Cambridge CXN (V2) next acquisition

afterburnt · January 27

Does anyone have one, thoughts? I got a Marantz streamer but did not like it for various reasons and sent it back. It sounded great but it was lacking compared to my Aries Mini.

deronb1 · January 27

Tophat has one. He really likes it.

joecoulson · January 27

I have one
I like it
For various reasons and it blew away the Node in my A/B test at the dealer. It should I guess for close to dbl the $$

tophatjohnny · January 27

I have the 851N..different animal, while the CXN is more like the SM6, I really like the Cambridge line for what it is I do. The One Connect app works really good and handles my rather large digital library like a champion. Congrats and I'm thinking you will have fun with it. If you decide to go up a notch, the 851N is no slouch when it comes to Network players and it's easy on the pocketbook. Very happy with mine. Let us know as you go along how you like it and what all are you using it for...USB or UPnP?? NAS in the line up?? I think the CXN also displays album artwork (although looking at tiny album covers doesn't do it for me, I guess it's still kinda cool??)

deronb1 · January 27

Ah tes, i stand corrected

joecoulson · January 28

The screen was actually one of the draws for me. Nice to have it as a backup to app control should you want to control it all El Manual
The DAC in it sounds as good as my PS Audio Stellar Pre. I use it with Tidal, a local usb thumb drive with all kinds of hi-res files on it (DSD, WAV, FLAC etc), Internet radio (320k and up), Chromecast (SoundCloud from the phone) and also as a Sonos connection. It’s very versatile and has a plethora of inputs.

I have a universal remote (Harmony) so I have not used the remote much but it’s heavy and sturdy. The unit looks sleek in a rack but unfortunately I have to stack in my current setup.
XLR’s connect it to the PS Audio pre. And I swapped the power cable for a Zu Audio one.

The app is pretty good. Only crashes every now and then. Has the ability to control most all of the unit sans internal settings. Tidal’s interface is simple but effective. You can also search for internet radio through the app, and of course search for drives in your network or connected locally.

Pics.

afterburnt · January 28

@joecoulson Have you tried WMA lossless files?

joecoulson · January 28

No. Have not tried just because I don’t have any. I typically use DSD, WAV or FLAC only for hi res.

joecoulson · January 28

And I believe our very own @DSkip is about to become a CA dealer.

Clipdat · January 29

My Google-Fu is failing me, is there an easy way to disable/defeat the built in volume control, so that it isn't getting in the way of the signal?

afterburnt · January 29

google fu?

Clipdat · January 29

afterburnt wrote: »

google fu?

Let me google that for you: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Google-fu

mhardy6647 · January 29

afterburnt wrote: »

google fu?

Clipdat wrote: »

afterburnt wrote: »

google fu?

Let me google that for you: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Google-fu

that's meta, man....

joecoulson · January 29

Yes. It’s an internal setting. Digital preamp on/off

Clipdat · January 29

Very nice!

reverb · January 30

I have a CXN and like it a lot. It streams from my NAS flawlessly. I also use the digital out from the Denon DCD-1560 into the CXN. The DACs are better in it and as an added bonus, I can use the CXN volume control! When I'm not being lazy, you can bypass the volume control for a cleaner signal.

displayname · February 10

I picked up the CXN v2 yesterday and I am VERY happy with this purchase so far. Yesterday at Skip's we used it with Tidal and compared the internal DAC to an external DAC an plugged it into a few different speakers and amps. The DAC can be bested, but it holds it own for quite a bit, and when you're moving to an external DAC, it transfers the music perfectly without any noise being carried with it.

At home I've only been using Spotify Connect so far. I'll doing a Tidal trial soon, but I want to make sure I have plenty of time at home with it before I dive into that.

The biggest surprise to me was how easy the set up was. I don't know why I thought it would be difficult, but it really was a breeze and took minutes. I spent much longer rearranging wires and getting it into the rack than I spent on getting it up and running.

Clipdat · February 10

Assuming you are using the analog outs, let us know how those dual Wolfsons sound after they get some more time on them.

gudnoyez · February 10

displayname wrote: »

I picked up the CXN v2 yesterday and I am VERY happy with this purchase so far. Yesterday at Skip's we used it with Tidal and compared the internal DAC to an external DAC an plugged it into a few different speakers and amps. The DAC can be bested, but it holds it own for quite a bit, and when you're moving to an external DAC, it transfers the music perfectly without any noise being carried with it.

At home I've only been using Spotify Connect so far. I'll doing a Tidal trial soon, but I want to make sure I have plenty of time at home with it before I dive into that.

The biggest surprise to me was how easy the set up was. I don't know why I thought it would be difficult, but it really was a breeze and took minutes. I spent much longer rearranging wires and getting it into the rack than I spent on getting it up and running.

Nice this might be my next purchase while I am at Apoxana this spring I will be looking at all the vendors offering streamers. Enjoy your new Cambridge.

joecoulson · February 10

I have been very happy with it now for about half a year. DAC’s are almost as good (really probably as good) as the PS A stellar pre.
App crashes and no Tidal Masters support are my only gripes. And they are very small gripes compared to the pluses.
XLR our seemed to be a step above the RCA’s in my particular setup

DSkip · February 10

Can you elaborate on the app crashes?

As far as MQA goes, that's the last thing I look for in a DAC. I want hardware that sounds good, not gear that chases a file type.

joecoulson · February 10

The app will crash when:
Opening it back up after playing something and then say answering a phone call or switching apps. When coming back to the CA app it will crash.
It also crashes when opening up for the first time rarely.

As far as MQA goes, there is built in support for Tidal on this unit, it’s advertised as such. It would make sense to me that a company would offer the services of its built in partner in their entirety, not just hifi streaming. Bluesound and some others do, not sure what CA does not. Regardless of how you feel about the format, and what tech is needed to “unfold” it’s just how I feel about the matter.

Clipdat · February 10

https://techsupport.cambridgeaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000579989-Does-the-TIDAL-update-support-MQA-playback-

Clipdat · February 10

Frankly, I consider it a bonus that they aren't natively supporting MQA in the box. MQA is nothing more than a marketing gimmick and form of proprietary DRM, designed with one goal: to line the pockets of already rich executives.

The more companies that drop MQA or never choose to pay in to it's licensing fees, the better. Hopefully it'll eventually go away completely and we'll never have to talk about it again.

DSkip · February 10

It supports up to 192 but doesn't do MQA. It unfolds it the way it knows how. I have tried two 384 files and neither the CXN or 851N was able to play it. It makes sense given the limitation. Just because it doesn't say MQA doesn't mean you aren't getting the higher bitrate.

What router are you using? I've had zero issues so far multitasking on my phone.

joecoulson · February 10

Apple AirPort Extreme.
Maybe it’s mine but give it time as you have only had it a day or so. You may or may not have those issues but I have read on other sites people had some crashes too.
Not a big deal as I have said before. Just not flawless.

joecoulson · February 10

I’ll talk about MQA as long as it bothers you.

Clipdat · February 10

I'll let you guys know if I get any app crashes on my Samsung Galaxy S8.

DSkip · February 10

joecoulson wrote: »

Apple AirPort Extreme.
Maybe it’s mine but give it time as you have only had it a day or so. You may or may not have those issues but I have read on other sites people had some crashes too.
Not a big deal as I have said before. Just not flawless.

The issue with most app failures and crashes is network driven, not app driven. This is true with AURALiC, Lumin, and I highly suspect with Cambridge as well.

To elaborate, these apps are very sensitive to your network - more sensitive than your streaming devices or computers. I had similar issues frequently but have had none since upgrading my network router. This is a common issue and the hardest thing to convince clients of.

Clipdat · February 10

It could also be individual phone specific. Way too many variables.

DSkip · February 10

Clipdat wrote: »

It could also be individual phone specific. Way too many variables.

When this issue arises it is usually universal across all devices.

Cambridge CXN (V2) next acquisition

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Cambridge CXN (V2) next acquisition

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