Cambridge Audio hopes for an additional hit with its new CXN100 community streamer

Followers of Cambridge Audio’s award-winning community music gamers are about to get a deal with, because the British audio maker as we speak launched its CXN100 Community Participant, the long-awaited successor to its in style CXN V2. The redesigned participant contains a fully new DAC able to dealing with 32-bit/768kHz, extra exact and streamlined processing, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and all new tuning by the corporate’s “engineering magicians.” The CXN100 goes on sale as we speak for $1,099.

When you’re unsure what a community streamer is or why you’d want one, it’s mainly among the best methods to carry your entire digital music, streaming companies, native music information, and even web radio to your hi-fi part system at a really excessive degree of high quality. Cambridge Audio’s new CXN100 builds on the success of the CXN V2, which Cambridge calls “the champion of community gamers,” with what the corporate says is a “full mechanical redesign.”

First up is the most important change, from the CXN V2’s tried-and-true twin Wolfson WM8740 24-bit DAC (digital to analog converter) to the brand new ESS ES9028Q2M SABRE32 Reference DAC. The CXN V2 was able to enjoying high-res information of as much as 24-bit/192kHz, with upsampling as much as 384kHz. The brand new SABRE32 DAC takes the CXN100 up a notch and is ready to deal with PCM digital sign inputs as much as 32-bit/768kHz, with help for DSD 512 information.

Cambridge Audio says that the timing within the new DAC is so good that the CXN100 now not wants a post-DAC filter “which additional simplifies the sign path and in the end leads to exact, jitter-free, class-leading audio readability,” based on a press launch. The post-DAC analog stage has additionally been improved, decreasing distortion and rising the signal-to-noise ratio.

Bodily connectivity choices have largely stayed the identical on the CXN100 and nonetheless embrace USB, Coaxial, and Toslink inputs in addition to balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA analog outputs. On the wi-fi aspect, there’s nonetheless Chromecast and Apple AirPlay 2 built-in, however the CXN100 has added built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity that doesn’t require the extra BT100 dongle, which you had to purchase individually on the CXN V2. The dongle, nevertheless, supported aptX, and Cambridge has confirmed with us that the the CXN100 doesn’t, limiting issues to simply SBC and AAC Bluetooth help. Nonetheless, with Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity choices for prime quality playback, the dearth of aptX isn’t actually a difficulty.

Nonetheless on the coronary heart of the CXN100 is Cambridge’s proprietary StreamMagic Gen4 module and platform, which permits management of the system from its app or by distant management. The CXN100 consists of built-in Spotify Join, Tidal Join, Qobuz, and Deezer, and now MQA compatibility, in addition to entry to hi-res web radio thanks toMPEG-DASH help. As with the CXN V2, the CXN100 also can broaden your music all through your own home and different gadgets tvia Google Residence, AirPlay and Roon.

Bodily, the CXN100 has saved the identical slim dimensions (16.9 by 3.4 by 12.2 inches), ​however elevated the dimensions of the high-res colour display on the unit’s face to a bigger 4.76-inches (the CXN V2 had a 4.3-inch display), so that you’ll be capable to see album paintings and monitor info extra clearly, too.

​“Even with CXN V2 nonetheless on the throne, we’ve not rested on our laurels,” says James Johnson-Flint, proprietor of Cambridge Audio. “We’ve taken the subsequent step, and CXN100 represents the subsequent era of community participant. It’s right here to take the crown.”

The Cambridge Audio CXN100 is accessible now on the Cambridge Audio web site and at retailers for $1,099.

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