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The differences I heard when comparing playing CDs on the CXC to playing music stored on my Synology NAS to the Pi 4 and converted to Coax out by the Denafrips IRIS II DDC were, for all intents and purposes, not worth mentioning. I’d have been hard pressed to know which was which when listening to the exact same music that was playing from the CD or playing from the file I ripped from that very same CD. They sounded, through the Denafrips ARES II DAC, more or less identical. More usually found on 'reference' hi-fi and professional equipment, the CXA81 boasts balanced XLR inputs. When connected to a suitable source, this gives a fully balanced, hot/cold, connection for the ultimate analogue signal quality. Another advantage is increased flexibility. Chose to match with one of the Cambridge CXA digital amplifiers or use your own choice of DAC entirely. By starting with such a high quality transport design, the CXC could see you through many system and DAC upgrades without being in the least bit out of place. And, while I can’t claim to own many CDs in a rough condition, I was unable to find a disc that could trouble the CXC; even the aforementioned ’21st Century Breakdown’ played without issue. Summary Exhale. Some people who read that last paragraph think — never mind. Too much stuff, too much complexity. And I get that. The beauty of listening to CDs is simplicity — insert CD, hit Play. Done.
Featuring a reference standard ESS Sabre ES9016K2M DAC, the CXA81 works wonders with your digital audio and video sources. With two optical digital inputs and one coaxial, you can connect up to three digital sources, such as a games console, TV and a CD transport – the Cambridge Audio CXC makes the perfect match.At Cambridge Audio we are committed to ensuring that your personal information is protected and never misused. What Hi-Fi? said:Cambridge Audio opted for a ground-up rebuild for its CXA81 amp – and it has created a thing of lasting beauty. It's important to us that we judge all products, including CD players, on a strict pound-per-performance basis, making sure to emphasize value and tell our readers how good something is for the money. Accordingly, we compare all products we review against similarly-priced class leaders to help us settle on the most accurate rating. You have the right to object to our monitoring of your use of our connected products and apps for these purposes. For more information on how to exercise your right to object, see the section below titled 'Your controls and choices'. Information from your online interactions
Powerful sound begins with the power supply, which is why Cambridge Audio use an audiophile quality, toroidal transformer. Renowned for their low noise, high efficiency and superior sound quality, the over-sized transformer gives the CXA81 a powerful, dynamic sound and a hefty 80W per channel power output - enough for ‘party level’ sound in even the largest domestic spaces. To monitor the performance and stability of our products so that we can optimise their performance and your experience of them; in particular, we want to be able to identify when there may be an issue with your product so that we can let you know about it as soon as possible (and potentially before the issue actually arises);The Cambridge Audio CXC is a CD transport. Its sole purpose is to spin up CDs to the correct and stable speed so that a laser can read the pits and lands that are encoded into the polycarbonate layer of the disc. Then, by way of the CXC’s digital outputs (Coax or Toslink), that data is sent to a digital to analog converter to turn bits into analog waves. This analog signal is then sent on to your amplification device(s) of choice. Done! The remote control feels more luxurious than most supplied with high-end players, and we're impressed by this CD player's casework – it’s immensely rigid and well damped. If it's within budget, the Marantz SA-10 is a brilliant choice and one of the finest disc players you'll probably ever come across. Denon 3910 CD | HD-CD | SACD | DVD-A |DVD player (connected via digital coax and Audio out RCA to compare Denon’s Burr-Brown and CXA60’s Wolfson DACs)
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