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Exceptional Award 2024 - Sound Advice
Five Stars - trustedreviews.com
Audio Performance That Goes Way Beyond Expectations
The Cambridge Audio CXA81 Mk II integrated amplifier builds on the success of its multi award-winning predecessor. It is effortless, poised and sophisticated – only more so. 80 watts per channel give it complete authority over your music, revealing every emotion and nuance.
Ever since Cambridge Audio made its first integrated amplifier in 1968, the company is always looking for new ways to improve your listening experience – while recognizing that great sound never goes out of fashion.
So, how did the company improve the CXA81, an amplifier regarded by many as the standard-bearer at its price point? Focusing on the all-important signal path, Cambridge Audio re-engineered it with premium components end to end, plus an upgraded DAC and extended listening and tuning. It's all part of a relentless drive to deliver new clarity and depth, resulting in audio performance that goes way beyond expectations.
According to What Hi-Fi? magazine, when asked for further information on the upgrades, "a Cambridge Audio spokesperson told us: 'Extensive comparative listening sessions were done with component swapping, with the aim to improve depth and sensitivity. The result was ultimately the use of ten new op-amps. We added that required depth, better stereo imaging, and engagement by putting higher-quality components into the signal path. The improvement to the DAC also provided better channel separation.'"
"A Truly Fantastic All-Rounder"
This amp won an Exceptional Award 2024 from Sound Advice, which raves, "This may at first appear little more than a marginal upgrade on the model it replaces, but the combination of an improved digital section and revisions and re-tuning in the analogue department has given it a compelling sound."
"This is a truly fantastic all-rounder that will drop into a wide selection of systems and work brilliantly in all of them," reports trustedreviews.com, August 21, 2024, which award the CXA81 MKII its top rating of Five Stars. "They have honed and tweaked a good amp and made it better. At £1,000 this is the class of the field."
"Taking Sonic Ability to an Even Higher Level"
"Depth, richness and space – it’s all there, and with no sense of hardening even on the highest notes at relatively high playback levels, showing just how well this amplifier maintains its control while letting the music shine through," marvels Andrew Everard in his August 9, 2024 review for gramophone.co.uk.
"The original CXA81 was an excellent amplifier, both for its simplicity and its performance; this new version takes that sonic ability to an even higher level and, given its refinement of both styling and sound, proves to be an even more compelling buy."
Effortlessly Musical
At the center of the CXA81 Mk II is a custom-designed Class AB power amplifier stage with highly optimized components. It takes the musicality of Class A and blends it with the efficiency of Class B. The amp’s short signal path is super-efficient, leaving little opportunity for coloration.
What hits you first when you hear familiar music through CXA81 Mk II, is just how detailed everything sounds. You’ll pick up instruments, subtle shifts in tone, and harmonies you’ve previously missed. Close your eyes, and you’ll be able to place every musician in the soundstage. Once you’ve heard CXA81 Mk II, there’s no turning back.
Thanks to an oversize toroidal transformer, the CXA81 Mk II delivers a generous 80 watts of power per channel. Dual taps into the left and right of the amplification board mean that, in effect, each channel has its own power supply, resulting in a vivid soundstage. Dynamic shifts in music from loud to quiet passages are handled with ease.
Excelling with All Your Sources
Designed to bring your digital music to life, the CXA81 Mk II features the upgraded ESS ES9018K2M DAC in its dedicated circuitry. This means that digital audio files, up to a heady 24-bit / 384kHz or DSD256 are unpacked with every subtle detail delivered in full. You'll experience unparalleled accuracy with vivid musicality.
In addition to its digital optical, coaxial, and USB Audio (from computers), the CXA81 Mk II features analog stereo RCA and balanced XLR inputs, plus wireless hi-res connectivity via Bluetooth aptX HD. You can even connect a second set of speakers to hear your music in another room. A front panel 3.5mm headphone jack gives you a private listening option.
For a sleek look plus easy operation, the CXA81 Mk II isn’t festooned with switches and dials. This also keep the signal path clear. Its minimal aluminum front panel has a power button, input selectors and a beautifully smooth volume control. It comes with a CX Series remote control, which you can use with other Cambridge Audio products in the series.
Designed for Life
With elegant, minimalistic lines, crafted from aluminum and steel, CXA81 Mk II will endure physically and aesthetically. There should be no reason to change an amplifier for many years, if at all. Making products that last is just one of the ways that Cambridge Audio minimizes its impact on the planet.
