On that basis, 1W should be plenty for most headphones such as the Meze Empyrean and the Final D8000 Pro though slightly short for the most demanding out there such as the Susvara and the HE6SE. I say nominal because there is no weighted or load context so I have to presume that it is a 32Ω A-weighted benchmark. On a high level, there is plenty of power from both amplifiers with a speaker output at 100W per channel into an 8Ω load and a nominal declaration of 1W per channel for the headphone amplifier.
Yup, this is a purely single-ended topology design.Ĭyrus Audio has gone into a fair amount of performance detail for their 4th Gen Class D amplifier performance but slightly less so for the Class AB headphone amplifier. The only other caveat and I say this for both the headphone and speaker amps, is the lack of balanced inputs and outputs. Less is known about the precise circuit design of the headphone amplifier beyond the high-level detail and that it is a single-ended push-pull Class AB design with what I presume is an opamp implementation rather than a discreet topology.
What you do get inside is power, a linear power supply with the inclusion of a large toroidal transformer to the front of the circuit design.
technology, (speaker impedance detection), is the big pitch here though I would bet a few HIFIMAN HE6 owners might be taking a second glance at that also.Ĭyrus has been using this type of Class amplifier inside the One series since its inception in 2016 so some of the flavors of the One HD amplifier which uses the same revision should creep into the One Cast performance.īy opting for a high-efficiency Class D amplifier, Cyrus Audio can basically keep the One Cast relatively light and compact as well as create the necessary space for everything else by avoiding the implementation of heatsinks and cooling fans. The Cyrus 4th generation Hybrid Class D amplifier for speakers using S.I.D. There are actually two amplifiers inside the One Cast: a Class AB headphone amplifier and a Class D amplifier capable of up to 100W into 8Ω for speakers.
Streaming anything higher locally via DLNA might be downsampled, with TIDAL streaming better managed via a Chromecast to One Cast for playback. However, aside from MQA, the vast majority of commercial audio still falls into these decoding parameters and if you are an avid Qobuz user then the One Cast DAC can handle it just fine. Its decoding capability is just ok at 32BIT/192khz, (24bit/192kHz for SPDIF), and a native decoding capability of up to a maximum of DSD128, (via USB), so some high-end audiophiles might balk a little at seeing those somewhat less future-proofed numbers. DACĪt the heart of the One Cast’s decoding system is a single-channel ESS ES9018K2M delta-sigma chipset, which, if I am being honest is a bit long in the tooth and generally used for low-powered devices or mobile sources.
You can even connect it up to your TV via HDMI. Alternatively, the One Cast will sit right at home as a phono stage and output to a dedicated amplifier or use the internal amp for headphone users.Īnd finally, it can act as a central audio hub powering speakers directly via its 100W Class D amplifier, via a pre-out, or even wirelessly to another decoding receiver if that is your fancy. It can act as a streaming bridge to a headphone amplifier, or an all-in-one streamer, decoder, and amplifier for desktop headphone fans. How this product speaks to you depends entirely on what your usage scenario might be. It is a little bit tricky to focus on just one thing when the One Cast does so much. Copyright Cyrus Audio 2021 Tech Highlights However, we will keep it tidy and take it from a headphone user perspective so sorry speaker guys, we will not be covering that aspect this time around. We simply cannot cover everything the One Cast can offer or else we are talking a review longer than the Dead Sea Scrolls. The veritable Swiss army knife of audio or as Cyrus Audio calls the One Cast, a $1999 smart amplifier building from the One Series amplifier launched in 2016. Phono? Yup! Headphone and speaker output? For sure! Built-in DAC and pre-out? Yes, please! Streaming and app integration? Check! This time we have the One Cast, a thoroughly modern spin from Cyrus covering just about every base I can think of for desktop and speaker audio in 2021. It’s our first time covering a Cyrus Audio product on Headfonics but I am very familiar with Cyrus Audio stretching all the way back to my HiFi and Home Ents days over 20 years ago.