#Cambridge soundworks mc200 review manual
#Cambridge soundworks mc200 review Bluetooth
#Cambridge soundworks mc200 review series

So, if you are looking for a device which is multi-room, network ready - you may wish to look elsewhere.

#Cambridge soundworks mc200 review series

The engineers have confirmed in writing that there is no ability for the CX series of amplifiers to respond to volume control via the control bus.

#Cambridge soundworks mc200 review manual

StreamMagic may have very limited volume control, if you are lucky.ĭespite the fact that the manual ( CXA81, third paragraph) suggests that the control bus will allow you to use apps to control the CXA61, this is apparently not true. Therefore, if you are intending on using the remote control, you will need to turn off the pre-amp settings on your CXNv2, but if you turn off the pre-amp you will have no (literally zero) ability to modify volume via any connected apps such as Airplay. The problem with it is that the volume control of the remote will affect both the Pre-Amp on the CXNv2 as well as the volume of the amplifier. There is a really nice combined remote control. Having spent the last few days talking with Cambridge Audio, I think it's fair to say that, if you are thinking of getting this to go with the CXNv2 you will be disappointed by the lack of compatibility in the CX range. What Hi-Fi? said:Cambridge Audio opted for a ground-up rebuild for its CXA81 amp – and it has created a thing of lasting beauty.Īdditional comments for those who are considering purchasing this as a part of a CX stack including CXNv2 for a home/network audio system. Here are the best stereo amplifiers you can buy See all the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2022 winners If you have a system to make the most of the CXA81, it’d be folly not to scrawl the name of this multiple What Hi-Fi? Award (and Product of the Year) winner at the top of your list. Things often move fast in the world of hi-fi, but great sound never ages. Take into account its broad range of connections and features, and this is easily an amplifier that could last for as long as you wish – probably until you’re ready to spend a fair amount more on a significant upgrade. We only get to experience a handful of such products during the course of a year, and with the way in which the CXA81 disposes of its rivals, it’s fair to say Cambridge Audio has created one of them here.Īnd that’s only based on its sonic performance. It’s a rare product that has the ability to make us switch off our reviewing brain and simply let us be wowed by the music. The Cambridge Audio CXA81 sets a new baseline for integrated amps at this level. It is one thing beating this talented Rega amp for timing and dynamics, but to offer a more polished, insightful, even more mature presentation is a real turn up for the books. What really shines through though is a level of clarity that not only pips its rivals, such as the Rega Elex-R, but also makes them appear a touch cloudy. Feed it a solo piano work or chamber quartet and it is only too pleased to show you its more caring, gentle side. The CXA81 perhaps sounds a little forward, but its level of expression is such that it is sympathetic to more minimal, sombre recordings as well. This Cambridge is powerful and weighty in the low end, but lean and agile enough to dance around with the most excitable bass lines, while the treble is left plenty of headroom without sharpness or rough edges. There’s a richness overall to the balance, too.

Above it, a full-bodied and expressive midrange deals out melodies that are given space to soar, yet still sound definitively part of a musical whole. Soundįrom the opening bars of whatever piece of music we select, we’re greeted with the same powerful yet punchy, dynamic and astonishingly detailed presentation.Ĭonfidence is key to the CXA81’s performance, hammering out staccato rhythmic patterns with assured conviction, snapping in time and allowing its expert handling of alternately loud and soft beats to lock in a groove. There are many Cambridge Audio hallmarks here that make this CX amp broadly comparable with the tuning of its last iteration – only this time there has been progress in every regard. Second time around, that is definitely not the case. While the impressive CXA60 won several What Hi-Fi? Awards, its bigger brother was never quite able to harness its extra power and translate it into as cohesive or expressive a performance.

#Cambridge soundworks mc200 review Bluetooth

Though the need to attach a separate Bluetooth dongle was marginally annoying, features and build were never the areas in which its forerunner, the CXA80, was lacking. In terms of outputs, Cambridge Audio has included those for a pre-amp and subwoofer, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack and space for two pairs of speakers, which can be played either separately or in unison. You won’t find any digital inputs such as these on this amp’s main rival, the multi-Award-winning Rega Elex-R. Meanwhile, the CXA81’s S/PDIF coaxial input will handle files up to 24-bit/192kHz, and its pair of optical connections take that up to 96kHz.