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Is there life after the Cambridge Audio CXN Streamer

E

eyregs

Member
I have the CXN streamer in my second system and in many respects I prefer it to the Auralic Vega G1 in my main system.

I love the warm tone, timbre, spacious sound stage and easy listening but detailed sound.

Is there anything out there that offers more but retains the Wolfson dac attributes of the CXN.

I stream with Quoboz.

if only Audionote or Rega made streamers.

Your views are appreciate.

Cheers.
 
eyregs said:
if only Audionote or Rega made streamers.
Click to expand...
Sometime I stream radio and podcast from my Ifi BT streamer into a Rega Dac, its pretty good thinking the little Ifi cost peanuts.
Old Rega Dacs often available for a song.
My FM tuner is still better sounding though.
 
I can speak from experience with regard to this. I had an Audionote 4.1 DAC for years that I used with various CD transports
I finally got into streaming music through the CXN v2 which I intended to use with the Audionote.

As an afterthought I decided to a/b the internal DAC against the Audionote. Honestly I was surprised as they were almost indistinguishable. Those Wolfson Dacs in the CXN really suit my ear. I’ve borrowed some pretty high end Dacs since, but I’ve always happily gone back to the Cambridge. I really don’t feel as if there’s something missing and I’ve never regretted selling the 4.1.
 
The CXN is hard to beat even at double the price. It's the slightly warm voicing they've given it to smooth over those harsh digital sources that really works.

Yes if you listen to well mastered output all the time then there's better out there but...
 
Hooch500 said:
I can speak from experience with regard to this. I had an Audionote 4.1 DAC for years that I used with various CD transports
I finally got into streaming music through the CXN v2 which I intended to use with the Audionote.

As an afterthought I decided to a/b the internal DAC against the Audionote. Honestly I was surprised as they were almost indistinguishable. Those Wolfson Dacs in the CXN really suit my ear. I’ve borrowed some pretty high end Dacs since, but I’ve always happily gone back to the Cambridge. I really don’t feel as if there’s something missing and I’ve never regretted selling the 4.1.
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You had me thinking about trying a CXN v2 as a result of your findings.

I inquired at Richer Sounds - but the chap that answered says it's good but it can't beat the Chord Qutest (he sounded genuine, rather than coming across as a sales pitch, more of an enthusiast / audiophile) - might be worth bearing in mind.
 
Hi

I bought the Cambridge as a streamer so it was a huge bonus to find the DAC was so good especially given the outlay. I quite like the Cambridge app using Qobuz too after a few initial hiccups. I’m not saying it’s the best DAC but being honest I’ve found DAC differences marginal lately and ive tried a few including a Metrum, Weiss and a few recent Chinese units with AKM chips.

The funds from the Audionote have gone into building Troels TL3.

Your Richer sales guy must have had more of a clue than the staff at my local store. Never heard a Qutest so can’t comment. I’d definitely recommend trying one first - it’s pretty easy to a/b using the outputs on CXN. I use a valve pre not the CXN pre.
 
So many ways to go, a few of the Dacs I’ve tried had digital pre amps. I must confess I haven’t tried the Cambridge pre mainly because I love both my pre’s one a TVC and the other a valve. The TVC just completely gets out the way but there’s no denying in certain aspects a good valve pre can work really well. I have a few pairs of speakers so sometimes I change things around.
 
Did i see updated cxn 100 just been launched ??

www.cambridgeaudio.com

Cambridge Audio CXN100 Network Player

Stunning Sound Quality - hear every detail from your digital musicESS ES9028Q2M SABRE32 Reference DAC - for stunning digital/analogue conversion StreamMagic Gen4 module - for full streaming capabilities, incl. MQASpotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Qobuz & Deezer built-in - for the best possible...
www.cambridgeaudio.com www.cambridgeaudio.com
 
Well if the CXN v2 sounds at least as good as the AN 4.1 DAC in someone's experience, can you imagine how good the CXN100 is!!

They are offering a 60-day trial !
 
gavreid said:
The CXN is hard to beat even at double the price. It's the slightly warm voicing they've given it to smooth over those harsh digital sources that really works.

Yes if you listen to well mastered output all the time then there's better out there but...
Click to expand...
I think that’s exactly right. Listening to some of the latest Dacs the differences were small but going back to the CXN you’re aware of its ease of listening. Subtle but discernible. I can see why folks swear by the Rega DAC with same chip set. I know the latest Dacs have phenomenal technical parameters but the Wolfson is enough frankly, I never feel the need for more.
I recently tried my old DAX which was a nice unit but it really was no contest with the Wolfson ( CXN ).
 
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