this video is on the cambridge audio cxa61
an integrated amplifier that offers a lot of features for the money
coupled with that amazing cambridge audio sound when audio advice was
thinking about becoming a cambridge audio dealer a few years ago
cambridge audio sent us a few pieces to test out
one of them was the cxa60 integrated amplifier
i'll never forget how impressed i was from the first notes that emerged from that
system the music was just so fun to listen to
and super involving as you can imagine we were pretty
excited to test out the latest version of that
integrated amp that bowled us over for the first time
with vinyl and music streaming systems exploding in popularity over the last
few years the integrated amplifier category has
also seen huge growth we will go over this new great
integrated amp from cambridge audio and during the overview we'll also make
a few points of comparison to its bigger sibling the cxa81
as we suspect some of you may be considering one over the other
if you want to read more on the cxa61 click on the link in the description to
be taken to the full written review on audioadvice.com
where we dive into even more detail on this great integrated amp
now let's get started
we always liked the look of the previous cx series in that they used a
slightly tapered front panel and a solid front foot
which makes the unit look like it's floating in the air above your shelf
this design continues in the new cx models with a color update to a sleek
looking lunar gray color the front panel is
clearly laid out in the center you'll see a display with
the source selection buttons analog inputs are on the left and
digital on the right right in the center is the speaker
selector button which gives you a choice of a
b or a plus b the front side also includes a headphone output and a mini
plug audio input on the left the previous models in the cx series had
tone controls and we're a little disappointed to not
find them on the new cx lineup cambridge audio made the decision to put
every dollar towards the best possible sound quality
which certainly came true when we did our listening test
if you switch things around a lot you know it can really be frustrating to
lean over the back of an amp trying to read those connectors upside down
cambridge audio cleverly prints labels for everything
both right side up and upside down a great touch
fit and finish on the cxa61 is just first class
one thing that really jumps out is the quality of the binding posts
which are top rate and can handle a large spade lug or a banana plug
cambridge audio designs and engineers all of their products in the uk
production of everything has been at the same asian factory for almost
25 years instead of just going out to the lowest offshore bid
this philosophy has resulted in very consistent great build quality for over
two decades the input connection possibilities on
the cxa61 will cover a lot of situations you have four rear analog rca inputs a
front mini plug analog input two toslink digital inputs a coax
digital input and even a usb input the older series required a
separate optional adapter for bluetooth but it's built into the cxa61 we like the
fact it also has preamp outs and a subwoofer out
there are two sets of triggers on the back an external ir input
and an rs-232 connection for home control systems
you can even lift the ground on the usb input in case your computer might cause
some hum that's pretty neat if you're looking at the cxa81 in
comparison it adds a set of balanced audio inputs
and you give up the front panel mini analog input
the dac cambridge used in the cxa61 is an ess sabre es9010k2m
that's a lot of letters but this is a high performance audiophile level dac
capable of high-res audio even up to 32-bit
384 kilohertz and dsd-256 quality when using the usb input from a computer
this is one area where the cxa81 does exceed the cxa61 in performance
its dac is also an ess saber 32 dac but it's in the next level up in the ess
series if a lot of your audio is in the form of
digital files you might want to consider the cxa81 for $300
more we feel the better dac offers more dynamic sound
a slightly quieter background and just a better sense of musical involvement
the adaptex hd bluetooth receiver is capable of 24 bit 84 kilohertz audio
files for the other digital inputs the coax
input will play back up to 24 bit 192 kilohertz and the two toslink inputs
will handle up to 96 kilohertz cambridge audio is going for a very
balanced symmetrical look on the front panel
which led them to having less buttons than inputs with four analog and four
digital buttons they made the mini plug jack
automatically switch to that input when you plug something in
the a4 button will glow orange when this happens
the only confusing one is the bluetooth usb button
you just have to get used to toggling between the two with the usb input
selection glowing orange the only obvious input missing on the
cxa61 is a phono input as you will find one built into their
less expensive models when we asked the team at cambridge
about it we got a very logical answer their feeling was that someone buying an
amplifier of this quality would likely want a phono preamp better than the
built-in type and we totally agree with five analog
inputs and four digital inputs the cxa61 can pretty much cover
all of the bases for any music system we also see many people
connecting up their tv via the toslink input for improved tv audio
if you have a music streamer with a digital audio output you can connect it
up that way to take advantage of the better quality dac inside the cxa61
bluetooth hd is icing on the cake for streaming music from your smartphone or
tablet much of the technology inside the cxa61
came from the work cambridge audio did on their edge series
cambridge audio has a philosophy of making the signal path as simple as
possible with minimal parts in the circuitry
they also spend a lot of time critically listening to the parts
that are used in the audio circuits to pick the best sounding versions
we have to say the people who worked on the upgraded design
and listening tests get a big round of applause this new version sounds
much better to our ears with a sense of more power and it just
makes you want to keep playing tunes as it's just a ton of fun to listen to
don't let the 60 watts of power per channel rating on the cxa61 make you
think this amp does not have enough guts to drive difficult speakers
in fact it is just the opposite with its huge power reserves this little amp performs
more like a much more powerful amp in terms of real world listening
we find it can drive most mid-priced tower speakers with ease
however we must state the cxa81 for a few more dollars does sound even more
powerful to our ears with a greater sense of effortless sound
we connected the cxa61 up to our best-selling pair of bookshelf
speakers the klipsch rp600m speakers which by the way is just a
magical speaker for the money our source was a sonos port with its
digital output going into the cxa61 coax digital input
the amp felt like the perfect match for these speakers as it drove them
extremely well as you might imagine the klipsch speakers
have the ability to rock the house which could easily be done with the cxa61
driving them but they also maintain a really full
sound when we turn down the volume these bookshelf speakers can get down
pretty low and the bass was full and fast using the cxa61
stereo imaging was just spot on with a wide and deep sound stage
paired with just about any speakers that are somewhat easy to drive
the cxa61 will perform way beyond what you would expect for what it sells for
of course the question comes up is the cxa81
worth the $300 jump this really depends on how critical your ear
is and how revealing your speakers are for most moderately priced bookshelf
speakers and smaller towers the cxa61 will be great however if you
really critically listen and have speakers that have an efficiency number
lower than 88 or 89 db you might want to think about the cxa81
its digital section is a pretty big jump up
that you can hear on better speakers and it does have more reserve power for
demanding speakers the cxa61 has enough inputs to satisfy
just about any system we can think of with its great build quality it should
give you decades of great sound there's just something about the way
cambridge audio gear sounds that draws us into the music
we find when we listen to their products the system takes on a quality that makes
you tap your toes and want to just pull out more music
it's hard to describe it until you experience it for yourself
but you will certainly have a big smile on your face when playing your favorite
tunes back through the cambridge audio cxa61.
if you're looking for an amp in the thousand dollar price range and down
the cxa61 should be on your list it's definitely worth saving up for if you're
thinking in the $500 to $900 price range as most people keep their
integrated amps for 10 years or more if you have any questions about the cxa61
or any other home audio or home theater gear
give us a call chat with us on audioadvice.com or stop into one of our
raleigh or charlotte north carolina showrooms
thanks for watching if you liked this video be sure to give it a like and
subscribe to our channel so you can never miss the latest home
audio and home theater content we'll see you next time
you