If you’re a company with a successful product in the catalogue, it must be tempting to leave it as is and just enjoy the continued sales. That might be the case with the Cambridge Audio CXA81, an excellent integrated amplifier with plenty of power and flexibility, and a lovely, no-frills look in its well-chosen Lunar Grey finish. Given that it offers good value for money in the sub-£1000 amplifier range, and is made in Cambridge’s own factory in China, it’s not hard to jump to the conclusion that most of us will never need another amplifier.
Or rather, it just so happened that the development team at the company’s London headquarters have now released a Mk II version of the amplifier: priced at the same £999 as the original, the CXA81 Mk II looks exactly like its predecessor and has virtually the same list of features, but under the hood it’s had some serious performance-boosting revisions. None of this is to say that the CXA81, launched a couple of years ago, is in any way outdated or ‘broken’, and in fact it offers good value for money at its current £799 run-out price: it’s just that the new model offers more comprehensive digital capabilities thanks to an improved version of the ESS ‘Sabre’ digital-to-analogue converter it’s equipped with, and improved overall performance thanks to changes to the analogue section made in the best way possible – by listening.
The timbres and dynamics are consistently convincing, and even at low volumes the power of the orchestra is noticeable.
The CXA81 Mk II is the top model in the company’s mainstream hi-fi range, which features in a catalogue that stretches from high-quality in-ear headphones to high-end edge audio components and the excellent EVO all-in-one network systems, and despite the simple front layout with little more than a buttery-smooth volume control and a panel of small buttons for input and speaker selection, it is comprehensively featured.
It has four analog line-level inputs, one of which has a balanced input option, and four digital, including a USB Type B for a computer source. The new ESS “Sabre” ES9018K2M digital-to-analog converter allows processing of files up to 384 kHz/24 bit and DSD256. There is also Bluetooth with aptX HD functionality, handy for portable devices and, as the company points out, for its own wireless Alva turntables.
There are two speaker outputs fitted with A/B/A+B switching, plus there are pre-amp outputs to feed an external power amplifier and a mono subwoofer input which is filtered to only pass frequencies below 2.3kHz to keep the signal fed to a subwoofer as clean as possible. There are also a number of control connections including the usual 12V trigger ports and the proprietary control bus, for which a cable is supplied. System control is via the supplied CX system remote control.
Input and speaker output selection is done via the remote control or via the small black button bar in the middle of the front panel. The lighting indicates what has been selected. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The output stage here remains true to the traditional Class AB function, delivering 80W per channel into an 8 ohm load and 120Wpc into 4 ohms: while many other companies have moved to Class D amplifiers, Cambridge has stuck with Class AB because it knows it best and believes it offers the best sound. The choice of digital-to-analogue conversion is also an improvement on that used in the original CXA81, but is a tried and tested solution. The improvements to the analogue section, which go as far as replacing ten operational amplifiers, were made after extensive “replacement and listening sessions” and are said to give the amplifier “even more clarity and musicality”.
PERFOMANCE
The CXA81 Mk II impresses on first listen with a sound that combines richness and detail, and its presentation becomes more engaging with continued use. There is nothing edgy or forceful about the way this amplifier reproduces music: rather, the bass strength and firmness are appealing, adding a warm note to recordings such as the recent recording of Bruckner’s Seventh with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Honeck on Reference Recordings, but this breadth never comes at the expense of refining the soundstage and the atmosphere captured. The timbres and dynamics of the instruments are consistently convincing, and there is a real sense of orchestral power even at moderate listening volumes.
This isn’t one of those amps that needs a lot of level to be heard at its best: yes, it can play very loudly when needed, especially with speakers of reasonable sensitivity like the PMC Prodigy 5 floorstanding speakers I used for most of my listening experience, but almost more impressive is the openness and free-breathing quality of its sound at very modest levels. Use the remote or the well-weighted volume control on the amp to increase the level and all that happens is that the sound gets louder without any significant tonal shift, and that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.
There is no shortage of detail, whether with large musical forces or smaller ensembles, as demonstrated by the Rachel Podger/Brecon Baroque release ‘The Muses Restor’d’ on Channel Classics, which the CXA81 Mk II reproduces with a wonderful ease and speed, really highlighting the superb quality of the performances, and the superb recording of Jared Sacks in the spacious acoustics of St John the Evangelist, Upper Norwood, not far from the gramophone Our locations.
Magdalena Koená’s voice also sounds wonderfully alive in her Czech Orchestral Song Concerto for Pentatone, where the colours of her phrasing are shown off to fabulous dramatic effect with lush accompaniment from the Czech Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle. Depth, fullness and space are all there, and even at the highest notes at relatively high playback levels there is no sense of hardening, which shows how well this amplifier maintains its control while allowing the music to shine through.
The original CXA81 was an excellent amplifier both for its simplicity and its performance. This new version takes the sound quality to an even higher level and proves to be an even more attractive purchase due to the refinement of the design and sound.
This article originally appeared in the September 2024 issue of gramophone. Whether you want to enjoy gramophone online, explore our unique reviews database or our huge archive of issues dating back to April 1923, or simply have the magazine delivered to your home each month – we have the perfect subscription for you. For more information visit magsubscriptions.com