Cambridge audio EVO150 -short review and some questions

[KingZing]

New to forum here.

Right now I am running a Cambridge Audio EVO150, with the Wharfedale evo 4.2.

A short review:

Spoiler: review

My previous gear was the TEAC NT505 with AP505 and it could not drive those speakers quite perfectly imo. I own quite a number of DSD files and those files tend to require more power to drive.
The biggest problem of it all however, is that the app is extremely sluggish and in general, old design. The saving grace is that it has roon support, and so it was still a decent experience.
I have decided to move on from the set up (that display from TEAC starts to have burn in issue), and start looking in to the market.

Since this set up goes into my living room, they cannot look too mismatched as well, like adding the ifi zen stream to a bulky Yamaha would just looks off.

So when it comes to AIO, I looked at a few, like NAD M10 and Bluenode but I want this set up to last.
After testing the set up, I decided to go for the EVO150, the power is perfect with plenty to spare,. the app is very responsive and smooth, it also has a smaller footprint and that screen just looks incredible.

I also feel like the music is in general, a lot more crisp but the difference is not night and day. I have heard this speaker with a Luxman L-509X in a well set up audio room with proper room treatment, and I do not feel it is a significant downgrade.

I would highly recommend everyone to give this amp a go.
It's small, has the power, extremely nice app (especially important if you are not using roon), and having a nice display showing the album really gives it an extra touch.
The rest is just about matching the sound signature with the rest of your gear, and what you are looking for.

Is there no way to run this amp without wifi connection? (internet was down last night and the amp was stuck in the connection and set up)
What exactly would you recommend for playing both speaker A and B at the same time? That is such a weird feature, is that for dual subwoofer or something?

 

[Gray]

What exactly would you recommend for playing both speaker A and B at the same time? That is such a weird feature, is that for dual subwoofer or something?

I'm surprised you've never seen that feature before. It's been on plenty of amps for years - and it's one that the vast majority of people don't use (with good reason).
I would recommend that you stick to using a single pair of speakers.

 

[Gray]

...as for whether internet is a necessity.
To be honest, with a product such as that, I would take pleasure in reading the user manual from cover to cover (something I've done with all my components, regardless of cost or complexity).
I'd say that you should be a bigger expert on that product than anyone else on this forum.

Obviously it uses the internet for streaming, but I'd be disappointed if it was 'stuck' without it.
It must at least be able to stream local files using its own (non-app based) controls. Surely?

 

[manicm]

It can stream local files from a USB drive, and perhaps from its remote control by bypassing the app (have to check), but frankly if you're not keen on connecting to the internet from a product like this then frankly it's not for you and walk away now.

And to criticise a product like this , or Cambridge Audio, for requiring an internet connection is just being plain silly.

Sometimes I too want to disconnect but that's why down the road I will get a good CD player.

On that note CA has matching CD transport for the Evo, and I don't expect the internet would be required.

 

[nopiano]

Is there no way to run this amp without wifi connection? (internet was down last night and the amp was stuck in the connection and set up)

I would expect it to be usable with, say, a turntable whether the internet connection was working or not.

What precisely do you mean by ‘in the connection and set up’? If it was, say, updating when the internet connection went down then that’s plausible.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

When I had my Naim superuniti, I always hard wired it to the ethernet port, The WiFi just isn't stable enough to stream high quality music. I'd advise anyone else with a streaming based system to do likewise. Oh and on the note of the two sets of speaker terminals, the feature is for those who'd like to have a second set in another room (usually), it's not there to drive both sets at the same time, one or the other is best.

 

[manicm]

When I had my Naim superuniti, I always hard wired it to the ethernet port, The WiFi just isn't stable enough to stream high quality music. I'd advise anyone else with a streaming based system to do likewise. Oh and on the note of the two sets of speaker terminals, the feature is for those who'd like to have a second set in another room (usually), it's not there to drive both sets at the same tim,e, one or the other is best.

I've never had any problems with streaming over WiFi, it depends on the product, and a general rule of thumb is that 192/24 is best streamed over Ethernet, or you better not have your bandwidth being hogged.

 

[Vincent Kars]

CD = 1411 kbs
24/192= 9216 kbs
802.11 g= 54 Mbs

Might explain why I can play hires over the WiFi without a problem.