Cyrus Soundkey DAC & Headphone Amplifier - Ruby

Product Information

At the end of this review, if you're looking for a clean, clear, powerful, crisp, dynamic and punchy DAC/AMP that has a good amount of speed to its bass, can drive most IEMs and even a good number of headphones, and which is pretty practical, you should totally consider the Cyrus Soundkey. FiiO’s DAC is a little like listening to an artist rehearse, while the soundKey reveals a defining performance.

The Soundkey is powered by the internal battery of the connected device; it does not have its own battery, but its low power consumption will not tax the device’s battery very much. Durability and Build Quality

Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 28th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.) The higher capacity battery offsets the power-hungry THX amplifier, and battery life ranges from about 6-9 hours (about the same as the BTR5), depending on volume and output choice. The SoundKey, however, shines best with vocals or music with more “air” in the recording. The treble is sweet and non-fatiguing with a warm, rich midrange and good – but not overpowering – bass presence. Innovative in its small design, the Soundkey is one of the most compact and lightweight headphone amplifier and DACs available today. Taking into account that most people listening to music through a mobile phone will likely be on the move, Cyrus has designed the Soundkey to weigh a mere 16g, making it light as well as compact. The smooth and rounded edges of the outer shell reduce the possibility of catching or snagging on anything. The Cyrus soundKey jumps into the crowded market of probable headphone dongles with good looks, form factor and functionality a volume control would have been nice though). On the down side, distortion metrics are poor. Better efficiency compensates for that if you use it on battery operated phones and such (you would need the Apple camera dongle for iOS support).

Cyrus’ soundKey is a portable USB DAC (digital-to-analogue converter) and headphone amp, aimed at use for smartphones and tablets. While these devices have their own built in DACs, they are often low quality units which can really hinder your music. The soundKey bypasses onboard DACs and uses it’s own dedicated circuitry to provide you with a much better sound performance. No, it’s not a replacement for a full-sized headphone amplifier for extremely hard-to-drive headphones. But it’s certainly good enough to drive nearly any pair of IEMs. It works excellently and sounds superb for this type of device. Where to buy The build quality is flawless, and the manual volume knob is a pleasure to use. It uses Dethonray’s ‘Touch & Feel’ algorithm to make the volume adjustment smooth and accurate.Naturally, it will not resolve every single detail on recordings like other more expensive devices of similar size (much less full-sized components), but there’s enough there to bring out the music and make every listening session a pleasurable one. There’s plenty of power on hand for most headphones (160mW SE, 320mW balanced), and the FiiO Control application allows for even more output power using the “Boost BAL” mode. If you happen to be driving, ditch the Bluetooth connection and connect the SoundKey to the vehicle entertainment system’s aux input – the difference a simple device like this can make to the sound quality is remarkable. The UI and firmware are also basic, but work. Every smartphone I tried the Soundkey with have detected it without any fuss, and my Desktop PC was able to use it without any issues as well. In fact, it is so hassle-free that I would be able to give it a thumbs up as an overall product simply because it works so easily.