Anybody with a Cambridge Audio CXN v2 care to comment on whether they think this is worth a £300 premium over the Denon or Marantz options? The v2 is just about universally praised everywhere while I can find very few reviews of the other two.
Tinman1952
Well-known member
You really need to listen to compare but I would be surprised if you preferred the CXNv2. Denon have been producing HiFi for 120 years...a lot longer than Cambridge. Plus you are paying for that large colour screen which to me seems superfluous if you are using an app on a tablet or smartphone....🙄
I owned the Cambridge 851N for 12 months...which people raved about. Had no end of problems (2 units failed) and only 'average' sound quality to my ears...
Thanks for that, Tinman. If the quality of Denon network player is the same as that of the amp in the same series I don't think I can go far wrong. The amp is just wowing me still and goes so well with my speakers.
Al ears
Well-known member
Denon amps are excellent, I was seriously considering buying the A110 Anniversary before I found my Parasound Halo Hint 6 at a decent price.
no reason to believe their other kit isn't of similar quality.
Rob, just buy the Denon and be happy, otherwise I can see you disappearing down a rabbit hole mate. Streamers are basically computers anyway and we all know that PCs become obsolete over time, the same fate awaits streamers too. I bought an NA7004 many moons ago and whilst excellent in my last system it is now redundant in my current system, it has a lovely DAC but that's about it now.
No, I still have my complete old system but it's boxed up. I only stream via a PC now using the DAC in the CDP. I have a large collection of ripped physical media and tend to only use streaming sites to search for anything interesting and then purchase the CD. If I was more into "streaming" then I might look at a dedicated box, but I doubt that day will ever come.
nn_in
Well-known member
Iam using DNP800NE with PMA600NE . DNP800NE streamer is great value for performance delivered.
For streamers the app is critical. I have used Yamaha,Denon , Marantz and Bluesound apps also.
Thanks for your reply. I am seriously wondering now about whether I would get better sound from the dnp 800ne over the ifi Zen blue as someone from another forum said to me he thought the DAC in the Zen blue was better than than the one in the Denon. I must say I'm pretty impressed by the sound of the Zen blue but I'd like to hear true hi-res. Have you heard the Bluesound node 2i?
nn_in
Well-known member
I used to own the bluesound power node 2i (this is streamer and amp in one box).This is great kit. However I haven't experienced a major change when I moved to Denon and Yamaha streamers.Iam a happy camper with Yamaha 803 and Denon 600NE/DNP800NE.Since the media blitz surrounding DNP is less it gets less attention.However is a very well evolved player.
Since i mostly play only Spotify or equivalent streaming I have come to realise that a NP and Power amp combo works best for me .
Thanks for your reply. Aren't you doubling up on functions having the Yamaha 803 and the Denon dnp 800ne as in you've got 2x streamers?
nn_in
Well-known member
I use only one system at a time.Yamaha 803 was too good a value to pass. After using bluesound power node2i ,missed the traditional analog volume pot adjustments. The volume control on bs power node app and on the unit is tacky.I think in new bs power node it's better.However Yamaha has a long swing on rotation to get small incremental steps plus fairly useful room correction feature . Musiccast app is also ok.All this at a very reasonable pricing !!!
RoA
Well-known member
I don't think any of my amplifiers use traditional volume pods anymore and generally, I think its for the better.
Do you mean a volume knob which moves when you increase the volume on the remote? I think you and me are opposites! I love this kind of volume control.
When the volume knob on my Denon amp is at 9 o'clock it's putting out a pretty full sound. The volume control on the Rotel a11 Tribute which I tried had me scratching my head. It was apparently a digital volume control. Music only really became properly audible with the display showing volume at 25. But this was only one of the things I didn't like about that amp.
Tinman1952
Well-known member
I think he means 'pots' short for potentiometer. They have been used for decades in even very expensive equipment but the advantage of modern volume 'chips' is almost perfect channel balance while some potentiometers can suffer from imbalance particularly at low volumes. They are attenuators and at the lowest level are using nearly all of the internal resistance.
The problem of when the volume 'kicks in' is usually down to the sensitivity of the inputs.
Naim are notorious for over sensitive inputs where you get to 'full listening volume' at about 7 o'clock!
Well I suppose the Rotel must have had on of those modern chips. But when there is virtually no sound until the volume is at about a quarter it doesn't really inspire confidence. Surely such a volume control is badly designed?
Tinman1952
Well-known member
Personally I would rather have more adjustment at the lower end of the volume. With traditional 'pots' some complain you can still hear sound through one or more of the channels even at the minimum setting.
But when you go from zero to 25 on a volume control and nothing is happening that is not adjustment.
Tinman1952
Well-known member
Yes but you need to remember the maximum volume is still the same. When you turn the volume control you are not 'increasing' the power, you are reducing the amount by which the maximum volume is being attenuated (reduced).
I think you would be more concerned if you turned the volume control right down and yet could still hear music...🙂
Cheers for that, I've learnt something
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