Part 1 of my Cambridge EVO150 review. It was a revelation.
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- Опубліковано 23 тра 2024
- This is part 1 of a 2 part review. I wanted to do a quicker kind of overview video before I do the longer deep dive video.
Tidal Playlist for this review "Cambridge EVO150 Test Tracks: tidal.com/browse/playlist/504...
*DISCLOSURE: Some of the links below contain affiliate Amazon links. If you purchase with those links, I do receive a small commission but, it doesn't affect your price. Thank you for supporting the channel.
Current audio equipment list:
Cambridge AXR-100 Receiver amzn.to/49Nq4Ft
Cambridge MXN10 amzn.to/44sBhdL
Cambridge EVO150 amzn.to/3UTJowI
Schiit Bi-Frost Multi-Bit DAC
Schiit Lokius EQ amzn.to/3Qhuu0x
Schiit Mani Phono Pre-Amp amzn.to/3JyyCVW
Loxjie D-30 DAC just for DSD decoding.
Elac Debut 2.0 F-62 Speakers amzn.to/3Jy6eUc
Fluance RT-84 turntable. amzn.to/4aMuZrt
Upgraded with the Audio Technica AT540ML. amzn.to/4diAyzy
All line level cables are from Worlds Best Cable. I primarily use Mogami 2964 Wire and Amphenol ACPL connectors. amzn.to/3JWCDE9
iFi AC iPurifier amzn.to/3UWb4ko
My main streaming source is a small format PC amzn.to/3yhCoAI
I also have a remote-controlled line level switcher so I can run all my source components through the Lokius. amzn.to/3w8IZwL
Email: oldguyhifi@gmail.com
Tidal Playlists:
The Fahrenheit Project (ambient electronic music): tidal.com/browse/playlist/69c...
Electronica for Audiophile: tidal.com/browse/playlist/e29...
My Classical playlist: tidal.com/browse/playlist/8e5...
Baroque Weekend: tidal.com/browse/playlist/cfe...
DJ Ed, a collection of music that is all over the place. tidal.com/browse/playlist/f89...
Spotify:
Classical Weekend: open.spotify.com/playlist/648...
80’s Patio Mix: open.spotify.com/playlist/4RU...
Qobuz playlist:
"Audiophile Electronica:" open.qobuz.com/playlist/20718243
"Vivaldi:" open.qobuz.com/playlist/15233981
This is part 1 of a 2 part review. I wanted to do a quicker kind of overview video before I do the longer deep dive video.
Tidal Playlist for this review "Cambridge EVO150 Test Tracks: tidal.com/browse/playlist/504b4da9-38d5-4f3b-83ea-6d3e73fb90bf
Thanks for the very thorough and insightful review. Your comments on the sound quality of this class d piece were elucidating
I am glad you found my assessment illuminating Carl. It brings me delectation when I get such a compliment. (I love word games!) Thank you.
I have Azur 851 N; few months ago, upgraded the fuse to a Synergistic Master. Incredible!
Great review
Thanks Ed for taking us on this journey of fine equipment, appreciative of the work that goes into creating these longer demonstrations. Have a lovely and safe Memorial Day weekend!
Excellent content Ed. Well done.
Glad you enjoyed it Thanks.
Very comprehensive and perceptive insights. Thank you so much for sharing and giving us access to your knowlege and experience. Much appreciated. Stay well, Sir. I look forward to the next installment.
Thank you my friend.
Great review sir!!! I’ve been looking at the Delorean version of this integrated. Decisions decisions.
Watch the part 2 video if you haven't already. It is a very excellent unit IMHO. Act fast as I think that the DeLorean versions are going quick. Please keep me posted on what you decide. Thanks so much.
I really enjoyed your review! It seems really genuine. You really sparked my interest in this unit. This must be the fifth time I went over both parts 1 and 2! I would like to know however, how the MM phone input and headphone jack sounds. Thank you.
I haven't tried the HP yet. I will tomorrow and let you know. The MM phono pre is every bit as good my Schiit Mani. Maybe a bit more dynamic. Good enough that I don't use the Mani anymore. I hope that helps. I will let you know about the HP asap. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I tired my Sennheiser Mass-Drop 6XX phones which are 300 ohms and it sounded excellent. I also used my tried and trusted studio phones the Sony MDR-V6 which are 63 ohms and they sounded very good. The amp had a bit more drive on the Sony's. Overall I thought it was quite good.
My normal headphone rig is:
• Nitsch modified Schiit Magni “Piety” headphone amp
• Loxjie D30 DAC/Headphone Amp
• Ayima A07 amp
• Sennheiser Mass-Drop HD6XX headphones
• Sony MDR-V6 Headphones
So that is my baseline. I hope this helps. Let me know what you decide to do. Thx.
Thank you. I appreciate it. It will help me choose between this all-in-one and the Billie Mk2 integrated amp.
The Billie is a very nice unit but has zero features compared to the EVO. There will be a difference in sound for sure. Good luck and I am glad I was able to help.
I currently own this amp and it is phenomenal. The more burn-in hours opens the sound range by a lot.
For B&W Speakers I would say the older models would work quite well in my notion. I currently run the B&W 802 Series 80 which is the first version of the 802s with Mid Range MIT Speaker cables and this amp brings the old speakers into a newer life.
I currently have some videos uploaded on my account but yes, this amp’s imagining is insanely good + great sound profile just seals the deal.
I agree about the older B&Ws. I have been running this a lot and I have noticed some smoothing in the upper mids. I will check out your channel. Quid pro quo. I appreciate your view and comment. Thank you. BTW, I would love to visit Bangkok some day.
@@OldGuyHifi Yes, the upper mids sound more open and also the brightness lowers a bit for a better presentation. I’ve currently had mine burn-in for around 150 hours (2-3 hour sessions per day).😄
I recommend the following tracks to try listening to on Tidal like Liberty - Anette Askvik, Fever - Elvis Presley (Elvis is Back!), Fading Sun - Terje Isungset, and Temptation - Chantal Chamberland. 😉
Thank you for the suggestion. I made a Tidal playlist with some of my test tracks here: "Cambridge EVO150 Test Tracks: tidal.com/browse/playlist/504b4da9-38d5-4f3b-83ea-6d3e73fb90bf
Let me know what you think. Thank you so much.
@@OldGuyHifi Thanks! I’ll have a listen to it.
Btw. I’ve sent over an email to the email in the description. If you happen to plan to come to Bangkok just let me know. 😊🙏🏻
Hi Ed, here is where we differ. I've been using class D since the early noughties🤣 I don't think I ever really experienced the "class D" sound everyone talked about. I've used class D amps from many different brands Onkyo, Nuforce, NuPrime, and currently AcousticImagery ATSAH NCore monoblocks.
I like trying new techs, I went from multibit to sigma-delta to FPGA to R2R. I went a full circle on that one, but the discrete R2R these days is much better than they were in the mid-80s. Looking forward to part 2 of your review👍👍👍
I have some Class D mono blocks coming in for review soon and I will let you know my thoughts. Thank you Simon.
Awesome piece of gear. You had me at VU meters! LOL I'm older than you and I don't own any Class D gear and I'm OK.
I felt the same way until I heard this. Am I going to replace my current system? No. But it blew some preconceived notions out of my dusty old brain.
I had this for 3 months. Does everything apart from room correction. Lovely smooth presentation and detail retrieval. Tight bass too. I had some issues with mine so sent it back. It made me think about the longevity of these types of software reliant pieces of kit? In the end I went back to analogue with an Exposure 3510. What I noticed after swapping was how much more “musical” to my ears the Exposure sounds. Is this colouration? Not sure. All I know is that I enjoy the Exposure more. However as an all in one this is hard to beat.
I understand. I am less concerned about the software and obsolescence because it is Cambridge's platform and not at the mercy of an entity such as Google/Android. I am glad to hear you got it sorted and are happy with your current gear. Thanks for watching and sharing.
@@OldGuyHifi yeah I was in two minds but think I made the right decision. One thing I also found was that although the Evo had all that clarity and detail and was never fatiguing I found that some instruments (high hat drums/cymbals and some piano notes) didn’t sound as real as they do in reality or with my Exposure. Having said all that it’s a fantastic piece of kit overall.
Hey, you have to find what you like best. That's all that matters. Thx.
Hello, your channel is really great, easy and understandable. I have one question, I would like to try something new. I am thinking about a digital power amplifier in combination with an atoll pr300 signature to see how the D class performs. Do you have any experience or advice?
In my experience, Atoll gear sounds quite good. It has been too long since I have heard an Atoll piece so, I hesitate in making a recommendation. As I mentioned in my review this was the first Class D amp. BTW, Class D is not a digital amp, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class-D_amplifier. Because of my lack of experience, I couldn't predict how that would sound. I would trust the Atoll to sound good but can't speculate on any specific amp pairings. I was I could be more help. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. Hint: Watch this space as I have a pair of Class D mono blocks coming in for review in the near future.
@@OldGuyHifi Thanks for the reply👍
Cambridge is top notch maker of hifi for an affordable price. It’s a sharp device. I also had worries about Class D before I bought my Rogue Sphinx v2. It’s also Hypex. I don’t know if it’s the tube front end but there isn’t any Class D glare. I agree Revel is the Devil 😂
It did surprise me. I am glad you are enjoying the Rouge. Thank you.
You touched on a lot topics in this video. Perhaps ideas for future videos. One is your thought on DAC chips and how they don’t matter much. Can you talk more about that? I don’t understand this. Perhaps make another video on it. The other topic is when you talk about classic British sound, but what does that mean? I have no idea what that sounds like. Could you describe that sound using a different word? I appreciate your thoughts and your videos.
I am sorry about the lack of description of what the "British" sind is. I did mention the three EVO150 would pair with warmer sounding speakers. That is the sound I was referring to. I should have done a better job with that. I may do a video about DACs. It might be a bit outside of the mainstream. I would upset a lot of objrctivists. We will see. Thank you for watching and commenting. I do appreciate it.
Thing is that DAC chips these days are VERY GOOD, almost all of them, it'd be almost impossible to distiguish them, especially in a blind test. (frankly its the only test).
I am in agreement with you. Thanks.
The EVO150 would solve the problems I have with my over complicated system but the cost is a bit too high for me. My wife won't even try to play music anymore because things have gotten too complicated and it even trips me up sometimes.
For streaming from Qobuz I have a Mac Mini running Audirvana software using the TV as a monitor, then a USB cable to an external reclocker and DAC to an integrated amp. There are so many ways for something to go wrong when I try to play music but get silence instead. Sometimes the Mac quits responding and needs to be "massaged", sometimes Audirvana decides to mute the output, or the DAC goes into standby after a tiny power glitch or is not set to the right input, and the amp also needs to be set to the right input. Also, sometimes the Audirvana app on my ipad won't connect to the computer so I have to turn on the TV to select music. Keeping the computer and software running reliably 24/7 is the biggest problem.
I do something very similar in my regular system. I have small form factor PC running Windows & Audirvana Studio 24/7. I use an asynchronous USB out to several different DACs. Analog out to my Cambridge AXR100. I have zero issues with crashes, glitches or connectivity issues. I wish I knew what your issue was. If the EVO150 is a bit to o much you might consider the EVO75. A few less features but sonic pretty much the same. About 85% of the EVO150 for 60% of the price. Of course there many other alternatives. One I am playing with substitutes my PC with the Cambridge MXN10 streamer. It sounds great and I can connect it to all my external DACs as well as use its internal DAC. I have not done a deep dive on the sonic differences between Audirvana Studio & Stream Magic yet. If I do I will make a video. Sorry about the novel Thank you.
@@OldGuyHifi I'm using Audirvana 3.5.50 which is the last "pay once use forever" version for both streaming and local playback. They don't update it anymore but it still works with the latest Mac software. I think I fixed the muting issue by changing a seemingly unrelated setting and so far it's been working. I'm going to put the Mac on a UPS because every little power glitch causes a reboot, then Audirvana usually loses network access unless I close and restart it. It has to do with Audirvana starting before the net is connected. Sometimes (rarely) an Apple system message will halt playback even though I've tried to dumb everything down for music playback only. Meanwhile my wife pines for the good old days when you just put a record or CD on and press play.
BTW my DAC is a Denafrips Ares 12th-1 with an IRIS reclocker which I absolutely love, so I would probably use the coax out from any streamer I might eventually get. I'll let my ears decide. Anyway enough babbling. I liked and subscribed to your channel. Keep it up!
I am so sorry. I just saw this. It it is a shame they more or less abandoned 3.5. I still use it on my desk top set up. It still works fine. Very nice DAC rig you have. I bet it sounds great. Thanks for updating me.
Cambridge seems to have made a great amplifier. The question I have with the ease of the streamer. Is it something that if someone who doesn't have the app on their phone, able to just walk up and be able to run and stream something they would want? Also, there is another streaming amplifier out that has a standbye button on the back and no power switch at all. Did Cambridge put a power button on it? I find these great for a dedicated audiophile but not as much for a family environment.
The front panel buttons include a stand by button but there is no power button. It would be difficult to operate it with out the app. As I said I think this is going to sit in a rack and be operated remotely. As to the dedicated audiophile, I think that person comes in lots of different shapes and sizes. I do think the 150 could satisfy the audiophile who is tried of chasing gear. Kind of like me. I just want stuff to work so I can listen. Weird coming from a guy who has had a shit ton of gear. In my current set up I have it very simplified. The EVO makes it even more simple. As I told you this twisted my brain. Check your email. Thank you my friend.
This might be a silly question but, does it get to the point on these streames that the software isn't upgradeable? Kind of like a laptop or a DVD player? I've got a older Panasonic Blu-ray player that got to the point that firmware updates wouldn't work. So, the player plays older Blu-rays , but with newer releases it either doesn't play the audio or it plays the Audio but no video. So I basically turned it into a transport CD player. I know this seems long winded, but at the price point, whats its longevity as far as software goes?
That's one of the reasons I bought the Wiim, because I figured it got to were you couldn't update the software, I wasn't out a lot of money. I just use a Geshelli DAC with the Wiim. Great review, very insightful.
Cambridge streamers are based on ARM processers kind of like a cell phone and can take OTA updates. Unless Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, etc., change music for formats then the only changes would be in the Stream Magic software.
@@OldGuyHifi Thank you for replying to my question. At 3000.00 dollars, I would hate to buy something that would end up being outdated in 4-5 years.
This is one of the reasons I sent mine back after a few software issues. Made me question the longevity of them. I’ve gone back to analogue amp and digital front end (which can be updated every 5 years) instead of the amp.
For $3k -ish you get the entry level older Hypex class module
For $5k the NAD Masters Series M33 is worth considering if you have the money
You get a Purifi amplifier and BluOS streaming and a screen.
For about the same money, $3k-ish you can get the EVERSOLO DMP-A8 STREAMER and a Buckeye Purifi amplifier and hide the amplifier
Just options to consider
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. You could have expressed yours in a more civil way. In the future, if you choose to comment on my channel, please try and be less confrontational. We don't need any gatekeepers. Thank you.
@@OldGuyHifi not intending to be a gatekeeper, just offering options and market context.
I agree that my comment was rude
It was not opinion, just rude but factual and observational
I edited my response which I hope is civil and respectful
I am very grateful you did. I would like to hear from you whenever you have some thoughts. I do value your opinion, as I do everyone's. I hope you have subscribed because you are very welcome here. Thank you sir and enjoy the weekend.
Comment
Very perceptive.
This is why audio reviews are insufferable. At the same bitrate/resolution, the output signal from any streamer going into a DAC is exactly the same.
Then don't watch Edward. Despite your statement, there is a difference in various streamers handle the incoming signal i.e., noise rejection, error correction, jitter reduction, etc.. I have found it to be an audible thing. I might refer you to this video from PS Audio: ua-cam.com/video/ROBH5okY8VE/v-deo.htmlsi=BxK-upZ3hpz505eh. Thank you for your view and comment.
I think that's a simplistic view of the situation, which ignores jitter in particular. While I appreciate that personal experience is not objective evidence, I have had a range of streamers and heard significant differences in SQ between them. Having said that, if you don't hear it, that's great, and I'm kind of envious. Buy a Wiim Puck and be happy. Put your cash into speakers.