Cyrus Audio's CDi is more than just your average five-star CD player.
This terrific CD player has been our favourite premium spinner for over a decade, and remains a firm fixture in one of our hi-fi test rooms, where I use it nearly every day as a source when testing speakers, amplifiers and streaming systems.
While we originally tested the CDi at £975 way back in 2014, the price has risen considerably since then – it peaked at £1495 during the last two years. That still didn't deter it from nabbing yet another (its 11th in a row!) best CD player over £1000 trophy at 2024's What Hi-Fi? Awards.
This brings me to the good news: I've spotted that the price of the CDi has now plummeted to £999 at Peter Tyson and Richer Sounds. That's back down to its original retail price and a near-£500 saving over its most recent billing – which is a fantastic saving.
If you are after a terrific-sounding CD player that is reliable in operation, has a rock-solid build and prioritises audio quality above all else, the Cyrus CDi's value for money can't be overstated.
Cyrus' CDi hasn't been winning back-to-back Awards for over a decade without merit. Every year, we test the CDi against newcomers and despite its age, it reminds us once again why it's still a top performer.
It has a "uniform, articulate and intuitive presentation that we’d expect from a more expensive player," we said in our original review. Its ability to dig out intricate details with utter precision and dynamic subtlety remains competitive today.
But what has always impressed us is the CDi's considerable rhythmic talent. It is fast and fluid, accurate and entertaining.
"Pace and momentum are exercised with articulation and vibrancy," we said, while its dynamic agility and neutral balance haven't been surpassed – unless you pay another grand or so.
Yes, the black-on-green display looked dated even back in 2014 during its first test and the half-width aluminium chassis looks industrial at best.
But you know what? It is utterly reliable. The screen is informative, the physical buttons work every single time and operation is slick and steady – we have had our sample for over 11 years now, and it runs as smoothly as if it were box fresh. In fact, we even preferred this model over the step-up CDi-XR successor because of the CDi's far more reliable operation.
The slot-loading mechanism is noisy when accepting and rejecting a disc but is completely silent in operation. The build quality is rock-solid and it is ideal for those with compact spaces, too.
The new £2995 Cyrus 40 CD modernises this design entirely and pushes the sound performance even further, but it is a considerable jump up in price, too. Perhaps the newly minted five-star premium player's existence has allowed Cyrus to bring its trusty old CDi back to its original sub-£1000 price point.
That the CDi continued to impress us with its sonic abilities despite a £500 price rise in the last 10 years (and without any hiccups in operation) should prove just how much of a sound investment this CD player is.
And with its high price plunged back down to its original billing, we can't recommend its performance-per-pound value enough. Check out this amazing £999 deal price at Peter Tyson.
MORE:
Read our original Cyrus CDi review
Our guide to the best CD players and CD transports for every budget
I tried Lorde’s transparent CD in 7 different disc players – but did it play on any of them?
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