Cambridge Audio CXA80 Reviews

The Cambridge Audio CXA80 is what you would call a neutral, transparent amplifier that does not seem to impose any character on the music. One should be serious about hi-fi when getting this amplifier because cheap cables are forbidden here, both interconnect and power ones, otherwise you get grainy, fatiguing, or even muddied sound that this amplifier will not create by itself. Stereo imaging is of high caliber. When fed by a decent external DAC, the amp produces a soundstage that will defy the dimensions of small listening spaces, in both width and height. Detail is ample and the sound never gets harsh regardless of volume, with sufficiently good recordings. The integrated DAC does not do justice to this potential. The two optical and one coaxial inputs are only usefull at low to medium listening levels. Above that quality drops dramatically. The USB input does not suffer from this problem and is generally the best digital input but is still no match for the external DAC. Aside from the smaller soundstage, in high volumes the top end will sound fatiguing. You can also add a Bluetooth dongle to the amplifier, which is connected in the back plate and uses an internal to the dongle antenna. It is paradoxical, but despite sporting no less than 5 digital inputs, you need an external DAC to go with this amp.

Regarding analogue inputs, there are 6 including a balanced one. They are navigated with 4 buttons. The balanced input is selected by pressing the A1 button twice, at which point it lights orange instead of blue. Returning to A1 from another source keeps the balanced input selected. The mobile input in the front auto-selects itself when detecting a connection and the A4 input button again lights orange instead of blue. It provides a lot of extra gain, and I can drive my speakers to clipping from my budget smartphone's weak output. The extra gain also makes the sound fuller, so this is the best input when I want to connect my phone to the amp for some reason. The tone controls produce a shelving curve as was measured elsewhere, they are not the kind that boost a single note. A nice touch is the mute button on the amplifier, along with the A/B selector and the tone defeat. There is exceptional clarity and detail when playing at low volumes, owning to the high quality volume pot which also provides fine control for low volumes with way more distance available compared to less expensive but very popular amplifiers. One of the highlights of the product's features in my opinion.

The amp will have no problem controlling the low notes and completely integrating them with the rest of the audio spectrum for mid-range standmounts with 6-7 inch woofers. Even when you crank the volume up, every sound from every instrument stays in its place. When playing songs that do not feature lots of bass you will notice that the CXA80 does have a sound after all, a slight "tape sound". If you are familiar with cassette players this will add a nostalgic element to the music, especially if the music is also of previous times.