Cambridge Audio Edge A Integrated Amplifier Review & Comments

Ed, I'll say this.

You explain things with a clarity that is admirable, and I take my hat off to you.
I've no need for any hardware at the moment, but your reviews do a splendid job, to me at least, of understanding what said product is, what its trying to do, and where it fits into the current landscape.

And for that, be it this or your other articles, I extend my thanks.
 
Does it come with bandages for after you've tried to pick it up & those heatsink fins have shredded your hands? From the side on shot it appears that there's no protection on the bottom.
 
Quote -With the exception of the now departed, Arcam SR250, no product has really tied all these things together

What about Lyngdorf stereo amps (TDAI2170 & 3400) that have HDMI inputs, bass management and room correction that integrates the sub with main speakers etc. ? Phil reviewed the 2170 back in 2017 with the comment:
A new trend in some homes is to downgrade from a full-on 5.1 system to something more two-channel based, but still offering the latest in video switching and room correction, enter the Lyngdorf TDAI-2170.
 
It looks like a fine piece of sculpture, never mind an amplifier.

And I don’t doubt it is exceptional; but I think CA May have missed a trick by not adding room correction of some sort, even if just for subwoofers.

If it is to replace an AVR then those coming to it will very likely be used to, and prefer, well controlled bass, that is with much of the rooms effect removed.
 
@Paul7777x It would need a sub out first - big omission
 
@Paul7777x It would need a sub out first - big omission

Bugger!

I assumed it had one.

When really, it should have two in stereo configuration.

Yes, an odd omission at the price, and considering at least some of its target audience are going to be ex AVR people.

Wonder why?

I have to assume it’s not really targeted at AVR owners, and is simply an integrated with an HDMI input.

But still, a sub out seems necessary in its class.
 
I very nearly bought one of these. It was at the top of my to audition list - but ended up getting the Denon PMA-2500NE instead and I am very pleased with its performance.
I didn't get the Cambridge for a couple of reasons including no HT bypass and it being sold exclusively by Richer who offer very few speakers imo worth auditioning with it.
Both amps have been independently tested to give 125w into 8 ohms and both weigh a hefty 25kg. The Denon additionally has an excellent phono stage & HT bypass which I needed but no HDMI which I didn't as I have a Yamaha RX-A3070 fulfilling the AV role, the HT bypass allowing sharing of the front speakers for 7.1.4
The Denon, which I only stumbled upon after being pretty committed to getting the Cambridge, was also considerably cheaper, allowing me to impulse buy an excellent SACD player which has had much use, as has the phono stage in the amp.
I'm very happy I made the right choice
 
So say you had £4.5k burning a hole in your pocket and you bought one of these, how would you use a sub with it, with no sub out?

Or is it not possible to shoe horn one in?
 
So say you had £4.5k burning a hole in your pocket and you bought one of these, how would you use a sub with it, with no sub out?

Or is it not possible to shoe horn one in?

There is a left and right preout (on both RCA and XLR) so as long as you can set the crossover on the sub, it's not really an issue.
 
You could always you a REL sub along with their Speakon cable to underpin your, speakers?
 
Wouldn't even consider it without first auditioning the Anthem STR ~ similar price, twice the nominal power rating, loads more features, not least ARC room correction, MM & MC inputs, a subwoofer output and crossover and a DSD compatible D:AC.
 
Or now that it's finally put in an appearance, the Arcam SA30,

I did think that when I read the review, but it doesn’t have bass management....i suppose they could add it in software for the pre-out later to the SA30, but would be surprised if they bother.
 
Wouldn't even consider it without first auditioning the Anthem STR ~ similar price, twice the nominal power rating, loads more features, not least ARC room correction, MM & MC inputs, a subwoofer output and crossover and a DSD compatible D:AC.

A fine point sir.

The CA does seem a little under endowed in comparison.
 
@Ed Selley
Further to my post above I have just re-read your review.
1st let me thank you for not prattling on for 6 paragraphs about how many parts went in to making up the volume knob, as both other reviewers and Cambridge have, like it should matter.
2nd let me thank you for giving a "straight" and even handed review, not resorting to hyperbole as others can tend to.
Unfortunately I never got a chance to audition the Edge and the Denon PMA-2500NE I eventually went for side-by-side as only Richer sell the Edge and also do not sell the Denon. Sadly I never, in the end, got to hear the Edge at all.
In your humble opinion, purely in terms of audible performance / sonic signature, how great is their difference?
I am referring to how they sound to our ears, not just measurements.
Bench test results below show the Edge as having less distortion. With my knowledge of such figures being negligible can one actually hear this at normal listening volumes?
 
I got as far as “Review by Andrew Everard” before realising what followed was probably largely bollocks. :(
 
I got as far as “Review by Andrew Everard” before realising what followed was probably largely bollocks. :(
Lol - I don't know the guy so won't disparage him, however the link was put up for the lab results rather than his flowing prose
 
Lol - I don't know the guy so won't disparage him, however the link was put up for the lab results rather than his flowing prose
He was lead reviewer at What HiFi, firm believer in expensive digital cables & last I saw, had a web site espousing the wonders of a fibre network for delivering data to a DAC, from astronomically priced special servers with special SATA cables. He was one of the reviewers heaping praise on the HiFi manufacturers when they first entered the streaming market, despite a lack of gapless support.
 
I bought an Edge A after reading several glowing reviews, not least here. I've had three days to play with it. I like it. I'll give a couple weeks to settle in before I get super critical, but it is already sounding better than when I auditioned it at Richer Sounds.
The listening room was small, crowded and sanitised for my protection. I pretty much knew I was going to buy it before I listened to it. I added a DP-UB9000EBK, signed up for 18 months@0% and cooled my heels until it arrived a week later.
The delivery guy said, "Be careful, it's heavy." No sh!t. Whoever designed the packaging must be an Apple fanboy. Very nice presentation. There were a pair of very clever cardboard sleeves over the heat sinks so you could lift it into place without cutting yourself to ribbons.
It immediately sounded better than I remembered, I thing because it likes the KEF105.3's. Wide soundstage, very good separation. It started to warm up pretty quick, which is my main concern for reliability.
I love my Sugden A21. I bought a second-hand A21 years ago and had to take it to Yorkshire twice before I gave up and tried other amps. I had a Musical Fidelity, a Roksan Caspian M2 (which ended up in the shop with a dodgy selector switch) and a Primare i22.
The Primare was nice, I really liked having the digital inputs, but it just had no weight to the sound. No soul. I relented and bought a brand new Sugden A21. What a joyful noise it makes! And for 2.5 years, I was happy. Then the left channel went.
The reviews for the Edge A caught my attention, as did the price! However, lockdown and the Dominic Cummings effect made me think – I can do whatever I want to do. I can afford it! And I've saved so much money over the past 100 days...
Anyway, Cambridge Audio say I can listen to it for 100 days and, if I don't like it for any reason, send it back. The worst part of that deal was trying to find some place to store the packaging!
I'll keep you posted.
(This is my first post after lurking for awhile. Forgive me if I've broken any etiquette rules!)
 
Well, I've had a chance to listen to the amp. It's good. It's rather beautiful and imposing.

There's just one glitch. A sound glitch, or dropout, when using the eARC HDMI output from my new LG OLEDCX6 telly and the HDMI audio only input on the Edge A. I worked diligently for a week trying different cables, different settings and a complete reset of LG. Still, the glitch remained.

Today, I got a reply from the technical department of Cambridge Audio. Apparently, I'm not the only Edge A owner who is experiencing this problem. They say they are working on a fix and will get back to me. I'll keep you posted.
 
Well, I've had a chance to listen to the amp. It's good. It's rather beautiful and imposing.

There's just one glitch. A sound glitch, or dropout, when using the eARC HDMI output from my new LG OLEDCX6 telly and the HDMI audio only input on the Edge A. I worked diligently for a week trying different cables, different settings and a complete reset of LG. Still, the glitch remained.

Today, I got a reply from the technical department of Cambridge Audio. Apparently, I'm not the only Edge A owner who is experiencing this problem. They say they are working on a fix and will get back to me. I'll keep you posted.
Not good for an amp with a price tag of four and a half grand. For that kind of money, I'd expect a bit more than 100 wpc as well. Personally, I wouldn't buy the Cambridge without first comparing it with a few worthy competitors at around the same price.
 

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