Page 111 - Hi-Fi World (January 2020)

REVIEW

The one thing that struck me
immediately was just how confident
and musical the Cambridge sounds.
The PSBs sounded good on the end
of a Creek Evolution 100A but with
the CXA61 they came alive in a
different, more vibrant way.
There was a sense of fun,
naturalness and – above all The rear panel includes RCA phono socket analogue inputs as well as co-axial
– complete coherence. Playing New and optical digital sockets, but no balanced XLRs.
Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ through this
combination was a shining light.
Drums just right, electronics spot on
and vocals accurately placed in the
mix. A hefty toroidal
The more I listened the more transformer in the
I thought this could be an ideal linear power supply
partnership. The PSBs cost around dominates the inte-
£600 while the Cambridge is £750. rior. It's surrounded
But together they made me listen so by densely packed
much I almost forgot to write down circuit boards;
my listening notes. When I this is a complex
did, the words that came design.
through frequently were
fun, power and detail.
The ESS Sabre DAC has
obviously made a difference
in the latter stakes, as
plugging in the FiiO digitally
and playing Arvo Part’s
‘Tabula Rasa’ (24/96) MEASURED PERFORMANCE
showed. The piano was The CXA61 amplifier delivered 72 Watts for full output. There is no phono stage.
softer and mellower than into 8 Ohms and 110 Watts into 4 Ohms. Although this is a budget amplifier
before – just as it should Output impedance measured a low 0.1 the internal ESS DAC had a high 116dB
be – yet the violin part Ohms, giving a high damping factor of EIAJ Dynamic Range figure, via the
had real bite. The CXA61 80, to exert good control of the bass loudspeaker and pre-out outputs. This
made this obvious, without unit. is well above the 103dB of CD and
adding artifice to the Distortion levels were very low approaching the 122dB or so of quality
sound. It simply sounded at 0.005% (1kHz) and also at high external DACs, making the CXA61 very
natural. frequencies (10kHz), just 0.01% into 4 capable with hi-resolution digital audio.
Another impressive aspect Ohms at 1 Watt, as our analysis shows. Digital distortion measured a low
was this amplifier's ability to Input sensitivity (Aux 1-4) was 350mV 0.035% (-60dB, 24bit) giving clean
fuse with the music. Playing The FREQUENCY RESPONSE digital sound. Frequency response with
Clash’s version of the reggae classic 192kHz sample rate PCM rolled down CAMBRIDGE
‘Time Is Tight’ the bass line was tight slowly above 34kHz (-1dB) to the upper AUDIO CXA61
and right on the beat. It produced a theoretical limit of 96kHz. An impressive £750
solid foundation for the guitars above digital result, maintained through the £
and had a truly rhythmic propulsion USB input, measurement showed. The
about it. Turning volume up didn’t optical digital input worked to 192kHz. OUTSTANDING - amongst
faze the performance; it remained The CXA61 gave fine performance the best.
firm and stable without collapsing in figures in all areas. It is a well designed
on itself. I’ve heard other amplifiers budget amplifier that betters most else. VALUE - keenly priced.
drag a bit more power from the NK VERDICT
track – but not in the price range. Superb sound, digital inputs
The CXA61 works well in all DISTORTION and ease of use.
areas I found – through its analogue Power (8 Ohms) 72 Watts
and digital inputs. Frequency response 2Hz-40kHz FOR
Separation 88dB - sound quality
CONCLUSION Noise (IEC A wtd) -102dB - input options
- build quality
Distortion (10kHz, 1W, 4Ω)
0.01%
As integrated amplifiers go the Sensitivity 350mV - remote control
new Cambridge CXA61 has to be Damping factor 80 - price
considered a standout product.
Powerful enough to drive most DIGITAL AGAINST
- nothing at the price
modern loudspeakers, it has Frequency response (192kHz)
propulsive analogue sound and a 4Hz-34kHz Cambridge Audio
refined digital section that wants for Distortion (-60dB, 24bit) 0.035% +44 (0)207 551 5422
nothing. Well worth hearing. Dynamic Range (EIAJ) 116dB www.cambridgeaudio.com
www.hi-fiworld.co.uk JANUARY 2020 HI-FI WORLD 111