level meters working in real time allow clear and accurate gain adjustment to optimise the headroom available from your system for each MC cartridge.
The Classic PHONO enjoys a high capacity and very low noise DC power supply that enables the pre amplifier to provide an extremely wide dynamic range ensuring extended signal levels long before clipping. Attention to circuit layout and component placement ensures a very low noise floor to further expand musical dynamics.
The passive RIAA filtering uses very high performance metallized polyester capacitors for ultimate accuracy and performance.
The Classic PHONO includes a port for the PSX-R2 power supply. Power from the PSX-R2 is routed internally to provide a more stable, low-noise power supply.
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- Acton Gate Audio — online and in-store — Cymru, United Kingdom (website)
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- All Elite Audio — online and in-store — Perry Hall, Maryland, United States (website)
- Alpha Audio Pte — online and in-store — Singapore, Singapore (website)
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- Audio Affair — online and in-store — Deritend, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Audio Factory — online — Spain (website)
- Audio Magic - EU — online and in-store — Wola, Województwo mazowieckie, Poland (website)
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