Verdict
There was n’t a huge amount incorrect with the original CXA81 so Cambridge Audio has n’t tried to fix what is n’t break . Instead , they have hone and fine-tune a skilful adenylic acid and made it good . At £ 1,000 this is the class of the field .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
When it comes to the line of work of make integrated amplifiers that do n’t be as much as a seemly used elevator car , Cambridge Audio has a very hard track phonograph record .
Since their relaunch all the way back in 1994 , a succession of keenly priced exemplar have ensured that M of them have found happy homes . The changing shape of hi - fi thirty years subsequently means that the CXA81MkII is a more strong gadget in damage of cost and stipulation than its ancestor but the DNA is there .
Of course , Cambridge Audio is n’t the only troupe that knows its agency around an desegregate amplifier and there ’s no shortage of competition for your immediate payment . Is the CXA81 MkII still the one to go for ?
Availability
The CXA81 MkII is available in the UK through the Richer Sounds chain of stores for £ 999 and it can also be purchased online through their website or direct from Cambridge Audio for the same price . It is available in the USA for $ 1,199 and in Australia for $ 1,999 AUD .
At the time of written material ( late June 2024 ) , a supplying of the preceding ‘ non MkII ’ CXA81 was still available in sure locating for a lower Mary Leontyne Price . This is ( as I shall cover ) like but not the same as the MkII but is a alluring offer at the price peak .
Design
As the name suggests , the CXA81 MkII is a alteration of the originalCXA81which is itself a revision of the original CXA80 that date all the way back to 2014 . The reason for this very gradual charge per unit of modification is that there was n’t awfully much wrong with the original excogitation so Cambridge Audio has n’t rushed to shift it .
The CXA81 MkII is not the most exciting looking equipment go ; it ’s a stumpy 430 mm wide box polish off in the society ’s ‘ Lunar Grey ’ ; a not quite hoary , not quite silver burden that is specific to Cambridge Audio . The thought is that it will sit happily with black-market and silver devices but the reality is that it does n’t really fit either .
The simplicity of the CXA81 ’s excogitation hides some really clear and impressive thinking . The CXA81 has many inputs and they can all be accessed via button on the front panel and the outside dominance rather than make to wheel through multiple input to get to where you want . The mass ascendancy also has a start and stop point which means it can have a physical posture indicator which is also an underrated thing . These might sound lilliputian but they make the Cambridge Audio very easy to live with .
No less useful is something on the back jury . The CXA81 MkII has a significant quantity of inputs and this can be puzzling if you ’re wire up by lean over the top of it . Cambridge Audio has long recognise that labelling input with reverse schoolbook on top ( and the correct fashion up below ) massively simplifies this process and the CXA81 benefits hugely from this access .
Features
The on newspaper publisher performance image of the Cambridge are solid rather than spectacular . , You get 80 watts into 8 ohms which rise to 120 watts into 4 and , while this is dead respectable , some competitor at the toll have more power still . This does n’t tell the whole story though .
Look through the vent in the top and you ’ll see a centrally go up baron supply that one of the big going anywhere near the price and it supports a circuit that has been carefully tweaked in this newfangled version to pitch the in effect performance possible . Something that could be potentially be handy is that this power is made usable to two sets of speaker terminal which could permit you to run a second pair of speakers in another room for example .
Analogue inputs consist four RCA line inputs and single XLR connection . This ‘ shares ’ input 1 with an RCA connexion so if you are using it , there are only three RCA stimulant remaining but this is still more input than many rivals can muster . The balanced connection in particular a fairly uncommon affair to find out at the toll .
What makes it peculiarly notable is that it is still only half of what the CXA81 MkII is wired to do . A digital plug-in featuring a single coaxial input , two optical and one USB - B connections supports the parallel board and , rounded off withaptX HD Bluetooth , contribute the Cambridge Audio huge flexibility in how you take to use it . The USB has PCM decoding to 24 - bit/384kHz and DSD256 support which should be quite sufficient for most demand .
What is important to stress though is that the CXA81 MkII is not an all - in - one system . There is no streaming on board via wire or wireless and if you ’re looking to link a telly to it , the lack ofHDMI ARCmight be a bit of detriment ( although it wo n’t sound any different to an optical link ) .
There is also no phono stage but this is mainly because Cambridge Audio does very well out of building standalone 1 and , if you are n’t a turntable drug user , you are n’t pay for something you are n’t using . at long last , the Cambridge Audio is an amplifier and not an all - in - one organisation and the connectivity mull this .
Sound Quality
Cambridge Audio has build a neat many different merchandise over the year at a change of different cost points but what has tied the huge majority of it together is a performance that is the very definition of ‘ balanced . ’ The CXA81 MkII is an perfectly thoroughgoing example of this in action .
So long as you have n’t chosen a truly mad span of speakers that have a very stiff personality of their own ( I used theMission 700and the Elipson Planet Gold Edition during testing , neither of which hurt from this ) and might very well find that the first twenty minutes of mind to the Cambridge is … fine ? It does n’t sound bad ; far from it , but some challenger might have done something more attention catch in that clip .
Keep listening though . Keep changing styles and tempo and what the Cambridge Audio does begins to make more and more sense . With the wonderfully ballistic Sound & Fury by Sturgill Simpson , the CXA81 MkII is big , confident and piquant . The brooding and virile Remember to Breathe is delivered with deep , well clock bass and an impressive signified of scale . Then , when you change tack completely and wreak To Build a house by The Cinematic Orchestra , the Cambridge morphs into something all different . All the ballistic energy bleed away and you become aware that this is capable of authentically lovely tonal realism .
This is the core merit of what the CXA81 MkII does . For any reach opus of music you play on it ; be it Gregorian chant or stop number metal , you might come up an amplifier that is slightly better with that track . Where the Cambridge Audio is so efficacious is that it keeps itself with touching distance of all those different rivals across everything you wager .
Something that is very cagy indeed is that this lend oneself every bit as much to the digital board as the analog inputs . The review sample was tested with an Eversolo DMP - A8 which could be connected over XLR , RCAandUSB and the level of carrying out that the CXA81 shew in comparison to a digital generator that costs more than it does was genuinely impressive .
This examination also showed that the balanced input signal is more than a gimmick too . If you have a balanced source , the Cambridge handle to sound a little more broad and born via this link than the RCA inputs . The most surprising combining was iFi’sZEN Phono 3 , which has a balanced connection and delivered a carrying out into the CXA81 MK II that was smashing than the total of its part .
Against this , I would describe the performance of the headphone socket to be good rather than cracking and that the Bluetooth input is decent enough but not at the absolute top of the mass so if you plan to rely heavy on both , the Cambridge might add up up short .
Across the main swathe of inputs though , the Cambridge Audio delivers superb public presentation and the consistent proportionality mentioned earlier . In some ways , the operation very tight follow the looks . Every clip you think it could be more spectacular , you are remind that it is a pleasure to live with all the time .
There ’s enough power and headway to have your neighbours plotting your fall but it sound great at lower levels . It can vocalize bright with high ray stream fromQobuzbut , when you just want to send Spotify to it , that sounds safe too . restroom is not a dirty word and the CXA81 MkII embraces this mantra wholeheartedly .
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Should you buy it?
It has connection to handle most requirements with easiness and it go nifty across all of them . It ’s a pleasure to use and exist with and it ’s well made into the steal .
The CXA81 MkII is not an all in one system and needs supporting seed equipment to strut its stuff , which mean that some rivals with cyclosis built in might wind up being good value . Some citizenry might find the looks a second wearisome too .
Final Thoughts
The CXA81 MkII is part of a thirty year chain of mountains of monetary value efficient amplifiers and you really can see the evolution that has gone into its design . This is a truly fantastic all - rounder that will drop into a wide selection of scheme and work brilliantly in all of them .
Trusted Score
How we test
We try every amplifier we review soundly over an lengthened stop of time . We use industry standard examination to liken features by rights . We ’ll always tell you what we regain . We never , ever , accept money to go over a merchandise .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics insurance .
FAQs
There ’s no incorporated phono stage for the CXA81 MkII , but you could purchase Cambridge ’s Duo if you require one to connect to a lazy Susan .
