Cambridge CXU - the 752BD successor

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Brother_Rael, Sep 14, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter

    Just had a great review in What Hi Fi this month. New design and fascia, similar internals, and they appear to rate it their pick for audio, bettering, in their view, the Oppo. Customers in the UK and Europe take note. US customers pay a hike on Cambridge imports so any improved performance comes at a premium.

    The full review won't be on their website till after the next issue is out.

    The CXN is £900 in the UK.
     
  2. Humbuster

    Humbuster Staff Emeritus

    I recently added a CXC transport to my system and I am very impressed at the build quality and performance.

    Looking to digitize my CD collection shortly and I am looking at Streamers.
    At this time, I really like the CXN, however a I already have a DAC/Digital pre-amp (McIntosh D100) so with the CXN there would be redundancy in my system. For now, I am also looking at the Moon Mind which is $1300 vs the CXN which is $1200 with BT option.

    I am not sure how much better the streaming performance of the Moon is over the CXN and the CXN would offer the DAC capability should anything go wrong with my Mac.
     
  3. Linger63

    Linger63 Forum Resident

    Location:
    AUSTRALIA

    Hi Brother,

    Wow........you sure changed your tune....o_O

    I thought you didn't put any stock in What Hi Fi reviews......:confused:

    See Post#219 in below thread link.

    http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...niversal-players-should-be-done.399406/page-9

    Cheers :)
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2015
    scobb likes this.
  4. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter

    They appear to have changed their main reviews since I last bought the mag a few years ago. Might renew my subscription.

    Either way the review was a decent length, with good detail and I mention it for what it is.

    No tune changed without good reason Linger old chap.

    Edit: can't help wondering if that trawl through my previous posts are an attempt to discredit the review for the product, but that's probably a bit too conspiracy theorist of me...and anyway, nothing's set in stone!
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2015
    Art K likes this.
  5. Rolltide

    Rolltide Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallejo, CA
    http://www.whathifi.com/cambridge-audio/cxu/review

    Pretty consistent with the way What HiFi reviews products made by their fellow Brits. There are plenty of companies that make modifications to the audio sections of the Oppo products they OEM, but I've never heard it suggested they mess with the video section. I strongly suspect the video performance they said was better on the Cambridge is 100% identical to the Oppo. After all, if CA claimed competence in the video arena, why are they OEM'ing an Oppo?
     
    scobb, Bluzuner and Linger63 like this.
  6. Art K

    Art K Retired but not tired!

    Location:
    Corvallis, Oregon
    I'd rather see that see someone is open minded enough to look at something in a different way than to see that someone is stubbornly set in their ways and inflexible. Good on you.
     
    Brother_Rael and Rolltide like this.
  7. Linger63

    Linger63 Forum Resident

    Location:
    AUSTRALIA

    LOL......I guess we all wonder things from time to time my good man.

    Actually your post I apparently "trawled" was answering one of my own from not that long ago.

    I simply saw "What Hi Fi review" and "Brother Rael" and it struck a cord in my failing memory.

    Also fail to see what can be gained by discrediting a What Hi Fi product review........

    Nice to see you have ArtK in your corner though..........

    uh..oh......... NOW who's "conspiracy theorising" :laugh:

    Quite clear nothing's "set in stone" sir............flexibility can be quite handy at times yes??


    Cheerio Chappies :wave:
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2015
  8. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter

    They're not. They're using the same Mediatek platform which Oppo also use. At least, the 752 did.

    The review in the magazine is over four pages, goes into more detail and is why referred to that and not the linked review that you posted that doesn't go into full detail. Just a point of order.
     
  9. Rolltide

    Rolltide Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallejo, CA
    So you're denying that Cambridge is using an OEM'd Oppo platform and adding their own flavor of DAC? Keep in mind my criticism isn't towards CA, it's towards What Hi-Fi for claiming the video is better when it's 100% identical. Hard to take the rest of their review seriously after that.
     
  10. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter

    What's your problem? Oppo and Cambridge use a Mediatek platform and each company modifies it to suit. It's not Oppo's platform. At least, no more than it is Cambridge's.

    I've no idea what the new CXN is like, because I've never used it, or how it compares to any other Blu-ray player (others exist), but it is an updated player and I'd expect yet more reviews saying something similar from other titles as they come out.

    Whatever WHF, or any other reviewer thinks, is really for that reviewer to answer and not me, so perhaps your question is best directed to the magazine staff?
     
    Robert C likes this.
  11. Rodney Toady

    Rodney Toady Waste of cyberspace

    Location:
    Finland
    I just traded in my 751BD for a CXU and I must say that I have been very impressed by both the audio and video performance of the unit.
     
    Lonson likes this.
  12. Rolltide

    Rolltide Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallejo, CA
    Well no, that's not completely correct. Mediatek makes the chipset both players use. The CA players have a lot more in common with the Oppo, unless you're going to claim that MediaTek makes the transport and housing with the identical back-panel layout as well (they don't). There isn't any reason to be upset by this or to think people who buy the CA players are being deceived. But at any rate, that's neither here nor there, as we're in agreement that one way or the other the video section of a CA player is identical to the Oppo player, and that if What Hi Fi is saying one is superior to the other, they're just, well, being What Hi Fi.

    Obviously, there's no question being asked of you that you need to answer. As I declared, my statements have little to do with Cambridge Audio and more to do with the fact one shouldn't trust What Hi-Fi's opinion of it as they've essentially been caught in a lie if they claim it has superior video performance.
     
  13. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter

    I didn't. Why would I? I assume you know the same as I do re: the underlying platform.

    I'm not, why would you assume that I was. I don't, why do you assume that I do?

    I don't know that it is; all I know is that Cambridge has released a new universal player. What the fine detail of the video processing is I don't know, I use my 752BD for audio in the main and less so for video. No issues with the picture quality at all, but that's no comment or inference of same on the new one. How would I know?

    How would you know if you i) weren't there ii) don't have a CXU to recreate a similar test in your own home? Rather hard to call them (or indeed any reviewer to give them the benefit of the doubt) liars when you've no substantive basis to accuse them of that?

    Lastly; this thead is about the CXU. On another thread about the Oppo players, one of the Gorts shot any discussion about non-Oppo comments out the sky. Maybe, if we want to afford the same courtesies all round, we could do the same here. This is about the new Cambridge CXU and to highlight its release for any interested UK and EU potential buyers in the main and not a comparison with the last-gen Oppo.

    And hey, no offence, this is just a fair old chat - no bad feeling intended. :righton:
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2015
  14. mwicks

    mwicks Forum Resident

    Disappointing that they still haven't added Netflix support. I'd also like to see the menu on the new player. The 751BD had great audio/video performance but I found the menu system and networking pretty clunky.
     
  15. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter

    Not something I miss - in fairness to Cambridge, I imagine they've maybe looked at what other manufacturers are doing and saw that Smart TVs, Playstations, Apple TVs, Amazon Fires, Rokus and whatever else all offer the Netflix amongst other service providers and perhaps they've opted against it.
     
  16. mwicks

    mwicks Forum Resident

    I still find it odd. The Oppo supports Netflix, as do most "cheap" blu ray players. I think if you're going to make a "universal player" you should cover one of the most common ways people watch movies nowadays.
     
    Bluzuner, Robert C and Linger63 like this.
  17. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter

    That's fair enough. For me, I just don't need another streaming source.
     
    Dennis Metz likes this.
  18. stillrockin

    stillrockin Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Well done in obtaining a trade in. I won't be indelicate and ask how much lol. I don't think Richer Sounds who are the main supplier of Cambridge here offer much in the way of trade in although someone out there may prove me wrong.
     
  19. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    My much-loved Denon DVD-A1UDCI that I have been enjoying for years has started being finicky with newly produced Blu-ray discs. I've all the current firmware updates and still some just won't play. Really disappointing as I love the sound and picture on this machine. . . it's especially marvelous with CD and SACD sound, rivaling the PS Audio PerfectWave DAC I used to use in the system alongside it. So I came up with a plan: move the DVD-A1UDCI into my only other system, a headphone system using a Decware headphone amp and my PS Audio PerfectWave Transport and MK2 DAC upstairs in place of the PS Audio duo, and get a new Blu-ray player.

    I considered and researched Oppos and Yamahas and this Cambridge Audio. I took a chance on the CXU because I like Wolfson DACs and this one utilizes five of them, and has a dedicated two channel stereo output. I've had the CXU for a week now and it's an exceptional unit imo. I think I prefer the picture and the sound of the Denon DVD-A1UDCI by a slim margin, but then the CXU cost a third or less than the Denon did when new. It plays every disc I throw at it and sound via HDMI, via coaxial into my PS Audio DirectStream DAC, or via interconnects to my Decware preamp is very very good. The build quality makes me think that I'll have trouble free operation for some time to come. This is my first Cambridge Audio purchase this century (I had a DAC in the 'nineties) and I'm impressed.

    The Denon sounds so good in the headphone system that I'm going to put the PS Audio duo up for sale. This plan worked out well. ;)
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2016
    Bill Mac, Brother_Rael and jam64 like this.
  20. Humbuster

    Humbuster Staff Emeritus

    Be careful with Cambridge.
    My CXC transport started acting up at 17 months in. After 3 days of calls and e-mails (including one to the Pres of AudioAdvisor), I finally got someone's attention.
    Sending back under warranty, but I am not impressed with Cambridge and reliability of their spinners. YMMV.
     
  21. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
    The more discs I play the more I'm impressed by the SQ:cheers:
     
    Brother_Rael and scobb like this.
  22. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member Thread Starter

    752BD two years in. Nary a blip.
     
  23. GyroSE

    GyroSE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    What was the problem with your CXC? I'm very interested in this spinner, I'm considering to get one. Apart from the problems that occured, what do you think of the CXC when it comes to the sound?
     
  24. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    That's unfortunate :shake:. There are no perfect players.

    I bought a refurbished Oppo 105D and not long after I bought it there was an audible buzz from the player when powered up. I sent it back to Oppo and they checked it out. When I called Oppo the person I spoke with said the Tech could not duplicate the issue. I was surprised that the buzzing issue wasn't detected. The person then said well let me have our lead Tech double check and put me on hold. A few minutes later the lead Tech got on the phone and said he in fact detected the buzz and isolated what the problem was. I was given the option of having repairs made or another refurbished unit that the lead Tech said he would check personally. I decided to go with a different refurbished unit and it's been trouble free since it arrived.

    As much as it sucked to have a defective 105D and pack it up to ship it back to Oppo the outcome was quite positive. Very impressive service indeed :)!
     
  25. Humbuster

    Humbuster Staff Emeritus

    worked flawlessly for the first 16 months and sounds quite nice at it's respective price point. Out of nowhere, it started locking up (several CDs) and intermittent skipping.
    it is back at Cambridge, for review. so far, not terribly impressed with Cambridge service.

    My new transport (Moon Neo260DT) arrived yesterday and out of the box sounds superb. More than likely will sell my CXC when/if Cambridge service ever gets off their asses.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine