Cyrus CDi review

Cyrus hasn’t put a foot wrong with its CD players for as long as we can remember. It’d be fair to say that its track record has been phenomenal over the decades.

So it came as no surprise that the Cyrus CDi – the successor to the Cyrus 6SE and Cyrus 8SE – proved to be another gleaming example of the company treading the right path.

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Sound quality

Upon the launch of the CDi in 2013, Cyrus said this was its best-sounding CD player yet. The brand has since launched the CDi-XR (tested in 2021 at £1995), which sits above the CDi. We liked the CDi-XR, but continued to prefer the CDi's firmer, more reassuring physical button controls.

It is worth noting that there is now a significant step-up Cyrus CD 40 CD player that offers a completely refreshed modern look and improvements in sound quality throughout. This new, superb 40 CD costs £2995, and it means the CDi – whose price once reached as high as £1495 in the last couple of years – is now back down to £999 in 2025.

Even still, the CDi continues to set the benchmark at its price. During our original review, we became convinced of the scale of Cyrus’s achievement here in the very first minutes of listening to it. And as its consistent stream of What Hi-Fi? Awards can attest over the last decade, that achievement has stood the test of time.

We play Hans Zimmer’s Dream is Collapsing from the Inception soundtrack and right away the CDi displays the uniform, articulate and intuitive presentation that we’d expect from a more expensive player.

Offering buckets of detail, the finer flurries of quieter instruments surface, while the more intense parts of the score soar into a dramatic climax.

Each layer of the composition is precisely unpeeled, and each instrument passes through the mix with coherent flow and tact.

But the rhythmic talent here is what really raises our eyebrows. Pace and momentum are exercised with articulation and vibrancy.

We find ourselves entertained by the Cyrus CDi’s dynamic agility and neutral balance in a way that’s rare at this price. Though fast and fluid, the sound is much weightier than any of the company’s previous models.

Even when we switch to Timbaland’s Morning After Dark – which has a fleshy, hard sound, heaps of sub-bass and thumping beats – the CDi doesn’t bat an eyelid.

As if that weren’t testing enough, we dig out a live recording of Linkin Park and are equally impressed at the amount of clarity and definition it extracts against the background crowd noise – even if the spacious soundstage seems a bit forsaken.

Build and design

We may not have heard quite this calibre of sound from a Cyrus Classic Series player before, but we’ve become fairly accustomed to the blueprint design of its machines.

Unboxing the long, half-width aluminium chassis, therefore, isn’t exactly a bolt from the blue. We generally like its solid build, fuss-free design and simple, easy-to-read black-on-green display – though the latter now looks thoroughly outdated in today’s market and could do with a rethink.

The buttons prove reliable and instantly responsive during playback. The design may be dated, but everything functions without a hitch.

In earlier SE models, we found the cheap-looking plastic remote a noteworthy negative, so we’re rather pleased that the new one is more in-keeping with rival players’ handsets, boasting a plush and organised set of backlit buttons.

Features

The company says that the CDi shares similar features to its CD Xt Signature CD transport.

This means having a slot disc loader, a more stable clock and the latest version of its customary Servo Evolution disc-reading engine, which relies more on reading the data correctly the first time than on error correction to colour in the blanks.

The company claims the transport now has as much as 20 per cent fewer CD reading errors than any other off-the-shelf alternatives it found at the time – and the amount of detail it grabs from the music goes a long way to prove it.

The CDi's transport is, however, rather noisy when loading a disc, though as silent as you’d hope it would be during playback.

At the back of the player are two pairs of RCA line level outputs and standard digital optical and coaxial outputs.

True to Cyrus fashion, upgrades can also be achieved by connecting to the company’s PSX-R external power supply for naturally more power, clarity and detail.

But we’re certain you’ll be happy with the CDi alone for a long time to come. We certainly have been – the CDi has been a firm fixture in our test room's reference system for many years now.

Verdict

While the new 40 CD brings a thoroughly modern outlook and improved sound, we remain impressed and entertained with the long-running CDi. The player has proved to be reliable in the 11+ years we've had our review sample, and we welcome the price drop in 2025.

We are confident you won’t find a more entertaining, more revealing player at this level.

Review published: 2014. Review updated: November 2024, October 2025.

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