Cambridge Audio CXA81 integrated amplifier
Cambridge Audio CXA81
Half a decade after the CX range redefined performance at its price point, it’s time to reimagine, reengineer and reinvigorate. The all-new CXA61 and CXA81 integrated amplifiers build on the foundations laid (and the Awards won) by CXA60 and CXA80, but with a fresh and progressive perspective.
The CXA81 is poised, effortless and sophisticated. Its 80 watts per channel give it complete authority over music, and it wrings every emotional and musical nuance from your whole collection.
Making The Best Better
How do you take an admired and successful integrated amplifier, one that’s won respect and plaudits around the world, and make it even better? Well, if you’re a Cambridge Audio engineer, you examine every aspect of the performance - and then you do everything you can to make it ‘more’. More refined, more precise, more engrossing… more musical. The CXA81: it’s everything you loved about the CXA80, but more so.
KEY FEATURES
- 80-watts per channel with Class AB amplification for detailed and powerful audio performance
- Separate, symmetrical left and right channels are carefully engineered to deliver incredible sound-staging
- Balanced XLR inputs for low noise interference
- High Quality DAC - Connect digital sources directly via TOSLINK and Coaxial
- USB Audio Input accepting up to 32bit/384kHz & DSD 256 digital files from Mac or PC
- Bluetooth aptX HD built in
Uncompromised And Uncompromising
All the research, all the development, all the time and effort that’s been expended on the CXA81 has been for one reason alone: to make this the most accomplished and absorbing integrated amplifier ever offered at the price. Every component selected, and every engineering decision taken, is based entirely on the desire to progress. The CXA81 has been designed and specified without compromise, in order to deliver the complete musical picture.
The Whole story
The CXA81 is designed to bring your music to life, no matter how it’s stored. So it features an entirely new digital board, including the cutting-edge ESS Sabre ES9016 digital-to-analogue convertor. Which means digital audio files up to a heady 32bit/384kHz, or DSD256, are brought dramatically to life, with every detail and nuance delivered intact and in full. The CXA81 combines unparalleled accuracy with vivid musicality, without sacrificing convenience.
Power and control
Thanks to numerous improvements and upgrades - and thanks to an overspecified toroidal transformer - the CXA81 delivers a prodigious 80 watts of power per channel. This means the CXA81 has complete authority over even the most demanding speakers, it means big dynamic shifts in music are handled with total control, and it means the whole musical picture is available no matter if you’re playing at discreet background levels or at party-time volumes.
Absolute Flexibility
The CXA81 covers all connectivity bases, giving you complete freedom of choice. As well as digital optical and digital coaxial inputs, it features unbalanced stereo RCA inputs alongside balanced XLR sockets - and wireless connectivity via Bluetooth’s cutting-edge aptX HD standard is on board too. So there’s no need to compromise on performance in the name of convenience.
Unmatched Sonic Integrity
At the heart of the CXA81 beats a completely reimagined and redesigned power amplifier stage with optimised capacitor values. The resulting sound is pristine but not clinical, with unrivalled musical coherence no matter the source.
Partner For Life
Thanks to relentless dedication to progressive engineering, The CXA81 is a complete solution. Its combination of versatility, power and audio excellence means it can form the centre of your musical experience for years to come.
