“Azur” no doubt aware, Cambridge have delivered a “spiritual successor” to their revered 851, but is the combination of EXA amplifier and EXN streamer a truly worthy heir?
Dear reader, I think I’ve made a mistake…
Let’s get right to the point: the new EXA amplifier and EXN streamer from Cambridge Audio are a fantastic pairing. I love them. Like, really love them. As in “should I have waited for these beauties before building my new system a few months back?”- love them. I’ve been trying to avoid answering that question since we gave this combination of amp and streamer pride of place on Chester’s shop floor a few weeks back. My head is convinced there’s nothing wrong with the purchasing decision I had already made, that I will live a long and happy life together with my chosen [REDACTED] amplifier and [REDACTED] streamer. Even my parents approved the last time they came to visit.
There’s a problem, though: I think my heart wants something else. Every day when I come to work, there they are, resting seductively on the shop floor, surrounded by a gaggle of smitten speakers all trying to come across as being too cool to care. But they do care, oh how they do! The other amps and streamers can only watch in envy as the queue of potential Cambridge suitors grows longer.
Equip your system with a powerful heart, with the Cambridge Audio EXA100.
At first it was the B&Ws, outwardly sophisticated but secretly demanding power. The EXA’s output made it clear who was wearing the trousers in that relationship. Then came the Monitor Studio 89s, young, hip and full of energy, all the while looking to be nurtured by someone experienced. Cambridge obliged.
At the time of writing it’s the turn of the Wharfedale Super Lintons, grandiose, mature, but now with a newfound spring in their step; it would seem the Cambridge energy is infectious. “I honestly think those are the best speakers I’ve heard so far in this shop,” offered one of my colleagues last week. I make no case to the contrary. The thing is, it’s not just the speakers, because so far I haven’t auditioned a pair that this Cambridge coupling doesn’t seem to eke the best out of. As a wise man by the callsign “Maverick” once said: it’s not the plane, it’s the pilot.
If you’re a fan of numbers on a spec sheet then you’ll be pleased to know that the EXN and EXA have some big ones, almost certainly as big as the ones you’re used to, and maybe even a bit bigger. They deliver, to my ear at least, an abundance of clean, detailed power and infectious “house sound” energy that is belied by their cool, understated exteriors. There’s a lot to be said for the effort that has gone into engineering the EXN and EXA, both in terms of look and sound. As with all the best things in life, though, Cambridge are making it look positively effortless.
Apparently a good deal of the power and signal path technology has trickled down from the company’s aggressively-specced Edge range of amplifiers, but to be absolutely clear this doesn’t feel like “engineering” by way of picking existing parts from a rack and cobbling them together in a shiny new shell. No, this speaks to a sophisticated honing of craft coupled with the confidence to shout about it, all the while remembering what brought you and your customers here in the first place.
Stream your music to a higher standard, with the Cambridge Audio EXN100.
You can quote all the tech specs you like, but what’s important is how you feel when you listen. How does the EXN handle the extra detail of your favourite high resolution tracks? Does the EXA reveal something new in the soundstage of a beloved piece of music? It’s the reason I’ve specifically avoided mentioning numbers, because to do so completely misses the point when describing something that sounds this good; the EXN is smooth and precise without being boringly clinical, the EXA excitingly bold and energetic, but definitely not brash. Let me put it this way: if the former takes a bog standard Spotify stream and makes it sound like high definition honey, then pairing it with the latter is like taking a barrel of that honey, bolting on a flat V8 engine, then handing the remote control to a young Ayrton Senna. Man, I’m so here for this…
I’ve now listened to something of almost every genre, in every format and at every bitrate, and I still haven’t found anything that this Cambridge setup can’t invigorate and/or re-interrogate. I was recently experimenting with recording vinyl to an iPad (don’t ask) and found it sounds surprisingly decent. Via the EXN and the EXA, however, it sounds brilliant. At this point I’m convinced that if I tied a bit of string and a yoghurt pot to an input and blew the theme to Dad’s Army through a kazoo I’d come out the other side sounding like Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus.
But look, don’t take my word for any of this. We’ve a 30 day returns policy that means you can comfortably put your money where my mouth is without any risk. If I’m wrong I’m wrong. But I’m not wrong. Unless you’re my wife, in which case I’m definitely not listing stuff on eBay to fund one of these setups, yeah? The Azur 851 would be proud.
Author: Ewan, Chester Store
