What is the Myryad 'story'? Who are the people 'behind' the Myryad brand?

Myryad Systems Limited is a privately owned company incorporated in Britain in 1996 and having its design, administration and manufacturing facilities in Waterlooville in Hampshire.

Myryad’s Technical Director, Chris Evans, has won significant industry awards for the innovative engineering and sonic quality of his designs, both for Myryad and previously at Arcam, where he was an original founder-director, and subsequently at NAD where, as Director of Technology, he was responsible for the development of all NAD’s CD players and numerous amplification products.

Production Engineering and Quality Management is under the control of Chris Evans’ brother, David, who is justifiably proud to be the first Engineering Director outside the Far East to whom the electronics brand NAD entrusted manufacture of any of their products. Myryad is therefore well experienced in the skill of producing high quality items efficiently and reliably, and its continuing success is built very much upon its reputation for consistently high manufacturing quality.

Sales and Operations are directed by Lynn Evans, under whose guidance Myryad has developed to become Britain's fastest growing specialist consumer electronics company, achieving growth averaging 45% 'year-on-year' for each of the last four years.

Managing Director, Chris Short, was previously Managing Director and owner of British loudspeaker manufacturer Mordaunt-Short, and was subsequently the Chairman of Tannoy, and a Director of their public holding company, TGI plc. During that period, Mordaunt-Short became the market leader in its field in the UK, and won at the same time The Queen’s Award for Export Achievement, the UK government's highest award for outstanding commercial achievement. Myryad may therefore claim to be totally familiar with the levels of service and product quality that must be provided to customers worldwide to assure them of total satisfaction from their purchase.

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What is the Myryad 'design philosophy'?

 The design of a good-sounding amplifier, or any hi-fi product, requires careful attention to many details. If just one key feature is overlooked it could turn a great product into a mediocre one. The designer must always design the product as a whole and not focus too much any one 'favourite' area.

Careful and precise engineering can take you 90% of the way to a top design and without it the design will fail. But it is the final 10% which distinguishes the best hi-fi marques. Experience and a deep understanding of the critical aspects of an amplifier's performance lead to the best circuit topologies and physical layout. Again, looking at the product as a whole is important. An amplifier and its power supply are one – and must be designed as such.

The final subtleties of tonal balance musicality and soundstaging, which distinguish even the best amplifiers, can be influenced by component type and quality. Although the primary specification of all components must be to meet engineering requirements, that still leaves a great deal of choice available to the designer. For instance, Myryad's use of precision metal film resistors and polypropylene film capacitors – even in its budget products in key locations – is based on many hours of listening. The use of parts such as these make a significant contribution to the open and transparent yet warm and musical sound exhibited by all Myryad's products.

This design philosophy is applied equally to all Myryad's products, from the least to the most expensive. In a budget amplifier the cost constraints are more onerous and the quality of the sound must be compatible with lower cost sources and loudspeakers. At the high-end an amplifier must perform impeccably with the most detailed sources and the most transparent (and often taxing) loudspeakers while still meeting the approval of the critical ears of the high-end listener. In either case the same design philosophy guides all Myryad products to ensure they sound and look beautiful.

In brief, the Myryad 'design philosophy' may be summed up as:

• Meticulous attention to detail of all aspects of product design
• Precise engineering design to achieve product performance targets
• Exhaustive listening tests to make final refinements of design
• The use of high quality components throughout
• Specifically 'audiophile' parts (e.g. polypropylene film capacitors and precision metal film resistors) used in all products - even in budget units in key locations - not just in the more expensive ones
• Each product designed as a balanced and integrated whole

In short, 'intelligent engineering for pure enjoyment'.

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What is the Myryad 'sound'?

Of course, the ultimate design goal is that there should not actually be a 'sound' that is particular to Myryad. A perfect hi-fi product would be totally neutral and not impose any characteristic of its own on the music, but different hi-fi has different characteristics just as different musical instruments do.

There is an infinite variety of possible sonic characteristics which a product can take on as it deviates from absolute neutrality. These are often described by various subjective and comparative terms such as 'hard'/'soft', 'bright'/'dark', 'warm'/'cold' and so on. Myryad believes that when designing hi-fi products it is important to avoid focusing too heavily on any one particular aspect of the sound as this can often lead to improvements in one area at the expense of degradation elsewhere. At Myryad we always consider the sound as a whole and aim to optimize the sonic performance across its total spectrum.

Myryad products are designed keeping the ultimate aim of neutrality always in mind. To this end we treat aspects such as transparency and precision as key parameters. However, there are many products on the market which score very highly on transparency and precision but have a cold, lifeless and un-involving sound.

At Myryad we take great care to ensure that transparency and precision are achieved without compromising musicality and a degree of warmth. The sound is dynamic with excellent transient precision and power - but not artificially emphasized. Treble accuracy and detail are achieved while keeping the top end sweet and smooth - without any hardness.

Proof of the success of this approach is that no fewer than 8 out 10 of Myryad's M-Series products hold the coveted 5-Star rating in leading British magazine, 'What Hi-Fi?' - an unprecedented proportion of an entire product series, and the strongest possible endorsement of Myryad's skill in designing consistently superb and natural-sounding products.

In brief, the Myryad 'sound' may be summed up as:

• Precise, transparent and neutral - but with warmth and musicality
• Dynamic - and with excellent transient precision and power
• Having an accurate and extended treble - but still sweet and smooth

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What are the Myryad product groups, and who are they intended for?

Myryad currently offers three principal product groups:

M-Series

M-Series is 'affordable high-end', a refreshingly different product concept, with a 'beautifully-engineered' appearance to match its 'beautifully engineered' performance. M-Series is both easy and satisfying to use (thanks to the sophistication of its My-Link communications bus), and its principal market is among young professionals. M-Series epitomises the Myryad design philosophy of 'intelligent engineering for pure enjoyment'.

9 out of Myryad's 12 M-Series products hold 5-Star reviews in Britain's leading specialist hi-fi magazine, 'What Hi-Fi?' - an unprecedented proportion, particularly since the last two products introduced are still too new to have been reviewed!

Cameo

Cameo is substantially derived from the M-Series, but its presentation is unashamedly 'life-style'. Slim and elegant, Cameo is absolutely perfect for those, of any age, who simply wish to enjoy their music without feeling the need to understand the technology that delivers it. Equipped with advanced intuitive software links (a development of My-Link known as Smart My-Link), Cameo's superb performance is matched by supreme ease of use, and it has brought the benefits of 'good hi-fi' to an entirely new audience.

Z-Series

Z-Series is true 'budget esoterica'. It combines the best elements of M-Series technology with the slim proportions and ease of operation of Cameo, all ingeniously re-engineered within economic but eye-catching cabinetry. The result is sophisticated performance at an exceptionally competitive price, which is expected to prove even more attractive to younger consumers than the best-selling T-Series it replaces.

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How should I expect to compare Myryad's 'British sound' with products from other origins?

• Larger (and, particularly, Far-Eastern) manufacturers cater for mass tastes.
• British manufacturers, such as Myryad, have traditionally designed for the smaller (but steadily growing) market for the more discerning music-lover.
• Larger international manufacturers tend to offer products with many features - frequently just for marketing purposes, with many features bringing few true sonic benefits to the end-user.
• Because all such features introduce additional circuitry which can only degrade the ultimate performance, Myryad products are designed with only those features and controls that are totally necessary. As the result, circuitry is purer, operation is simpler, and a greater part of product cost can be allocated to high-quality components which genuinely benefit performance.
• Mass-produced products are designed to be immediately impressive in demonstration at the point of purchase - usually through emphasis on one aspect of performance.
• Myryad takes care with all products to ensure that their performance reflects the Myryad criteria (set out above) for how they should sound - which, of course, makes them much more satisfying to live with over the longer-term.

Again, no fewer than 9 out 12 Myryad's M-Series products hold the coveted 5-Star rating in the leading British magazine, 'What Hi-Fi?' - an unprecedented proportion of an entire product series, and the strongest possible endorsement of Myryad's skill in designing superb products which also out-perform 'the best of the rest' from all over the world.

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How should I expect to compare Myryad's 'British' A/V with the mass-produced Japanese A/V? What is the relationship between Myryad's Hi-Fi and A/V products?

• The same differences in approach apply to A/V products just as they do to pure Hi-Fi products. In the early days of A/V, consumers were happy to be amazed that this new 'multi-channel' phenomenon could be provided at all. Now, with home cinema sound-tracks requiring very much more than an ability to reproduce music, discerning consumers are aware that the ability of A/V products to offer a high quality and wholly 'natural' sound is even more important in A/V than it always was in Hi-Fi.
• Myryad applies the same design philosophy and sound quality goals to all it's A/V products as well as its Hi-Fi products.
• Myryad's MA 360 3-channel A/V power amplifier has identical 'per channel' performance to its MA 240 stereo Hi-Fi / A/V amplifier.
• A/V processors are necessarily much more complex than the equivalent stereo product. Myryad therefore adapts its design technology to suit - making more use of integrated circuits and surface mounted components.
• Myryad acknowledges the different types of system into which these products will be installed. Hence the MDP 500 processor has features such as an RS-232 interface and 12V DC control outputs, but still allows for the use of an external phono preamplifier for vinyl sources.

As the result, Myryad's MDP500 Digital Preamplifier Processor has now won not only Best Buy 2000 from Britain's leading magazine 'What Hi-Fi?', but has also received the 2001 Gold Award from the USA's leading publication, 'Stereophile Guide to Home Theater' and subsequently won again Best Buy 2001 from 'What Hi-Fi?'. What better proof could there be of Myryad's resounding success in translating everything that is already world-renowned about its Hi-Fi products into a significant new product that has already become the market leader in the ever-growing product sector of A/V.

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How were the distinctive Myryad name and appearance created?

The founders of Myryad intended that their new brand should offer a distinctive high quality performance in a market-place where all too many other products did not.

Having achieved their aims with a distinctively clean and attractive sonic performance, it followed that they should wish to present their product in a distinctively clean and attractive physical casework. The industrial design of the original M-Series was therefore entrusted to the highly experienced team of British design specialists at Cambridge Design and, with its beautifully sculpted central volume/tuning control and precision-machined and grained 6mm aluminium fascia, the MI120 Integrated Amplifier went on to become a timeless classic.

Design of the subsequent 'life-style' Cameo series and 'budget esoterica' Z-Series was also then entrusted to Cambridge Design, with each series attracting world-wide critical acclaim.

The name 'Myryad' was decided upon over a bottle of wine, one summer afternoon, in the garden of Chris Evans, the Technical Director. With the word itself having an intrinsically musical 'sound and flow' and its distinctive logo - also designed by Cambridge Design - looking smart and elegant on the product fascias, the name has been as great a success as the company.

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Why are Myryad's products so successful all around the world? What is Myryad's 'commercial philosophy'?

Against an industry background where top performance was frequently possible only at the expense of indifferent appearance, poor reliability and high cost, Myryad's declared philosophy was to create and market a complementary range of high quality audio and a/v separates which offered:

'outstanding performance, graceful aesthetics, first-class reliability and exceptional value for money' - all backed by exemplary service levels.

Reviewing the MDP500 in Stereophile Guide to Home Theater in November, 2000 - from which it went on to receive the Gold Award in Stereophile Guide to Home Theater’s 2001 Awards in the US - the internationally respected reviewer Robert Deutsch himself repeated the Myryad philosophy, writing:

'Myryad's stated objective is to create and market products that provide 'outstanding performance, graceful aesthetics, first-class reliability, and exceptional value for money'. With the MDP500, I’d say they’ve met that goal.'

At Myryad, we are constantly striving to achieve even better performance from even more attractive products, offering even better reliability and even better value for money. Constantly growing levels of international sales suggest that consumers all around the world agree with this philosophy!

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Can I control my M-Series (or Cameo) system from a remote room?

Yes you can. The Myryad My-Link control bus can be interfaced into various proprietary multi-room control systems, allowing Myryad M-Series or Cameo components to be controlled remotely without the need for sticking unsightly infra-red emitters onto their front panels. As an example, we have researched what interface components are required from the Xantech range (which are widely available world-wide) and described the set-up details in a technical paper.

For more information, look at our technical note covering multi-room systems.

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I have a stereo system built around a Myryad Integrated Amplifier (or Preamplifier) and I want to move to a full surround Home Cinema System using the Myryad MDP500 (or MDP500(G6)) Processor. Can I still make use of my existing stereo units?

If your stereo system has separate stereo power amplifiers, then the answer is yes. All Myryad power amplifiers have the same “gain” so they can be mixed within a surround system. A typical setup would use an existing 50 watt or 60 watt stereo Myryad power amp (T-60, Z160 or MA 120) for the surround channels, and adding a new MA 360 (3 x 120 watt) for the front Left, Right and Centre channels.

An integrated amplifier could be used in the same way, but its volume control would need to be carefully set to match its gain to that of the new MA 360 power amplifier. In addition, its IR remote receiver “eye” would need to be obscured using opaque black tape so that it does not respond to the commands of the MDP500 remote handset (which otherwise would control both the integrated and the MDP500). The integrated must not be connected via My-Link to the rest of the system, because both the integrated and the MDP500 are My-Link “controllers”. Such a system is therefore only recommended as in temporary solution, before replacing the integrated with a separate power amplifier.

A Myryad stereo preamplifier, or the preamp section of a Myryad integrated, could not easily be used in conjunction with the MDP 500 (using, for example, a tape loop) because its remote receiver “eye” would be obscured and its My-Link must not be connected – so no remote control would be available). Also the volume control would continually need to be reset to the “calibration” gain setting referred to above before the system could be used for surround sound. This type of set up is therefore not recommended.

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What is Myryad's DC⁵ circuitry and what are its advantages?

For full information on this topic, see our Technical White Paper covering DC⁵ circuitry.

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What is the advantage of Δ-Σ technology?

• Δ-Σ converters guarantee excellent performance at low levels, combined with near-perfect high-level results - otherwise achievable only by the most expensive multi-bit DACs.
• High quality on-chip digital filters remove high-frequency 'aliasing' distortion.
• Δ-Σ processing is reliable, consistent, and does not produce spurious 'idle tones'.
• Crystal's DACs incorporate on-chip switched-capacitor analogue filtering which reduces high-frequency noise.
• The switched-capacitor filters also reduce the jitter sensitivity of the DACs.
• Myryad designers' long experience with 1-bit and low-bit DACs means that Myryad gets the very best results from Δ-Σ - both in measurements and sound.
• Crystal Semiconductors' experience and continuing development programme results in new and better DACs becoming available every few years, so Myryad's CD players can get better and better.

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What are balanced interconnects, and are they better?

Conventional 'unbalanced' signal cables have a single wire for the audio signal surrounded by a cylindrical 'shield' conductor which makes the ground return connection. In a balanced cable there are two wires within the shield one for the signal and one for the ground return. The shield is only used to protect against interference sources. Properly designed balanced interconnections are less affected by radio interference and problems of grounding compatibility between audio components.

Balanced interconnections are always used in professional systems where long cable runs are common and a wide variety of audio components, which may not be compatible, are likely to be used.

In a well-designed home audio set-up there should be no grounding incompatibility and most interconnects should be short so radio interference should not be a problem. The only exception can be in the interconnection between the preamplifier and the power amplifier, where long cable runs might be used if the power amplifiers are placed close to the speakers (with very short speaker cables). For this reason Myryad has included balanced pre-power connections on its high-end stereo products the MP 100 Stereo Preamplifier and MA 240 Stereo Power Amplifier.

For more information, look at our technical note covering balanced inputs.

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The MP 100 Preamp has 'Z-balanced' outputs. What does this mean?

Many inexpensive balanced output designs actually sound worse than unbalanced outputs. Indeed it takes a great deal of care and complexity in design to produce balanced outputs of higher quality than a good unbalanced outputs. The 'Z-balanced' outputs used in Myryad’s MP 100 solve this problem in a very simple way, allowing an unbalanced preamplifer to drive the Z-balanced outputs. This technique provides the home listener with all the benefits of balanced operation at an affordable price and with superb sound quality.

For more information, look at our technical note covering balanced inputs.

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I’m interested in the MDP 500 Digital Preamp Processor, but I’m looking for a lower cost, power amplifier solution package than the MA 240 + MA 360. Can Myryad help?

Yes we can.

The newly-released Myryad MA 500 5-channel power amplifier was designed to fill exactly this role. It is totally compatible with the MDP 500 and will deliver a generous 100W per channel across all five channels. What is more, because of its innovative Power Steering Technology (PST) the massive reserves of the MA 500's power supply can be directed to whichever channel, or channels, needs most power. In a typical movie situation an explosion or similar transient is likely to occur predominantly in one or two channels only – where the MA 500 can deliver a massive 160 watts!

Like the MA 240 and MA 360 the MA 500 is fully My-Link compatible, or it can be switched into/out of standby via its DC trigger input. All you lose out compared with the more expensive MA 240 / MA 360 solution, is the last edge in sound quality (the MA 500 lacks some of the very expensive audiophile resistors and capacitors used in the MA 240 and 360) – and a slight reduction in the maximum power, particularly into lower impedance speakers.

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How do I use the RS-232 interface on the MDP 500?

First you need a controller, such as those made by Crestron or AMX, or a Personal Computer, plus suitable software to send and receive data bytes using an RS-232 port. Second, you will need a Baud Rate Converter, available from your dealer or distributor, or direct from Myryad Systems. The RS-232 interface on the MDP 500 operates at a baud rate determined by its internal clock, which is not related to standard RS-232 data rates. If your controller can only work at fixed baud-rates then this Baud Rate Converter will be necessary. The converter is built inside a small 'adaptor' type plastic case (approx. 6.5×5.5×1.5 cm) and converts the MDP’s RS-232 i/o to 9600bps.

The MDP 500’s RS-232 interface is compatible with Crestron, AMX and similar controllers. All the MDP 500’s front panel and remote functions are accessible via the RS-232 bus, together with a few additional commands (primarily offering separate 'on' and 'off' commands in place of the 'toggle' commands used on the remote – e.g. Standby). Additionally some status information is sent via the RS-232 bus from the MDP 500 back to the controller. Full details of all RS-232 commands and interface connections are included in the file 'RS-232 Command Set'.

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Why is my MDP 500 not responding to commands sent to its RS-232 interface?

You are not using an external 'Baud Rate Converter' – see here.

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What speakers, speaker cables and interconnects, do you recommend for use with Myryad equipment?

Preferences as between different makes of speakers are highly subjective, and we can advise only that you be sure to choose products of a similar quality to your electronics.

However, with regard to speaker cables and interconnects, many Myryad distributors and dealers world-wide have found that particularly good results appear to be achieved when Nordost cables and interconnects are used.

To assis you in deciding which ones might be best suited to your equipment, click this link to see a full table of Nordost recommendations for Myryad products.

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