What Hi-Fi? Verdict
Stereo amplifier Product of the Year, Awards 2010. There's not much to get excited about with its looks, but the 6XP's sound will have you clicking your fingers
Pros
- +
Controlled, robust, revealing sound
- +
useful upgrade path
Cons
- -
Not the most powerful
- -
needs a degree of system-matching
Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.
Stereo amplifier Product of the Year 2010
If you've seen one Cyrus amp, you've seen 'em all. No other manufacturer demonstrates the single (or bloody) mindedness of the British specialist when it comes to dimensions and appearance.
Something else that doesn't change is Cyrus's determination to offer its customers an upgrade path.
Future upgrade options
Today's 6XP can become tomorrow's 8XP (which adds 30 Watts per channel to the 6XP's 40W, and the option to add a PSX-R power supply), or 8XPD (with digital card offering five digital inputs and a USB socket), or Pre XP (for use as a preamp in conjunction with Cyrus's power amps).
All that's required is your 6XP to visit the Cyrus factory and your wallet to be lightened.
In the meantime, the 6XP does very nicely in its own right. The signature Cyrus sound – low-fat, rapid and profusely detailed – is to the fore.
An involved song such as Radiohead's Where I End and You Begin is pristine, the leading edge of notes described with at-times startling diligence.
Scale and dynamic ability
There's greater scale and more dynamic ability available than the power rating suggests, plus an openness and transparency that makes the midrange explicit and the top end glisten without aggression.
