Cyrus SoundKey (Portable DAC & Headphone Amp) - $129 (Last Sold/RRP $169) + Free Shipping Australia Wide @ RIO Sound and Vision

20

Go to Deal

Store RepFunkyDan on 14/12/2018 - 13:59 rio.com.au (422 clicks)
Last edited 14/12/2018 - 20:17 by 1 other user

Get your hands on the award-winning Cyrus SoundKey for only $129 for 3-days only!

With a 5-star review by WhatHiFi? it not only makes for a great Christmas gift, but it'll "turn your mobile listening into an authentically high-fidelity experience" (WhatHiFi?) without breaking the bank!

The soundKey is extremely low current to conserve your phone’s battery life, is compatible with a wide range of audio formats- including MP3, AAC, and FLAC- and can handle High Resolution audio files up to 24bit/96kHz.

Just because you're on the move, you don't have to sacrifice a great quality sound- it's extremely lightweight (only weighing 18g), and is so compact in design that you'll hardly feel it hanging from your headphones.

Available in Black, Red, Blue and Purple, this portable DAC comes with a USB-Micro USB cable, as well as a Micro USB-Micro USB cable. If you're an Apple user, you'll need the appropriate adaptor cable listed in the FAQ link below.

As mentioned in the title, it's FREE SHIPPING Australia-Wide, and it comes with a full 12-month Warranty.

Hurry and order online now to have it in time for Christmas, or head into one of our stores in Preston or Hampton if you're Melbourne based!

For a list of FAQ's about the soundKey and it's compatibility with certain devices check out the Cyrus website :)

Related Stores

Rio Sound & Vision

• 

  Cyb3rGlitch on 14/12/2018 - 14:11

  Would this work fine for USB-C devices like a Google Pixel?

  • 

    jv on 14/12/2018 - 14:29

    Surely you can't be Cyrus ?

    • 

      PlasticSpaceman on 14/12/2018 - 14:39

      +3

      ….and stop calling me Shirley

      • 

        jv on 14/12/2018 - 14:49

        +2

        …Joey, have you ever been…in a Turkish Prison?

  • 

    thorpef1 on 14/12/2018 - 14:52

    I too am extremely disappointed with the audio out of the Pixel 2.
    I have the Dragonfly black with my UE TF10's and it barely makes a difference (phone is not rooted)

    Im considering selling my Dragonfly as its sitting on my desk doing nothing

• 

  bargaino on 14/12/2018 - 14:24

  +3

  I love the way audiophiles can write six paragraphs without ever mentioning WTF the thing is supposed to do or achieve.

  Spoiler alert: it is a USB audio dongle.
  And who wants one of those hanging off their phone?
  If the analog audio from your phone is that bad, get a better phone.
  Or failing that, get a nice bluetooth headset with that fancy codec. Or a bluetooth receiver dongle. This is just ugly.

  • 

    0xFFFF on 14/12/2018 - 14:30

    +4

    The problem is that you can't get oxygen free bluetooth.

  • 

    Cyb3rGlitch on 14/12/2018 - 14:31

    +2

    Many phones have no audio jack anymore (and no DAC), so you're stuck with a dongle either way unless you want to invest in wireless headphones. This is a cheaper solution than getting a decent wireless set of headphones, and certainly cheaper than buying a new phone.

    • 

      jv on 14/12/2018 - 14:52

      -3

      This is a cheaper solution than getting a decent wireless set of headphones

      you still need headphones, wireless or not.

      • 

        Cyb3rGlitch on 14/12/2018 - 15:39

        +1

        If you already own nice wired headphones there's no reason to buy another. Not all headphones come wireless, and not all people want wireless in the first place (dealing with another battery, connection issues, etc.)

        Not saying this is for everyone, but there's a legit use case here.

        • 

          jv on 14/12/2018 - 16:28

          -4

          @Cyb3rGlitch:

          If you already own nice wired headphones there's no reason to buy another.

          Same with wireless.

  • 

    Merlict on 14/12/2018 - 14:33

    +3

    If the analog audio from your phone is that bad, get a better phone.

    Stupid logic. This is far cheaper, and can be used with multiple devices. It's a bit ugly but really not that hard to drop into a headphone carry case.

    • 

      bargaino on 14/12/2018 - 14:47

      -3

      Sorry, suppose I was just grumpy that it took me so long to figure out what they were trying to sell. The deliberately obtuse language of hifi sales bugs me.

      My logic was that DAC chips are so cheap, only the cheapest phone would have noticeably worse audio.

      But OK, assuming you have better hearing than I, wouldn't you want a USB-C or lightning dongle, instead of this plus a cable?
      Personally, I just refuse to buy a phone without 3.5mm. Obviously that will not suit everyone.

      • 

        lostn on 14/12/2018 - 17:16

        My logic was that DAC chips are so cheap,

        They are cheap, but none of them are good enough to drive audiophile grade headphones. Thus the need for the DAC/Amp.

        If you're not one of those people, just stick to your white Earpods and be done with it.

        only the cheapest phone would have noticeably worse audio.

        Not true at all. Smartphones do not cater to the audiophile. It would be a waste of money to put in an expensive DAC when only a minority of owners will make use of it.

        But OK, assuming you have better hearing than I, wouldn't you want a USB-C or lightning dongle, instead of this plus a cable?

        If you can name a lightning or C dongle that's small and can drive 300-600ohms, I'd like to hear about it. The dongle will not amplify the audio. It is not an amp or a dac. It's just an adapter that lets you plug 3.5mm headphones into a USB port. That's not what this device is intended to replace.

        Personally, I just refuse to buy a phone without 3.5mm. Obviously that will not suit everyone.

        It's not a replacement for the 3.5mm audio jack. It's a replacement for the shitty DAC that's inside most smartphones. There's two ways to amp the audio. You can use an AMP with a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable, or you can use a USB DAC. Either way, it's another external device about the size of your smartphone that you will be connecting your headphones to.

        It seems you have a misunderstanding of what the item's intended use case was. It's not an alternative to a dongle for a 3.5mm-jackless phone. It's intended to make audiophile grade headphones listenable to on a smartphone.

        My phone has the 3.5mm jack already, and I still use one of these if I'm listening to better headphones than your pack-ins.

        • 

          bargaino on 14/12/2018 - 17:40

          -2

          @lostn:

          none of them are good enough to drive audiophile grade headphones.

          Is this an objective truth, or just a psychological phenomena?

          can drive 300-600ohms

          Huh? These words make no sense to an engineer. High impedance means low current and so easier to "drive".

          Unless you want high power, which would require a high voltage. But why would anyone build speakers, or even passive headphones, with such high impedance?

  • 

    diamondd on 14/12/2018 - 16:40

    aptX ain't that fancy

  • 

    lostn on 14/12/2018 - 17:12

    +1

    And who wants one of those hanging off their phone?

    Audiophiles.

    If the analog audio from your phone is that bad, get a better phone.

    Very few phones can actually drive high impedance / sensitivity audiophile grade headphones. The only one that gets trotted out is LG's V30.

    Or failing that, get a nice bluetooth headset with that fancy codec.

    They're terrible unless for ANC. BT can't compare with wired.

    Or a bluetooth receiver dongle.

    That's not going to improve things at all. It's still BT. So you're expensive Beyer T1s or Senn HD800s are still going to be delivering BT audio despite being plugged in by wire. This is no different than trying to game with audiophile grade headphones plugged into your dual shock 4. It's a waste of good gear.

    This is just ugly.

    It's not about looks. Clearly the product wasn't made for you. Stick to your QC 35s and move on.

• 

  PlasticSpaceman on 14/12/2018 - 14:48

  +3

  Whether you need this depends a lot on how good your hearing is, how good your headphones are, how good your source material is and what sort of device you are plugging it into. My Galaxy S9 for example supports up to 32-bit/384kHz audio so I suspect it would be fairly pointless to use this external device. Not all DACs are the same of course, so it's more than just maximum resolution specs, so if you need this then it's a good deal.

  • 

    Cyb3rGlitch on 14/12/2018 - 20:21

    +1

    I don't think any consumer device in the last decade or more has a DAC that isn't already beyond the limits of human hearing. The only use case here is for a) adding a missing DAC, and/or b) providing additional amplification.

• 

  C0mbat on 14/12/2018 - 15:01

  -5

  These things are becoming less useful by the day though. Moving to wireless is inevitable.

  • 

    lostn on 14/12/2018 - 17:23

    They're less useful to people who don't care about audio. For those who do, wireless will never match wired.

    • 

      C0mbat on 15/12/2018 - 07:39

      -1

      I consider myself and audiophile (or at least used to) and have spent many many thousands on kit down the years. What I've realised is that most of it is snake oil and I truly believe that about DACs. I've tried wired vs wireless and don't notice much difference anymore.

      My most recent wired IEMs were the Audiofly A180s ($600) and the Shute 535s ($600) and my new wireless Sony WI-1000Xs sound better than both of them. Why? Because for most general listening having a dynamic driver rather than armatures makes it sound more powerful.

• 

  allegiance86 on 14/12/2018 - 15:04

  -2

  Bought the SMSL AD18 for a touch more but is a far superior AMP/DAC from Amazon AU (Via Cashrewards ofcourse)

  • 

    NanookOz on 14/12/2018 - 15:52

    +2

    that's a completely different use case but ok

  • 

    jjcf on 14/12/2018 - 16:02

    yeah, the AD18 is super pocketable too.