Cambridge Audio EXN100 streamer/DAC
Sometimes a product arrives out of the blue with impeccable timing; so it was with the new network player from Cambridge Audio. The EXN100 is a complex beast, featuring a DAC to handle various digital inputs, comprehensive streaming abilities, internet radio and a preamplifier.
Until Qobuz get their act together and release a casting app I am unable to stream directly with my Hegel amp/streamer; this necessitates the use of a separate streamer, unless I resort to the lower quality of Apple Music via Airplay2. The new unit from Cambridge Audio could be just what I am looking for.
Cambridge Audio
Originally a division of Cambridge Consultants, the first audio product to bear the Cambridge name was the 20W/ch P40 integrated amplifier (one of the first to use toroidal transformers). The firm became Cambridge Audio Labs based in St. Ives where, in 1970, the 50W/ch P50 was put into mass production. In 1971 the business was sold to Colin Hammond who, at the time, handled Revox in the UK. Cambridge Audio Ltd was created and Stan Curtis became its technical director as the St Ives facility was extended to house 300 employees; virtually everything was made and tested in house.
In 1985 Cambridge built the first ever two-box CD player, the CD1, before Hi-Fi Markets acquired the brand and soon solid it to Wharfedale two years later when production began in Leeds. In 1994 the company was bought under the Audio Partnership umbrella where it now produces a wide range of audio equipment including headphones, lifestyle systems and separates, designed in the UK and made in China. The latest EX range (just two models, so far) comprises the EXA100 integrated amp with on-board DAC, and cosmetically-matching EXN100 network player tested here.
Design
The Cambridge Audio website refers to the new EXN100 as a network player but it’s more than that; a network streaming preamplifier might be a more encompassing description. It follows the release of the budget MXN100 and mid-price CXN100 and aims to bridge the gap between that model and the flagship Edge NQ.
A large TFT colour screen dominates the lunar-grey cabinet’s fascia alongside six control buttons and a rotary knob. Inside, the DAC module is a 32-bit ESS ES9028Q2M Reference chip (as found in the CXN100) although here Cambridge Audio’s engineers claim improved performance and carefully tuned signal path. There are also key mods to the post-DAC analogue stage, with premium components deployed for increased clarity, better separation and improved stereo imaging, I am told.
Format support from the EXN100 is good; it handles high-res audio files up to 32-bit/784kHz PCM, DSD512 and MQA files. That informative screen (and the app) not only shows sampling rate and file format but also track details/source selection and even volume level when in preamp mode.
Digital connections cater for optical input alongside coaxial in- and outputs, USB type B plus a type A port for flash drives. We have balanced XLR and standard RCA line outs, midget antennae for wi-fi and Bluetooth plus an HDMI input for direct connection of a TV/satellite receiver.
Set-up and the app
Installing the Cambridge EXN100 was straightforward and I connected a satellite tuner and Blu-ray DVD player to the digital inputs which left none spare, bar the USB, but then practically every other source we need is onboard.
Cambridge’s Stream Magic app is a real boon to the product and so easy to use. Within moments I was finding my favourite internet radio stations although we seem to be missing access to podcasts which I am used to with my everyday streaming-amp. Never mind, there’s always Spotify to find those. Connection to my Qobuz account was accomplished with ease and my playlists all accessible.
I used ethernet for connection to my network, not being a fan of wi-fi unless placement demands, but good to know it’s there just in case. Likewise with Bluetooth although I did, I confess, enjoy many happy hours listening to my own recordings via Airplay.
The EXN100’s own front panel screen is also highly informative although my preferred setting was the rather funky ‘VU-style’ meters on the display with the app running on an iPad for all information about the source, track, volume etc. This driven mainly by myopia such that the large meters were easily viewable from the listening position.
There are no analogue inputs provided however; not a problem for me since I eschew such things – but this is very much a product for the digital age. More of a loss from my perspective is an AES/EBU XLR output since that would drive loudspeakers such as the active Dutch and Dutch 8Cs but, at around £11,000 a pair, Cambridge probably don’t expect to see many such partnerships.
Sound quality
Initially I used the EXN100 purely as a streaming source and fed its output to my daily-use £10,500 [Hegel H600] integrated which has internet radio but lacks Qobuz streaming capability. The grey finish not clashing too much with the amp’s powder-coated matt black casework.
Initial thoughts were that the Cambridge product was good value-for-money, producing a highly detailed sound with wonderful levels of transparency on both material I knew well and also via several of my favourite internet radio stations.
I happened to be borrowing a pair of 16 Ohm Rogers LS3/5A speakers and reminding myself how I used to rely on these little monitors so much back in my BBC days. Memories flooded back as to just how revealing these shoebox-sized speakers can be. The midrange is still a standout and performances were really brought home. Listening to ageing speech recordings which were reproduced without blemish, while musical tracks had a warmth, a richness that carried melodies. While bass was never the 3/5A’s forte, the EXN100 created sufficient weight to engage the listener and produce lifelike sounds in what I can only describe as a very natural way. We were not subjected to over-strident or overtly aggressive presentations, for which I was most thankful. The overall balance Cambridge has struck is suitably even handed that I would happily live with the EXN100 as my primary digital source.
Listening panel’s views
For the panel’s arrival I rearranged things into something of a more normal audiophile arrangement, using the EXN100’s balanced analogue outputs driving my favoured Trigon Dwarf II monoblocs. For this, it’s a simple tweak to put the EXN100 into preamp mode through which its volume control is activated. Now we were hearing not just the unit’s streaming ability but also its digital-to-analogue conversion and attenuating skills.
Testing the installation, I was blown away by just how well these little amps drive the Revival Audio Atalante 3s. The quality of sound was incredible; so realistic and oozing detail. That said, I feel the streamer side of the EXN100 is its key attribute rather than its preamp function.
The panel’s first selection was Manhattan Transfer’s song Who, What, When, Where, Why written by Rupert Holmes of piña colada fame. Its great vocals and textured backing were replayed with a lushness, an inviting warmth to draw us into the performance. The track retained its fun alongside really clear vocals with sufficient brightness to cut through the mix. Again, we all remarked on the level of detail being produced by such a modestly priced streamer which was punching way above its weight. Talking of Rupert Holmes, we moved on to his wonderful Escape (The Piña Colada song). Classic 1970s pop, this track showed the richness that the EXN100 can exude through an involving soundstage, and we noted its delicious depth, width and height.
After a coffee break it was the turn of Mario Lanza and The Drinking Song from The Student Prince (Ambrosian Chorus and the Philharmonia Orchestra under John Owen Edwards) as we indulged in 1950s’ opera. Perhaps better known as Drink, Drink, Drink, the song revealed the system’s ability to generate powerful sounds with the Cambridge EXN100 at its source. Full-bodied and rich, David Rendall’s Serenade is so virile, his tone so ringing and true to life. Soprano Marilyn Hill Smith follows with a lusciously warm, focused tone and sure technique. Her stratospheric high notes in Come Boys, Let’s All Be Gay, Boys really set the pulse pounding and we know that the EXN100 can handle dynamics with aplomb. Overall, the recording is shown to have a very clean and well balanced quality from a performance bursting with joy and enthusiasm that had our feet tapping.
Before departing, and maintaining something of a drinking theme, the panel ended with Underworld’s Born Slippy. This ‘90s dance track stretches the limits of musicality. The chorus not only got our feet tapping but brought a smile to our faces with the oft repeated: lager, lager, lager, lager, lager, lager, lager, lager… to dramatic effect. The bass was solid and well defined if not as prominent as with the Hegel but then we have far less costly amplification in use now.
Probably one of the best slices of electronica, and musically austere in its emotional textures, the song’s nearly unstoppable force from Karl Hyde’s spasmodic listing of all sorts of ‘boys’ creates a truly electric vibe that retained so much through the modestly priced Cambridge EXN100, it is clearly very at home with pacy tracks and had no trouble keeping up with the beat, making it all seem effortless in fact.
Conclusion
A certain five stars here for the Cambridge Audio EXN100 which does well what it sets out to achieve. For me, the key facet of the EXN100 is its ability to stream Qobuz and internet radio, plus access to the really great Stream Magic app; things lacking on the EXA100 digital integrated which otherwise duplicates the DAC and its digital ins/outs.
Sonically, the EXN100 extracts enormous levels of details from recordings and reproduces them in an enjoyable, lifelike way with sufficient warmth to keep the listener engaged. The overall balance is one of neutrality, allowing us to enjoy what the recording engineer laid down rather than trying to stamp its own sonic character. I like that. So, all you need to partner the EXN100 is amplification or, just connect to some active loudspeakers.
Here is a product that I was reluctant, very reluctant to return and that probably says as much as you need to know. I would be more than happy to live with its non-fatiguing sound and superb imagery, that and the fact that it gives me the easy-to-use access to Qobuz streaming.