Even if it's been available on the Italian market only for some years, Myryad has gained in a short time the local public and critique approval and trust. The company is sited in Hampshire, England, and it's been founded just in 1996, by the Evans brothers, Chris and David; the two of them have a notable experience in our field, as they collaborated for a long time with NAD and Arcam, two well respected names in British high fidelity. Even in the marketing department we find a key character: Chris Short has been co-owner of Mordaunt-Short in one of the best periods of that company, and he's also been Tannoy's chairman.
So Myryad is a company which was born already mature, and their products reflect a complex and articulate approach to music reproduction, built on solid ground and on a deep know-how. That's no trivial matter, in my opinion; a deep knowledge of the field, and of the matters moving and driving it, determining its evolution over the years, is probably the most important thing for the board of directors of a company aspiring to a leading position. In Myryad's products catalogue you can find evidence of this knowledge, and of this determination: the catalogue is purposely limited to four lines, each of which has a precise target. It has been deemed counter-productive to multiply both products and lines, too unfocused for a company which certainly isn't as big as Sony, Pioneer or the Harman group (these are only the first names which came to my mind). But it's a warranty for buyers, the warranty that they get a product which has been carefully developed and optimised, and of a solid and timely after market care.

Our attention is focused here on a pair of products of the Cameo line, the CD player and the integrated amplifier. Our Marco Caponera will tell you about the amplifier; I have on hand the slim and elegant CD player, and I will take care of a family portrait, in order to try the synergy between these components.
First of all, some words about the Cameo line; Myryad's concept behind this line is well thought out and intelligent: it's that of being able to offer pleasant looking (and this Cameos are really a beauty), simple, easy to use and to live with products; products which must be good sounding and affordable also. You would be forgiven if you thought that these qualities are obvious, almost trivial; but, if you think better about that, it's easy to see that there aren't many products, in the hi-fi market, which sport all of these qualities at the same time. And, how many music lovers may find in the Cameo line an answer to their requirements? All those searching for high performance, easily adaptable to households, and synergistic products; no need, here, to choose item by item, in a high fidelity jungle of a shop, and to try and join good sound with good looks (it's often the latter that wins). There will always be die-hard hi-fi buffs, always looking for the ideal, still unattained (and maybe unreachable, I could say) sound; but it's my belief that there are many music lovers looking for a good sounding and looking system, far from hysteria, able to satisfy the rest of the family, and even their interior designer. And the market, in a crisis time, must be able to reach new targets, without trying to force absurd and unreasonable solutions. Myryad proposes the Cameo system, trickling down the know how they developed for their more upmarket "M" series, and at the same time putting into it the good taste of a country which, more than others, has developed the concept of integration between man, environment and machine. You can see the result here; I will tell you about the sound in due course, and a visit to a dealer to verify in person what I say is heartily recommended.

The Cameo CD gets out of a good quality package, protected by a couple of plastic (a kind of Polyfoam) shells, in company of its remote control and a complete user manual. The product is compact, solid and well finished. The front panel is obtained from a thick slab of brushed aluminium, with an arc cut in its lower side, defining a sort of family look and characterising it. A central display bears the functional indications; above it is the loading drawer. On the left stands the power button, on the right five small and identical looking buttons performing the main functions. Four screws keep in place the top panel, an U-shaped metal foil, silver painted with a robust anti-scratch enamel, and here's the product's guts. Surprising order and rationality: a good looking toroid transformer on the left; the transport mechanism in central position, on the right a dual face PCB housing the PSU electronics, the DA conversion and the output stages. The PSU has separate lines for all the parts of the circuit (which sums up to an impressive seven separate lines), the DA conversion uses a Delta-Sigma 24 bit 96 kHz chip, the output stage, built around Burr Brown op-amps, is direct coupled and uses a DC-servo. Above all, the eye is met with a perfect order, an extremely well thought-out layout and high quality components. On the rear panel, classical RCA connectors, a coax digital output, an IEC connector and the interfaces to connect the CD player to the other Cameo line products in order to use a system remote. The remote is easy to use and powerful, and functionally well developed; it's also possible to shut the display off.

The listening test took place in different sessions. I have listened to this CD player in a minimalist system, with a small tube amp and my Limes (single Fostex FE-83 based) speakers. Then I put both Cameo products to the test together, taking advantage of the good abilities of the amp to drive my Primaluce speakers, in a powerful and robust system (this configuration served as a party system for a friend of mine, to hers and all hosts' satisfaction). This player is extremely versatile, being neutral in timbre, fine grained and dynamically adept. It's the evident sense of dynamics which stroke me first in its sound. Dynamics are, in my opinion, the main component in a good sound, a solid foundation on which to build the whole of the sound structure. And this structure is made of articulation, contrast, separation of the plans in the soundstage, vitality and independence in each instrument's sound; the Cameo CD is robust and has the ability both to confront with ease the most complex and articulate moments, and to let the more delicate and light moments flow, while remaining harmonically rich and keeping the savour of a lively and truthful sound. So, a beautiful midrange, clean and without hesitations in attacks and releases, but being able to caress and to be delicate when the recording requires. Most of all, beautiful are female vocals, cutting for themselves a space in the listening field as it's rare to find in products in this price range; the soundstage is deep, well deeper than the front wall while I noticed some trouble, at times, in getting a larger stage than that laterally defined by the outer edge of the speakers, a thing my reference player (admittedly much more costly) achieves easily. The higher frequencies are precise and tasteful, too, remaining again harmonically rich and dense. Obviously, we aren't on a par with a no compromise digital source, but we must remember this player's price range. Considering this, the small points I raised above almost disappear, because the sound is always enjoyable and involving enough to distract the attention of the inflexible and incorruptible reviewer. In the lower range, the performance remains very good and coherent with the other ranges. Extension is good, drive is very good, there is substance, and an articulation able to easily resolve the most delicate and complex passages, and to give the needed foundation to every kind of music, with the sense of ease and flow which always characterises the best products. The grain and texture are very fine, silkily wrapping the most particular sounds, with respect and attention to detail. As said before, it is a very calibrated and neutral balance, which makes the task to analyse and dissect the particulars difficult, almost unpleasant. It's an involving, pleasant listen, leaving place to the music, of every kind, which avoids to steal the show, and gives a rich and lively sound. So, a very good source, very enjoyable and well balanced.

With the small tube amplifier, I built up a real marriage, a first look entente, and a very satisfying system. But I must admit that the coupling with the Cameo IA is almost unbeatable, because this system is able to satisfy everybody, summing to the typical triode sweetness (certainly, a small amount of sweetness isn't there anymore, but you can't have everything) the energy of solid state amps. And, not a secondary matter, a look which can satisfy the most difficult of Significant Others, in every kind of decor. It's a pity that we didn't have the Cameo tuner also; my curiosity to see the whole family together was really high. If we can judge from these results, I have no doubt that the tuner is the natural complement, in looks and sound, of these fascinating British products. The Cameo products are not budget priced, in absolute terms, and it's possible that newcomers to the world of hi-fi will have to compromise with their bank account and to go for something cheaper. But I have no hesitation in recommending these products to those who are looking for a definitive solution without having to spend too much energy to look for it, and are able to fork the amount without fear; these are down to earth, technologically up to date, refined and good sounding products. I would consider them.