Cambridge Audio AXA35 Integrated Amplifier

Cambridge Audio Built the AXA35 Around Your Turntable

Cambridge Audio has designed hi-fi in London since 1968. The AX range is where that engineering meets a budget, and the AXA35 sits near the bottom of it. It also does something most amplifiers at this price skip. It takes a turntable straight in.

Power is 35 watts per channel into 8 ohms. The case is the classic 430mm hi-fi width, 83mm tall and 335mm deep, and it weighs 5.6kg. An LED dot matrix display reads out source and volume.

Six Ways In, One of Them for Vinyl

Count the inputs and you reach six. Four RCA line inputs on the back take a CD player, a streamer, or a tape deck. A dedicated phono input handles a moving-magnet cartridge. A 3.5mm Aux jack on the front takes a phone directly, and the AXA35 adds 10dB whenever you select it.

The outputs are simpler. Speaker binding posts, a Rec Out for a recorder, and a USB socket that supplies 5V to charge a phone while you listen. A 6.35mm headphone jack sits on the front and mutes the speakers the moment you plug in, so late-night listening takes one movement.

Tone Controls You Can Actually Reach

Separate bass and treble give shelving boost or cut up to 10dB, at 100Hz and 10kHz. Balance adjusts the same way, through the front-panel menu or the remote. That remote is in the box, and it also drives Cambridge's AXC35 and AXC25 CD players, so a single handset runs the pair.

The Transformer Cambridge Borrowed From Further Up the Range

Inside sits a toroidal transformer, a part Cambridge normally saves for its pricier models. Toroidal designs run quieter and leak less stray magnetic field than the cheaper laminated kind. That matters in a case this shallow, with a phono stage sitting inches away from the power supply.

The measurements are honest for the money. Total harmonic distortion stays under 0.01% at 1kHz, and under 0.15% across 20Hz to 20kHz. Frequency response runs from 5Hz to 50kHz within 3dB. Signal-to-noise sits above 82dB unweighted, and the damping factor is above 50. Input impedance is 47k ohms.

It Shuts Itself Off When You Forget

Auto Power Down ships enabled and drops the amp to standby after 20 minutes of silence. Hold the power button to switch that behavior off. Standby draw is under half a watt either way. Your speakers should be a nominal 8 ohms.

What Reviewers Are Saying

Ian White reviewed the AXA35 for eCoustics on July 16, 2022. He called it "thirteen pounds of aluminum and steel that is well assembled and finished," and reported that it "sounds surprisingly larger than it looks."

Ashley reviewed it for Audio Appraisal on February 16, 2022, and singled out the headphone stage: "The headphone output on these is excellent." On the amplifier's character, the verdict was blunt: "Its biggest strength is in top end detail."

One practical note from Ashley, for anyone buying the AXA35 mainly as a headphone amplifier: alongside the praise, the review reports that it "does have an audible background hiss which is a shame, but it has plenty of power."

Who Is This Integrated Amplifier Best For?

• You play vinyl on a moving-magnet cartridge — the phono stage is built in, so no outboard preamp is needed.
• You have several sources to juggle — four line inputs plus a front Aux jack mean a CD player, a streamer, and a phone all stay plugged in, so nothing gets swapped behind the rack.
• You listen on headphones after hours — the front 6.35mm jack drives 32 to 600 ohm loads and cuts the speakers on its own, so nobody else in the house hears a thing.
• You want tone controls back — bass and treble each swing 10dB, which helps in a bright or a boxy room.
• If your sources are digital, budget for a converter alongside it. The AXA35 is a purely analog design, so a CD transport, a TV, or a computer feeds it through a DAC — which also lets you pick the conversion you want rather than the one that came in the box. See our Digital to Analog Converters.

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Speakers go to the binding posts, and your turntable goes to the phono input with its ground wire to the ground post. A CD player or streamer takes any of the four line inputs. A phone plugs into the front Aux jack, and headphones into the 6.35mm socket beside it.

If you record, Rec Out sends a fixed-level feed to a deck. The USB socket charges a device and nothing more.

After that it's one dial and five buttons.

Pairs Well With

Building around the AXA35? Here are some good companions:

• Turntable: Put the built-in MM phono stage to work — see our Turntables.
• Speakers: 35 watts suits an efficient 8-ohm standmount pair — see our Bookshelf Speakers.
• Headphones: The front jack handles 32 to 600 ohm loads — see our Headphones.
• Cables: Good interconnects finish the system — see our Interconnect Cables.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much power does the AXA35 deliver?

35 watts per channel into 8 ohms. Cambridge Audio specifies a nominal 8-ohm speaker load.

Does it have a phono stage for my turntable?

Yes, on a dedicated phono input for moving-magnet cartridges. A moving-coil cartridge needs an outboard phono preamplifier.

How many sources can I keep connected at once?

Six. Four RCA line inputs, the dedicated phono input, and the 3.5mm Aux jack on the front panel, all selectable from the remote.

What is the USB socket for?

Charging. It supplies 5V at 500mA for a connected device; audio comes in through the analog inputs rather than over USB.

What kind of headphone output does it have?

A 6.35mm jack on the front panel. Cambridge Audio recommends headphones between 32 and 600 ohms, and plugging in mutes the speaker outputs.

What comes in the box?

The AXA35, a power cable, the remote control, and two AAA batteries.

See It in Action

Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac puts the AXA35 through its paces:

A British Audiophile takes a closer look at what the entry-level AX range gets right:

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