Though the UK’s Cambridge Audio always has its ears tuned on top quality audio, as with the recently-announced Alva TT, the company is also mindful that budget music lovers appreciate good sound too. And so it is with the new AX series of a wallet-friendly hi-fi gear.
Claimed to achieve the perfect balance between performance and affordability, the AX series kicks off with the AXC35 CD player for US$349. The unit features a single analog RCA output, the option of coaxial digital audio output and gapless playback.
The $399 AXA35 integrated amplifier has a power output of 35 W, rocks four RCA inputs, has its own phono stage – meaning that vinyl lovers don’t have to position a phono pre-amp between a turntable and the amp – and a single RCA output to enable recording. There’s a USB port with 5 V/500 mA of power for connecting an optional Bluetooth receiver, a 3.5 mm auxiliary stereo input and a headphone jack on the front panel.
As its name might suggest, the AXR85 is a stereo receiver outputting 85 W of power, and is capable of driving two stereo speaker zones. Users are offered three analog RCA inputs, a phono stage, recording and subwoofer outputs, a 3.5 mm aux input and a headphone jack. The $399 receiver also comes with an FM/AM tuner and integrated Bluetooth for wireless streaming.
The $499 AXR100 is very similar to its AX series receiver sibling, but ups the power output to 100 W, and adds two optical and one coaxial digital inputs.
The CD player and amplifier are due for release at the end of this month, with the receivers following a little later.
Cambridge Audio’s AX series aims for quality on a budget [New Atlas]