Cambridge Audio CXA60 arrived today

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Mike McMann, May 4, 2015.

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  1. Mike McMann

    Mike McMann Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Nice. Glad to hear you have it up and running.
    I liked the sound of the amp right out of the box and I believe Cambridge Audio recommends a breaking or burn in period.
    There are articles for both the yes and no sides of burn in on the web and here on the forum.
    In my experience, I found that somewhere between 50 and 100 hours of the CXA-60 playing I was convinced it sounded better.
    Now that it is well over 300 hours the sound has improved further, so I am on the burn in or break in side. Enjoy it all.
     
    Tony Cruse likes this.
  2. Amblue

    Amblue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Westchester, NY
    I just purchased a CXA 80 which will be arriving tomorrow. I am using JMLabs Daline 6.1. Currently I am configured to my office via my B&K CT 610 multi-zone (as pre-amp) using a B&K Reference 1252 S2 100 watt as amplifier. This is the zone I will be using the CXA 80 in.

    My keypad in the office is dying and I can only turn on/off and adjust volume with my remote control. As it is difficult to get new/used keypads, in addition to not having the software to program a new keypad, I decided to get CXA80 to replace the B&K setup, but only in my office. Currently I have a sonos Connect toslinked to a DacMagic, which is connected through RCA's to the CT 610. I also have my iMac linked to the DacMagic via a mini Toslink to Toslink cable. When in my office I listen to music through the iMac, for the other 5 zones through Sonos. This setup works as along as I remember to switch the Digital input on the DAC Magic when I leave my office , which I forget to do on occasion, which means I need to go back to my office and switch back.

    I'm planning on only having the iMac connected to the CXA80 via mini-Toslink/toslink. My question is would a Network player (CXN?) be a preferred way to listen to music over iTunes out of the iMac? As I've compared my Sonos to the iMac by switching the digital input on the DacMagic (and cueing the same song at the same time on both the Sonos and iMac) I've never heard an audible difference. As I like to control my Diego tsk library from my iMac, this configuration has worked well for me.

    So should I keep this setup with the CXA 80 or should I consider a different network player (or different software than iTunes)?
     
    Dan Steele likes this.
  3. Mark Jenkins

    Mark Jenkins Well-Known Member

    Evening Tony. I'd be very interested in hearing about your Cambridge CXA60 & CXN combo. I'm looking to pick the set up with the CXC and pair them with some DALI Zensor 1's.
    How does your system sound after a couple of years? Any tips for the best set up?
    Thanks!
     
  4. lerkst

    lerkst Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Knotty Ash
    It definitely needs a burn-in. I had some trouble with mine - when I plugged in and unplugged headphones the speakers would not come back on. You hear a relay click (the speakers switch off when you plug in). The shop which demoed it were very dubious and we couldn't replicate after 30 mins but they replaced it. Anyway, I had the other one a month and when I hooked up the new one I thought I had a faulty amp! It sounded muddy and, well, awful. It improved pretty quickly and after a few hours was better. 50 hours later it was OK again. Burn in is a must - give it a chance if not satisfied at first.

    The new one has a slight hum in the power supply but this is just the unit - not the speakers. CA says that is OK. Can't remember if the old one had that or not. It is very slight.

    The longer I own it I find it a tad bright and it doesn't handle songs with "busy" loud mid-range brilliantly. Overall it is very good though - certainly at the price. It is all so subjective. I replaced a PM6005 with this and the Marantz to my ears was grating, bright and over-compensated in the mid-range. But hey - it is less than half the price! Some people love the Marantz amps.

    It also has a dedicated headphone amp (something I learned from CA service). Power is good, although I have 6 Ohm speakers which are pretty easy to drive.

    It does get toasty on top though which seems normal when I ask other users if they have the same. I'd prefer it to run cooler really.

    I run the CXC with it - nice combo. I would expect the CXN to be as nicely-tailored too
     
    Dan Steele likes this.
  5. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    Mike and all, thanks for the thread, I have just purchased one (CXA60), love the sound for music. I am trying to integrate it into home theater and not having any success so far. I have an Onkyo surround receiver and I wired my front speakers to the CXA60 and now cant figure out a way to incorporate the fronts into bluray movie watching. Has anyone come up with a solution? I believe there are switching boxes that do this? I tried a bunch of different connections and because this amp doesn’t have a home theatre bypass I dont think it can do both (2 channel music and 5.1 movie surround in combo with the receiver) without an additional device.
     
  6. Mike McMann

    Mike McMann Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Hello Dan,
    I ran mine on two channel only, however I did watch blu-ray discs and movies as well.
    Played them through a Cambridge Audio BD 752 Universal player. On set up there was a category where I could set up a dual HDMI output
    or Split A/V. Out to the TV and out to the receiver. Digital out to the CXA 60.
    I still had to switch back and forth but it was controlled by the remote.
    Not sure what Blu-ray player you have but check the set up menu and see if there is a split option. Good luck
     
    Dan Steele likes this.
  7. Timbo369

    Timbo369 New Member

    Location:
    Venice, FL
    Mike, what speakers are you running? I had Kef Q300 then switched to Wharfedale 225s.
     
  8. Mike McMann

    Mike McMann Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I had KEF Q100's which were a good match to me for the CXA60. I thought of going to the 300's as well.
    For the life of me I can't recall why but something was amiss with them to me.
     
  9. Yul

    Yul New Member

    Location:
    Peru
    What do you about this setup:
    CXA60
    CXN
    Q acoustic 3050i
    Does anyone have experiencia with this?
     
  10. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    I think the answer is sit back and enjoy the music! If you are asking about connections I dont have an additional piece of Cambridge gear but I know in the box for the CXA60 there is a big diagram that shows how to hook up the CXN and cambridge cd player using the control bus. I cant speak to what advantages that has but can look later tonight. How do you like the speakers?
     
  11. Yul

    Yul New Member

    Location:
    Peru
    I mean if the q acoustic 3050i are a good pairing for the CXA60. Please, i need advice
     
  12. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    Sorry, cant help there. I read the What HiFi review and they think highly of them (5 stars). Only $700 US for the pair on Amazon. And they sure look nice!
     
  13. Dan Steele

    Dan Steele Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    Yul, there is a short thread where a member was asking “Best floorstanding speakers for Cambridge CXA60”? In that thread he gives choices of Qacoustic 3050i, wharfedale diamond 240, and monitor audio bronze 5. He ended up with the wharfedales and seemed happy. I just shot him a reply to check in after 4 months. I am eyeing the Monitor Audio Bronze 6’s which are on sale right now. The CXA60 might be at the bottom end of the recommended power range which is a little concerning.
     
  14. RockAddict

    RockAddict Sanity is an illusion, just like democracy

    Location:
    UK
    Until recently, I had a CXA60 which I matched with Concept 20 Bookshelf Speaker Pair . Generally speaking, I thought they worked very well together and given the 3050i Floorstanding Speaker Pair - Floorstanding are the "i" generation, some of the tech is bound to have trickled down from the level of the 20s.

    For the most part, Q Acoustics speakers tend to deliver a very detailed but not overly bright sound. Stereo staging is excellent. If you're able to, demo them first. Depending on local stock and price difference(s), it *may* be worth demoing the Concept 40 Floorstanding Speaker Pair - Floorstanding too. It may or may not matter to you that the 3050i speakers can't be bi-wired.

    Happy listening!
     
  15. Vignus

    Vignus Digital Vinylist

    Location:
    Italy
    How's the CXA60 compared to the Topaz 20, sound-wise?
     
  16. RockAddict

    RockAddict Sanity is an illusion, just like democracy

    Location:
    UK
    From page one of this thread (way back in 2015!), I wrote this:

    "By contrast, the CXA60 sounded tonally balanced, didn't have the midrange issues of the Marantz and had decent bottom end extension without sounding boomy or muddy. In “direct” mode, I found the CXA60 did, on occasion, tend to brightness. I tweaked the treble downwards just a touch and found the tonal mix that worked for me. I know some think tone controls are for philistines; however, not all music is recorded with the same equipment or sound values and it's handy to be able to tweak overly dull or bright recordings."

    Just in case you aren't aware, the newer CXA61 has been released this year. Not sure if the CXA61 has tone controls - best to check.
     
  17. Vignus

    Vignus Digital Vinylist

    Location:
    Italy
    Yeah, but that doesn't really answer my question, does it?
     
  18. Vignus

    Vignus Digital Vinylist

    Location:
    Italy
    Ah yes, it does! Thank you
     
    RockAddict likes this.
  19. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
    I just picked up an A851 on Sunday and love it:cheers:
     
    Big Blue and Brother_Rael like this.
  20. BroX

    BroX Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Tone controls and balance have been dropped from CXA61 (and CXA81).
     
    displayname and RockAddict like this.
  21. lwh1

    lwh1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, England
    I have the CXA60 with the CXC connected by a Chord Clearway coaxial and a Denon universal player. The speakers are the Monitor Audio Bronze which although I've had for maybe two and a half years, I am still not keen on them. Maybe some KEF's next?
    I did have an Arcam FMJ amp which although is/was a fine amp, it just felt like there was something missing - almost like a light film covering the sound.
     
  22. RockAddict

    RockAddict Sanity is an illusion, just like democracy

    Location:
    UK
    Without wanting to derail the thread, some speaker info... A couple of months ago, I acquired a new pair of MA Gold 100s (5th gen) and have found them to be on the bright side - a characteristic widely associated with MA speakers generally over the years. Is that the issue with your Bronzes? I also demoed a pair of KEF R3s but thought they sounded a bit too "zingy" at the top end. So, in a couple of weeks, I'm off to demo a pair of Dali Rubicon 2s (amp: Rotel RA-1572) which store staff advise are richly detailed but smoother than either the MA Gold 100s or the KEF R3s. Apparently, some ProAc speakers are also less bright. Once the I've got the new kit, whether or not just limited to speakers, I will probably post somewhere on the forum about the experiences of the demo and some thoughts about the overall performance in my own (domestic) environment. BTW, I had an Arcam Amp for years and thought it was pretty good. Until I got my next amp! Exactly as your experience; it was as if a light film had been lifted.
     
  23. lwh1

    lwh1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, England
    I feel the Bronze are - for want a better description - rather metallic or harsh. They reach down in the bass very well for a speaker at that price, and do sound a lot better as time as gone on, but it's that brashness. I don't mind a clear bright sound but not overpowering. I look forward to reading your experience of the Dali demo.
     
    RockAddict likes this.
  24. RockAddict

    RockAddict Sanity is an illusion, just like democracy

    Location:
    UK
    Dali Rubicon 2s demoed but, rather surprisingly (to me), I won't be replacing the existing Monitor Audio Gold 100s (5G). So as to avoid completely derailing this thread, I started a new one but there's not much about the Dalis there; it's more a ramble about the cause(s) of my recently depleted bank balance :) ! On the off chance it's of interest, the link is below:

    Retail therapy: NAD C 658 + Emotiva Stealth PA-1 + spkrs
     
  25. lwh1

    lwh1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, England
    Thanks.
     
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