Instead of finding the components in clear plastic bags, the Cambridge Audio gear came wrapped in soft cloth bags displaying the company’s logo in the middle. When unpacking the Cambridge Audio components, I was pleasantly surprised with how well they were packaged. Each component is attractively priced at $499. The Azur 540C CD player (Version 2) and the Azur 540A integrated amplifier (Version 2) present an affordable option to audio enthusiasts looking to build an entry-level two channel music component system. For complete details about each system, please visit the manufacturer websites. Due to space constraints the descriptions of these systems are short and sweet – the basic intent is to provide you with some other brands and price ideas. In the following pages, we also suggest some other 2-channel hifi systems that you might want to look at, in various price ranges. The listening tests were performed by editors Suave Kajko and Octavio Umana. The speakers were connected using regular 12-gauge speaker wires. The sound from each CD player to each integrated amplifier was supplied using a standard Monster Cable interconnect cable. We chose the M80s from Axiom Audio because they are natural sounding speakers with a revealing nature in a price range suitable for pairing up with our two-channel evaluation systems. These speakers have a frequency response rated from 34 Hz to 22 kHz (+/- 3 dB), an impedance of 4 Ohms and a sensitivity of 95 dB. To perform our listening tests, we connected each two-channel system to our reference Axiom Audio M80 v2 floorstanding speakers. Each system is composed of a two-channel integrated amplifier and a matching CD player from the same manufacturer. Below we evaluate three two-channel music systems ranging from $1000 to $2000, in a side by side comparison. Sometimes these characteristics are subtle and other times they can be very obvious.
Every amplifier and every CD player has their own sound characteristics and qualities. It’s truly remarkable just how different the same CD album can sound on different two-channel music systems. Admin T13:22:08+00:00 February 1st, 2011 | 2-Channel Amps, Preamps, CD Players/Universal Players, Reviews | 11 Comments