Cambridge Audio

Cambridge Audio ’s honor - winning CXA81integrated amplifierhas been one of the best adenosine monophosphate you may buy in its price range for years . Now , the British audio maker , which has never been known to rest on its laurels , has announced the launching of the amp ’s latest looping , the CXA81 Mk II Stereo Amplifier . It ’s received an upgradeddigital - to - analog converter ( DAC ) , some new constituent , and a fleck of retuning at the hands of   Cambridge ’s “ technology maestro . ”

The flagship of Cambridge Audio ’s CX series , the CXA81is well - regarded for its punchy , dynamic , and crystal exonerated auditory sensation touch , driven by it d Class AB amplifier at a hefty 80 James Watt per groove ( at 8 ohms ) . With the CXA81 Mk II , Cambridge Audio has n’t redesigned the wheel , but has made some key upgrades where it consider .

[EMBARGO IMAGE 04/12] Cambridge Audio CXA81 integrated amplifier.

Cambridge Audio

Much of the CXA81 ’s speech sound could be attributed to its fantabulous ESS Sabre ES9016   DAC , and the company say that it was the possibilities offered up by upgrading that DAC that play into the making of the CXA81 Mk II . Enter the ESS ES9018K2 M SABRE32 DAC : “ This Modern DAC penetrate the amplifier with reference - point capabilities and great transonic settlement , whichever digital source you take , ” Cambridge Audio ’s military press release states .

extra changes to the CXA81 Mk II make out in the configuration of 10 novel premium element to the circuitry , Cambridge Audio says . The companionship has n’t gotten any more specific than that , other than to say that Cambridge ’s technology maestros have retuned and fine-tune the sound , resulting in “ even neat clarity and musicalness . ”

Otherwise , the CXA81 Mk II remains almost superposable to its predecessor , outside and in , which is n’t a bad affair at all .

For parallel input , the CXA81 Mk II is unchanged from the CXA81 and features four RCA stimulant for thingslike turntables , CD players , and anything else you care to connect , as well as a balanced XLR input for connect to other component like Cambridge Audio ’s ownCXN100 web Player(or maybe it ’s coolEvo 150 DeLorean all - in - one player ) . There ’s still no phono input , but that ’s OK , as there are plenty of gamy - tone externalphono preampsto pair with it — Cambridge Audio ’s Alva models would be a tight pairing , of course .

Digital inputs are more or less the same , too , and include two TOSLINK optical comment ( 16/24 bit 32kHz to 96kHz ) , a S / PDIF coaxial ( 16/24 bit 32kHz to 192kHz ) , andBluetooth aptX HDthat digest up to 24bit/48kHz . The single USB audio frequency input have a bit of an advance , though , going from 24 bit to 32 bit/384kHz PCM , with the same documentation for up to DSD256 or DoP256 , which imply you ’ll get to take vantage of the CXA81 Mk II ’s excellent sound withhi - res musicfiles or capablemusic streaming sources .

Audio outputs also stay the same and include A and B verbaliser production for runningtwo set of speakers , a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack , subwoofer out , and a preamp out .

The Cambridge Audio CXA81 Mk II is priced slightly gamy than the premature rendering at $ 1,199 , and will be usable in May 2024 atCambridge Audio ’s websiteand authorized retailer .