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Cambridge Audio CXA81 Review and Thoughts?

Though it’s likely too mid-fi for most folks on this forum to be bothered, I thought I’d share my experience w/ this amp and also see if anyone else has thoughts or advice. I have mixed feelings about the amp.

My previous amp was a Creek Classic 5350SE. My speakers are Dynaudio Audience 52s. Source is Tidal on an iMac connected via USB to a Musical Fidelity V-DAC ii. I was having problems w/ the old Creek amp (channel drop-out) and so finally decided to replace it with the CXA81.

I find the CXA to be much more forward in presentation than the Creek. The level of detail and the soundstage is much more apparent. In addition to the highs being more emphasized, the bass has more drive, yet is sufficiently firm and resolved to my humble ears. Certainly there are some things I like about all this. Though I really don’t like the onboard DAC that comes with the CXA amp. It’s pleasantly detailed but sounds thin. Female vocals in particular, which once were the focal point of a track, lack presence and seem to disappear in the background, leaving only the breath-y upper registers. So I’ve switched back to using my old V-DACii.

But even with my old DAC, I’m trying to decide if the amp is still too forward and fatiguing for me. I like the level of energy that the amp brings to music. It’s more engaging than the 5350. But I’m trying to decide if it will be too fatiguing and if the presentation is somehow "false." I listen to all kinds of stuff, lot’s of neo-classical, minimalist piano, folk, ambient electronic. I have another month to spend with it and still be able to return it. I’m also thinking of swapping out my DAC with a Schiit Modi 3, which has a reputation for having a sweet, strong midrange presentation which I thought could pair well with the cool, airy CXA81.

The CXA81 gets tons of very good reviews, but maybe these reviews are all very influenced by some back room marketing dynamics.

Thoughts?
olilama76

Showing 1 response by olilama76

olilama76 OP
5 posts
 
Just wanted to provide an update here in case it's useful for anybody considering the CXA81.  I ended up returning it because after months of listening, I found the sound to be too forward and fatiguing.  Before returning it, I replaced my DAC with a Schiit Modi 3, which has a reputation for having a sweeter and perhaps more full-bodied sound than my previous DAC.  I also bought a Schiit Loki tone control so that I could roll off the highs a bit, to try to make the CXA81 sound less bright.  But still I found the sound too forward, and lean.
I ended up getting a Schiit Vidar and Saga S and A/B'ed them for a few weeks.  The Schiit pairing was slightly less revealing than the Cambridge, but the sound was much more full bodied and a little darker/sweeter. In the end I decided that the Schiit worked better in my system.  As many have said, I think it's important to consider the overall quality of the sound and the way different components work together. Though I could impress my friends with the detailed sound of the CXA81, in the end I didn't find it to be as enjoyable a sound as that which I got with the Schiit Vidar and Saga.
I later got also got a Bluesound Node 2i to stream music from, instead of streaming from my iMac with a USB connection to the DAC.  That was a noticable improvement and I wish I had made that change before I returned the CXA81.  I suppose it's possible that some of the harshness and forwardness that I was hearing was a result of jitter from the iMac USB setup.  I would have been good to at least just learn from that experiment. Regardless, I'm really happy with the sound from the Schiit Vidar / Saga S streaming via the Node 2i, going to my Dynaudio Audience 52s.  Pretty underwhelmed with the BluOS app, though, but that's another story.
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