Streamer Review

Muddywaterstones

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Picked up the Cambridge CXN about a week ago and have been playing with it since. The review on the main website pretty much captures the character of the beast. What was really striking was the punchy attack of notes, especially in the bass department. Somehow it manages the trick of providing more control whiile freeing up the music. And it really seems to get to the heart of the music.

Where this was most evident was with material I knew from through streaming bluetooth on the Arcam Miniblink. There was a hell of a lot of music there that I loved which it seems I have never properly heard. Now my ears have been opened and I can't get over the detail I had been missing.

Where I was more surprised was the more subtle improvement in CD playback when hooked up through the CXN. Take for example the Rory Gallagher album Deuce. It is one of my favourite albums, which I've owned for donkey's years. It was recorded in the early seventies pretty quickly and intentionally left rather unpolished. The CXN exerts a certain control, providing a structure which lets details I've never heard before come out. Again, the bass is the big beneficiary but there are vocals I can make out that I've never made out before, background screams of "yeah" like at a live show that I've never picked up on.

Rumour has it that if your system is revealing enough you can hear the numbers from a bingo caller in the hall next to the studio. I haven't got there yet!

The CD player is connected with a spare RCA cable I had about the place and seems to work fine. However, I thought the character of the streaming was somewhat edgier and rougher than the CD. Had a look in the basement and found that the spare ethernet cable I had there was Cat 6 and not Cat 5 as I thought. Result: the wiring in the gaff isn't obsolete yet!

Looking at picking up a tool and some connectors to make a length to replace my gnarly, cheap-ass, supermarket cable it turned out to be more economic by half to buy some ready made Cat 6 for €12 by a French company called Real Cable. Now I've the same sonic signature Streaming as playing CD.

I like the remote control too. It can also control the volume on my amp, which is a completely different brand. That's a real bonus as the remote for the amp was a poxy, credit-card sized thing that could only control the volume. I kept losing it too so that's one less thing cluttering up the coffee table. I actually got rid of the Cambridge app too and just play CD and Spotify for the moment. Maybe other owners can get back with any advantages i'm missing out on there.

Airplay doesn't seem any worse than bluetooth (though a real comedown from the wired connection) but I've no real need for it except for YouTube where, bizarrely, there are sync issues: the sound coming a good two seconds after the image. Don't know if this is an Airplay thing or a CXN thing.

Overall I'm really impressed. I'm also really surprised at the difference that the source can make in the digital era. Obviously it is still an important part of the whole sound, but more so than I had thought. This has given extra bite and muscularity to my system, making the sound darker than it had been before. After a week of getting used to the change I'm sitting here with my foot tapping out a beat and a stupid grin on my face.
 
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QuestForThe13thNote

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Muddywaterstones said:
Picked up the Cambridge CXN about a week ago and have been playing with it since. The review on the main website pretty much captures the character of the beast. What was really striking was the punchy attack of notes, especially in the bass department. Somehow it manages the trick of providing more control whiile freeing up the music. And it really seems to get to the heart of the music.

Where this was most evident was with material I knew from through streaming bluetooth on the Arcam Miniblink. There was a hell of a lot of music there that I loved which it seems I have never properly heard. Now my ears have been opened and I can't get over the detail I had been missing.

Where I was more surprised was the more subtle improvement in CD playback when hooked up through the CXN. Take for example the Rory Gallagher album Deuce. It is one of my favourite albums, which I've owned for donkey's years. It was recorded in the early seventies pretty quickly and intentionally left rather unpolished. The CXN exerts a certain control, providing a structure which lets details I've never heard before come out. Again, the bass is the big beneficiary but there are vocals I can make out that I've never made out before, background screams of "yeah" like at a live show that I've never picked up on.

Rumour has it that if your system is revealing enough you can hear the numbers from a bingo caller in the hall next to the studio. I haven't got there yet!

The CD player is connected with a spare RCA cable I had about the place and seems to work fine. However, I thought the character of the streaming was somewhat edgier and rougher than the CD. Had a look in the basement and found that the spare ethernet cable I had there was Cat 6 and not Cat 5 as I thought. Result: the wiring in the gaff isn't obsolete yet!

Looking at picking up a tool and some connectors to make a length to replace my gnarly, cheap-ass, supermarket cable it turned out to be more economic by half to buy some ready made Cat 6 for €12 by a French company called Real Cable. Now I've the same sonic signature Streaming as playing CD.

I like the remote control too. It can also control the volume on my amp, which is a completely different brand. That's a real bonus as the remote for the amp was a poxy, credit-card sized thing that could only control the volume. I kept losing it too so that's one less thing cluttering up the coffee table. I actually got rid of the Cambridge app too and just play CD and Spotify for the moment. Maybe other owners can get back with any advantages i'm missing out on there.

Airplay doesn't seem any worse than bluetooth (though a real comedown from the wired connection) but I've no real need for it except for YouTube where, bizarrely, there are sync issues: the sound coming a good two seconds after the image. Don't know if this is an Airplay thing or a CXN thing.

Overall I'm really impressed. I'm also really surprised at the difference that the source can make in the digital era. Obviously it is still an important part of the whole sound, but more so than I had thought. This has given extra bite and muscularity to my system, making the sound darker than it had been before. After a week of getting used to the change I'm sitting here with my foot tapping out a beat and a stupid grin on my face.

Ive tried one in my system and it was nearly up there with my cyrus stream x signature, but conceivably that could just be system intergration, but for what it does at its price it’s amazing value and I thought punches above its weight.
 

Gray

Well-known member
I've always been tempted myself (all the more so when it briefly hit the £599 low)

Detail and punch, two of my favourite things and isn't it great when you hear new things on famiiar songs?

Glad you're happy - and, whatever the sound differences, surely few people would disagree that it looks better than their own 851N.
 

Muddywaterstones

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I used it briefly but it seemed a little clunky so I deleted it again. It seems easier so far to go through Spotify Connect or the CD player. Maybe if I start delving into further functions like the Radio or NAS playback I'll have to re-install it.
 

Muddywaterstones

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Got it in Silver as my amp is white and thus far stuck out like a sore thumb. I wouldn't have chosen a white amp but the model was changing and I got a good deal because the shop wanted to get rid of it. With its addition it fleshes out the exotic mish-mash of colours in my kit: black, white, silver and rosewood.
 

Muddywaterstones

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Got it in Silver as my amp is white and thus far stuck out like a sore thumb. I wouldn't have chosen a white amp but the model was changing and I got a good deal. With the silver addition it fleshes out the exotic mish-mash of colours in my kit: black, white, silver and rosewood.
 

davedotco

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Muddywaterstones said:
I used it briefly but it seemed a little clunky so I deleted it again. It seems easier so far to go through Spotify Connect or the CD player. Maybe if I start delving into further functions like the Radio or NAS playback I'll have to re-install it.

I think this is very important, the Yamaha system is very good and seems to set the standard at the affordable end of the spectrum.

My needs are not that complex, but it does need to be easy to use, both for me and the family.
 

Leeps

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As good as it might sound, I wouldn't even consider a Cambridge streamer as it doesn't support Tidal (or Deezer I believe). Yes I could plug a Chromecast into it, but it seems a bit pointless buying a streamer that you need to still purchase another streamer to get the service you need.

I think as time goes by, Cambridge's lack of support for Tidal / Deezer is becoming a serious hole in its repertoire, and even more so in the 851N which presumably is marketed more at the higher end / quality source material. It would seem a bit odd spending over a grand on a streamer and only using it for Spotify.

It's a shame because I've been a long time fan of Cambridge and would have otherwise considered it had it not been for this omission. Having said that, if the app is a little 'clunky' that's also a little offputting.

So for Tidal users, it seems like the Auralic Aries Mini, Bluesound Node or Yamaha NP-S303 would be more viable options.
 

Andrewjvt

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QuestForThe13thNote said:
Muddywaterstones said:
Picked up the Cambridge CXN about a week ago and have been playing with it since. The review on the main website pretty much captures the character of the beast. What was really striking was the punchy attack of notes, especially in the bass department. Somehow it manages the trick of providing more control whiile freeing up the music. And it really seems to get to the heart of the music.

Where this was most evident was with material I knew from through streaming bluetooth on the Arcam Miniblink. There was a hell of a lot of music there that I loved which it seems I have never properly heard. Now my ears have been opened and I can't get over the detail I had been missing.

Where I was more surprised was the more subtle improvement in CD playback when hooked up through the CXN. Take for example the Rory Gallagher album Deuce. It is one of my favourite albums, which I've owned for donkey's years. It was recorded in the early seventies pretty quickly and intentionally left rather unpolished. The CXN exerts a certain control, providing a structure which lets details I've never heard before come out. Again, the bass is the big beneficiary but there are vocals I can make out that I've never made out before, background screams of "yeah" like at a live show that I've never picked up on. 

Rumour has it that if your system is revealing enough you can hear the numbers from a bingo caller in the hall next to the studio. I haven't got there yet!

The CD player is connected with a spare RCA cable I had about the place and seems to work fine. However, I thought the character of the streaming was somewhat edgier and rougher than the CD. Had a look in the basement and found that the spare ethernet cable I had there was Cat 6 and not Cat 5 as I thought. Result: the wiring in the gaff isn't obsolete yet! 

Looking at picking up a tool and some connectors to make a length to replace my gnarly, cheap-ass, supermarket cable it turned out to be more economic by half to buy some ready made Cat 6 for €12 by a French company called Real Cable. Now I've the same sonic signature Streaming as playing CD.

I like the remote control too. It can also control the volume on my amp, which is a completely different brand. That's a real bonus as the remote for the amp was a poxy, credit-card sized thing that could only control the volume. I kept losing it too so that's one less thing cluttering up the coffee table. I actually got rid of the Cambridge app too and just play CD and Spotify for the moment. Maybe other owners can get back with any advantages i'm missing out on there. 

Airplay doesn't seem any worse than bluetooth (though a real comedown from the wired connection) but I've no real need for it except for YouTube where, bizarrely, there are sync issues: the sound coming a good two seconds after the image. Don't know if this is an Airplay thing or a CXN thing. 

Overall I'm really impressed. I'm also really surprised at the difference that the source can make in the digital era. Obviously it is still an important part of the whole sound, but more so than I had thought. This has given extra bite and muscularity to my system, making the sound darker than it had been before. After a week of getting used to the change I'm sitting here with my foot tapping out a beat and a stupid grin on my face.

 

 

Ive tried one in my system and it was nearly up there with my cyrus stream x signature, but conceivably that could just be system intergration, but for what it does at its price it’s amazing value and I thought punches above its weight. 

Does that mean that the 851n is better than the Cyrus stream X as it's more money and better electronics inside?
 
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SemiChronic

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"Does that mean that the 851n is better than the Cyrus stream X as it's more money and better electronics inside?"

HaHa . . dont even go there . .
 
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QuestForThe13thNote

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SemiChronic said:
"Does that mean that the 851n is better than the Cyrus stream X as it's more money and better electronics inside?"

HaHa . . dont even go there . .

yes quite possibly better in listening tests, but the cyrus stream x is not a current model. In fact it came out about 5 years ago, then there was the cyrus stream x2, then the current cyrus stream x signature (which I am referring to). Lots of tweaks in the circuits between these models. But also the cyrus and ca are the same rr price of £1400, actually £5 difference if you want to be pedantic.

but they are different devices. The cyrus is simply a streamer transport with tidal/upnp and the ca 851n is a streamer with dacs. I’d hazard a guess that using both as a transport that the difference is ****** all even if the ca is better, but it will depend what you use it with and whether your existing dacs are worse or better than the Cambridge audios 851n’s.

From what hi-Fis perspective they have the cyrus stream xa (the analogue version with dacs of the stream x signature) at 5 stars and the same for this ca. But on paper the Cambridge Audio 851n is better as an analogue streamer I’d say. It’s dacs look better than the cyrus. But I do think the Cambridge Audio units are fantastic value and punch above their weight and I’d easily have a cxn! Cheers. Ps I hope that’s balanced enough for you Andrew.
 

Muddywaterstones

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Not as far as I can see. The big dial is for toggling between and selecting from different menus. The remote control controls my amp. As far as I can see on the app there is a volume icon but it wont do anything for me.

Figured out how to get YOuTube to sync but its painful. I'd be surprised if there isn't a better way. It involves knocking off Airplay, then putting it back on for every video. I don't look at it much so it's no big deal.

Actually, experimented a bit more with Airplay just to see the quality and it's not as bad as I first thought.
 
S

SemiChronic

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CXN does have volume control. Select digital pre-amp mode. Same as 851
 
S

SemiChronic

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Yes knob and handheld both work.

cxn and actives would make a great system
 

davedotco

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SemiChronic said:
Yes knob and handheld both work.

cxn and actives would make a great system

Certainly will work and is a very tidy system, providing you do not need any analog inputs. Balanced outs into a pair of AX7xs works a treat.

I still think £800 for a pretty standard streamer is a ridiculously high price though.
 
S

SemiChronic

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£800 but its a dac/streamer/preamp with xlrs and good bits inside.

no tidal, but i dont think its a technical issue, more to do with red tape

Forgot to add the upsampling is amazing
 

Gray

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[/quote]

I still think £800 for a pretty standard streamer is a ridiculously high price though.

[/quote]

That's the reason I haven't got one. Of course CA (and WHF) would say it's anything but standard.

As a Pi using pauper, I must say though, that the RuneAudio control app I use could be a lot worse.

But I can see the CXN attractions - for me it would be the screen, 'jog' dial and upsampling.

For many that pre into active potential (balanced if you like) would be very appealing.
 
S

SemiChronic

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you could try a Stream Magic 6v2, all the same funcionality as far as im aware, pre amp, dual dacs and upsampling, xlrs. But no colour screen.

I had one for 12months and ebayed it for the same amount it cost me (Bought from richer sounds instore clearance)

can be had for around £250

Cxn is £800 . . what would the Naim or other fancy name cost?

Thats one of the problems with cambridge. If it sounds good but wears a cambridge badge many just wont have it in thier house!
 

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