A visit to this year’s Bristol Hi-Fi Show provided further evidence of Cyrus’ revival
I have to lay my cards on the table; I have a soft spot for Cyrus Audio. I consider myself more of a critic than any kind of fan.
This passion dates back to my early days in our hobby. I was building my first system and wanted a Wharfedale Diamond Mk1s drive amplifier.
Months of reading reviews led to several dealer visits (thanks to the latest, Harrow Audio!), which led to the final confrontation between Rotel’s RA820B and the first plastic Cyrus 1. Not only did it sound better (more detailed, faster and more accurate), but its half-width, quirky style just appealed to me.
Over time, the product range expanded from the original pair of budget integrated amplifiers (reasonably called One and Two) to cover almost every part of the system chain from CD players and stereos to speakers and equipment racks.
Koresi has evolved from its budget roots to mid- and high-end price points, all the way to the lower high-end slopes with some of its earlier preamplifier/monobloc combinations.
Most of its 40 years have been successful, full of great products and equally great reviews. What is Hi-Fi? Awards were won regularly, and rightly so.
However, in my opinion, this righteousness has faded over the past decade. The company’s mid-width case that looked modern now looks old. It was introduced in the early 90s, and cost constraints meant it hasn’t changed much since then.
Parts of Cyrus still sound competent, but in our opinion, most of them have been eaten up by the competition’s leading players. A unique feature is the excellent CDi player that has won more awards than we care to remember.
For most of the last ten years, it felt like the company lacked focus, producing oddities like cheap Bluetooth speakers and a portable USB DAC (as good as it was), while mainstream hi-fi products didn’t emerge. The launch of new products have been occasional and similar events as well. I was concerned about the Cyrus brand and its longevity.
But, that’s not the case anymore. A change of management and a new focus seems to have brought about a rebirth of the species. The first fruit of this change is the 40 Series launched in 2024. It’s still half the width, still every inch a Cyrus, but with modern casework, classy aesthetics and, most importantly, class-leading sound quality. 40 integrated AMP, 40 CD player and 40 ST music player won their categories in our awards this year.
A visit to this year’s Bristol Hi-fi show reinforced my confidence in the brand, thanks to the launch of its premium 80 Series. These are full-width parts that still manage to look like Cyrus products. The styling cues are shared with the 40 Series, so there’s already a cohesive family look, and I for one, love it.
Koresi announced three products in the new series: the 80 AMP (broadcast amplifier, £5400), the 80 PRE (broadcast preamp, £4500) and the 80 PWR (power amplifier, £4000). As with the 40 ST, these new streaming products are based on Bluesound’s BluOS streaming platform, which is one of the most stable and accomplished around.
A quick look at the specs doesn’t reveal any glaring gaps. The inclusion of a moving magnet/moving phono coil stage, an HDMI eARC input alongside good analogue and digital connections, shows that someone at Koresi has thought carefully about what these products require.
There’s no shortage of power output either, as the 80 AMP and PWR both produce 150 watts per channel into 8 ohms, and 250 watts per side as impedance halves. The PWR can be configured as a 300-watt monobloc, if desired.
Seeing the 80 Series products in action again at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2026 gave me hope. They feel well made and look classy. Even the prices seem realistic considering what they seem to be offering.
Any definitive judgment must await a full review, of course. We were promised samples as soon as they were available. I can’t wait to listen.
MORE:
Read ours Cyrus 40 AMP review
12 of the most exciting products I saw at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2026
Rega’s award-winning Planar 6 turntable gets the ‘RS Edition’ treatment
