Amplifier advice please!!! Cambridge cxa60 vs cxa80

[hifi_dave]

I've just sold a couple of Rega Brio-r at £360 brand new and they would have been right up your street (said the actress to the Bishop). The Brio-r has been replaced by the new Brio (2016) and that is excellent. See if you can get a demo.

[Dauntless]

What amp are you using now? And what is wrong with it?

You might find spending the money on better speakers would give you more improvement than swapping one amp for another. Balanced connections won't bring you any benefit unless you need to use a very long interconnect between source and amp - like 40 foot. Otherwise just a gimmick. You have a DAC already so why pay for another one inside the amp?

Check what that money could buy you in a pair of used speakers.

If you do need a new amp then my recco would be to get a good power amp second hand and use it with a passive pre amp. That will give you a jump up in quality that you will notice immediately.

The main advantage with running balanced is the avoidance of hum loops. I have had quite a few problems with hum loops when running RCA but never any probs running balanced. In my experience balanced systems run quieter. Passive pres can be a good idea but it is best to check if they will work ok with your power amp. I remember trying to match a Sugden Masterclass power with a passive pre and the sound was miserable. As far as sound quality between RCA and XLR I don't think there is much difference. XLR set ups are better suited to digital only systems because there is more voltage in a true balanced system, usually up to 4volts (IMHO ).

[plastic penguin]

The trick will be to dem either of the Cambridge amps. Think RS operate a 14-day returns policy.

Alternatively, if the Cambridges don't 'float your boat' look for a s/hand Arcam: A32 was a very good amp, and Arcams generally work well with Dalis.

[sumday]

the last Cambridge amps, 540 and 640s had a known fault that was never addressed.
the amps had a distortion sensor which lowered the volume via the motorised knob if distortion was detected.
sadly...this feature was prone to failure and lowered the volume to unusable levels without provocation....a fault well known to the staff at richers.
my son took a shine to the well built, powerful and feature laden 640 but after THREE returns gave up and opted for a NAD.

lets hope the new range has no such issues.

NIGE

[Arkless Electronics]

Ok thanks. Well my amp is a bit out of date. An Arcam alpha 7 and was using kef iq30 and brought the dali zensor 3 because they sound warmer and better than the kef. The Audiolab also already has a preamp built in and a good dac

Other than new op amps coming out, which are not used in everything anyway, there has been no specific area changed in the design of amps for over 30 years which could make your amp "outdated".... sure then as now some amps were better than others, and the Arcam would not be one I would personally choose, but "outdated"? Nah....

[Arkless Electronics]

What amp are you using now? And what is wrong with it?

You might find spending the money on better speakers would give you more improvement than swapping one amp for another. Balanced connections won't bring you any benefit unless you need to use a very long interconnect between source and amp - like 40 foot. Otherwise just a gimmick. You have a DAC already so why pay for another one inside the amp?

Check what that money could buy you in a pair of used speakers.

If you do need a new amp then my recco would be to get a good power amp second hand and use it with a passive pre amp. That will give you a jump up in quality that you will notice immediately.

I fully agree.... but don't we need 30 pages of argument on the matter now? Featuring plenty of input from people who don't actually know what the difference between balanced and unbalanced is but have a strong opinion anyway? Yes my cynicism towards... well... audiophilia... rather than audio itself, continues to grow

[Sherwood]

Hello

I'm looking to buy a new amplifier to pair with a Audiolab 8200cdq and Dali zensor 3 speakers. My budget is £700 max atm. Originally looked at Arcam FMJ A19 but I'm liking the what hifi reviews on the new Cambridge cxa60, plus it has all the digital extras. However the cxa80 interests me but did not get the same write up as the cxa60. Has anyone had any experience or compared these amps. I'm just wondering if the balanced xlr on the cxa80 and Audiolab would actually make a noticeable difference or to stick to high end interconnect. Also the cxa80 is a dual mono block design and just wondering if this amp will really sound that much better than the cxa60 for the extra £200. Alternatively other amp suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks for any comments on this

Richard

I echo the other comments made here in that: a) given your source has preamp capability I would go for a good power amp rather than an integrated and b) you need to decide what it is about your current amp that is deficient!

Although your speakers are not particularly difficult to drive, I have learned over the years that ceteris paribus more power is better. There are a few amps that are relatively low powered and can sound fantastic with high efficiency speakers at moderate listening levels. Many of these are valve designs which watt for watt sound more powerfu than solid state designs. Not sure that you will get much of an improvement with your budget unless you find a good second hand bargain. I would suggest you save up a bit more and buy something that will be a significant upgrade that will see you through the next decade.

[Dauntless]

I fully agree.... but don't we need 30 pages of argument on the matter now? Featuring plenty of input from people who don't actually know what the difference between balanced and unbalanced is but have a strong opinion anyway? Yes my cynicism towards... well... audiophilia... rather than audio itself, continues to grow

I thought long and hard about responding to this post. It was obviously aimed at me. Well you're right Jez, there's an awful lot of things I know little or nothing about. I base my posts on this forum on things that I have had experience of using over a time period. I only post if I think I have had some experience/usage of the topic in question, otherwise I keep quiet. I must say that it seems a rather curious way to promote yourself and your business interests by attacking the very market that you should be trying to nurture and develop. Running a business is one area that I have experience of and you don't insult your customer base! You say there is nothing new in amps but a few op amps. Well some folk might disagree with you like Bruno at Hypex for instance. He seems to spend his time researching and developing new, affordable well designed products and bringing them to the market. His AS2.100D plate amp is one such product. It is a groundbreaking product and there is nothing like it on the market. Bruno is out there delighting his market and making a good living from it. A win/win situation for him and his customers. I've never been aware of him slagging off his customer base on forums. He's much too busy designing and developing and bringing to the market products for that! With your technical Knowledge you could follow his example.

[Richard10909]

Well today I have decided to buy a new cxa80 with 24 months warranty. I'm a bit unsure with some second hands because my old alpha was and it had a little crackle down at low end volumes. Maybe it just needed some switch cleaner. However I must say I've plugged in the cxa80 to my 8200cdq and the sound is alot different. It's much more open and clearer. I can hear little details that the Arcam just never presented. I had an old Cambridge years ago, one of there cheaper products and never liked it, thought it was a bit gutless. This amp however I'm really liking so far. It has plenty of connectivity and nice build quality (apart from the binding posts on the back). I wouldn't say the bass is not as low down as claimed but I haven't got chance to crank it up properly yet, neighbours home😂however the mid range and top end is a very noticeable improvement. Maybe now to upgrade my speakers in the future!

[struth]

Nice.... has a Cirrus Logic WM8740 chip inside. Big trannie too. Enjoy