I believe Cambridge left the phono part out of the Cxa81 because they assumed someone that spends over 1000 bucks on a amplifier will probably buy a better phono amp anyway so it would just increase cost unnecessarily.
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Cambridge Audio is (also) moving to Ncore...
- Thread starter VintageFlanker
- Start date
I believe Cambridge left the phono part out of the Cxa81 because they assumed someone that spends over 1000 bucks on a amplifier will probably buy a better phono amp anyway so it would just increase cost unnecessarily.
Mauiboy
Member
No doubt. And not coincidentally CA makes two phono preamps. The Solo is not pricey, but the stack does add up!
I understand the Evo phono stage is based on Solo (CA’s MM-only phono pre separate). So likely comparable.
I struggle with the increasingly tall stack of separates in the traditional CA line required to hit feature parity with Evo.
Market dominance of nCore has taken a decade to accomplish. Which is slow but I’m glad it has. It’s superior not because it’s class D; and not because it’s efficient, but because it’s designed by Bruno Putzeys.
People who are new to hi-fi don’t realise how good they’ve got it. And the audiophiles bemoan the past; like a long lost lover.
I’ve been working with music generation equipment since the 5th grade, and been training and performing music since the first grade. And I miss the PC Honker as much as I miss the Covox Speech Thing.
I like this quote-
“Back in those days, you needed to be an electronic engineer just to get sound, much less good sound. We were all about the music, but if you weren't a BSEE (electronic engineer), all you could hope for was a plug-and-play phonograph. It took real men to get high fidelity, but they only did it because they needed to in order to enjoy the music. They had to design and build their own amplifiers and speakers back in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, or there just wasn't any good sound.
By the 1970s, good hi-fi gear was everywhere. No longer did you need to be a BSEE to get great sound; all you needed was cash. Those of us who weren't loaded built kits to save money.”
Imagine if today you had to build your laptop. In fact, only about 20 years ago one had to build their own computer!
Hurray for Bruno.
People who are new to hi-fi don’t realise how good they’ve got it. And the audiophiles bemoan the past; like a long lost lover.
I’ve been working with music generation equipment since the 5th grade, and been training and performing music since the first grade. And I miss the PC Honker as much as I miss the Covox Speech Thing.
I like this quote-
“Back in those days, you needed to be an electronic engineer just to get sound, much less good sound. We were all about the music, but if you weren't a BSEE (electronic engineer), all you could hope for was a plug-and-play phonograph. It took real men to get high fidelity, but they only did it because they needed to in order to enjoy the music. They had to design and build their own amplifiers and speakers back in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, or there just wasn't any good sound.
By the 1970s, good hi-fi gear was everywhere. No longer did you need to be a BSEE to get great sound; all you needed was cash. Those of us who weren't loaded built kits to save money.”
Imagine if today you had to build your laptop. In fact, only about 20 years ago one had to build their own computer!
Hurray for Bruno.
Balle Clorin
Major Contributor
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- Dec 26, 2017
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This:
View attachment 123658
Verses This:
Which might as well be this:
If you don't get it, you're too young.
BEAUTIFUL, name , make and where to buy? please!.
I guess it all depends on personal preferences.
Some people want a all-in-one solution and that is absolutely fine.
I just hope Cambridge will offer separates in the future that have the size of the EVO lineup.
The EVO 75 as a streamer +pre amp would make a beautiful setup with a additional headphone amp or Poweramp.
But I wouldn't want to spend that kind of money on a machine that does everything.
It's very likely that the streaming part will be outdated in a couple of years. (Looking at NAD with the V2 of their modules that where supposed to be future proof)
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MakeMineVinyl
Major Contributor
It is the Decware SET, and has received great reviews from everybody who has reviewed one. Just be aware that it only outputs a few watts, so your speakers need to be high efficiency.
Really nice products from Cambridge, but with the same deal breaker as almost all powerful integrated amps on the market today. Only a pre out, no main/amp in.
Perhaps not a feature for everyone, but I use an external active crossover dedicated to my speaker setup, and it would be a really neat solution to use an integrated amplifier for the main speakers, and only add an external amplifier for the sub channels.
Perhaps not a feature for everyone, but I use an external active crossover dedicated to my speaker setup, and it would be a really neat solution to use an integrated amplifier for the main speakers, and only add an external amplifier for the sub channels.
Mauiboy
Member
Given that both the CXN and EVO have digital preamp stages, it would be a straight-forward software matter to implement DSP functions within the streamer or integrated amp. NAD does this.
And Cambridge already has DSP capability within their signal chain as they upsample all digital signals to 32/384K. This enables digital volume control and noise shaping with low-complexity analog reconstruction filters in the pre-out stage. Adding user-configurable PEQ would leverage their existing signal processing hardware. (But CA would have to embrace room EQ, dynamic loudness, and other end-user adjustments, beyond simple bass/treble adjustment.)
While a more traditional pre-out/amp-in approach would be a work-around, that is an unnecessary ADC/DAC round-trip. It's the reason I don't want miniDSP in my main signal output loop. A high-quality DAC and signal chain is of little consequence if the matched analog output signal is just filtered through a low-cost DSP.
Move signal processing upstream before the pre-out stage. Roon enables this, but all the way upstream and so does not enable correction of other digital sources, like CD and TV, or analog sources like phono. Including user configurable DSP functions within the integrated amp, just prior to the matched pre-out stage would enable that without the analog / digital / analog compromise of pre-out/DSP/amp-in.
With the CXN, you can use digital-out and further process the signal before passing it to an off-board DAC and pre-amp. But it sort of begs the question of why pay for a streamer / DAC if only to replace the DAC. Onboard PEQ would be really helpful here too.
Looks like the only thing missing is a .2 sub out (instead of just a .1.) & have to get an ASR test (including the MM Phono).Cambridge Audio just announced their new Evo line, that should fill the gap between CX and Edge ranges (851 being 9 years old by 2021):View attachment 122650View attachment 122651View attachment 122652View attachment 122677
They somehow take a shot at NAD, since both Evo 75 and Evo 150 amps are all-integrated units: amp, DAC, and streamer. I have to admit I love their industrial design, BTW.
Now, why this news deserves a thread: these are based on Ncore modules. Yes, again. This is now the fourth big manufacturer that adopt Ncore, next to NAD, Marantz and TEAC (not to mention others using IcePower for years)...
IMHO, this looks like a very significant phenomenon about the market metamorphosis.
Is Class AB going to "disappear" from mass market 15-20 years from now? I'm really wondering...
PS: looking at the specs, my guess is NC122MP inside the Evo 75 and NC252 for the Evo 150.
no tape loop? I guess those are pretty rare these days.Really nice products from Cambridge, but with the same deal breaker as almost all powerful integrated amps on the market today. Only a pre out, no main/amp in.
Perhaps not a feature for everyone, but I use an external active crossover dedicated to my speaker setup, and it would be a really neat solution to use an integrated amplifier for the main speakers, and only add an external amplifier for the sub channels.
MakeMineVinyl
Major Contributor
also processor loop? What he said.
mhardy6647
Grand Contributor
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Harsh…very harsh…but funny!This:
View attachment 123658
Verses This:
View attachment 123659
Which might as well be this:
View attachment 123660
If you don't get it, you're too young.
Holy s**t!Only $39,000 USD
Sorry… could not help it!
What is the problem here? Not really Hypex nCore NC252MP-like measurements:
audio.com.pl
Stereophile measurements are much better, 8 ohm 1kHz:
4 ohm 1kHz:
CAMBRIDGE AUDIO EVO 150
Cambridge Audio od dawna doskonali swoje urządzenia strumieniowe, ale dotąd nie było wśród nich czegoś takiego – kompletnego, nowoczesnego ...
Stereophile measurements are much better, 8 ohm 1kHz:
4 ohm 1kHz:
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OP
- Thread Starter
- #98
Audio PL measurements rig has much higher Noise floor than AP (see other reviews). That's why.