Audio Video News

U.K.’s Cambridge Audio is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a new high-end audio line that sets a “new standard for sound and design from the company.”

The Edge series, developed over three years by a nine-person in-house engineering team, comprises a trio of simple yet elegant looking products — the Edge A integrated amplifier ($5,000), Edge NQ preamp/network player ($4,000), and Edge W power amplifier ($3,000) — all of which will be available from select retailers in June. The series is named after Professor Gordon Edge, one of Cambridge Audio’s founders and inventor of the company’s first product, the P40 integrated amplifier, which pioneered the use of toroidal transformers in amplifiers.

Calling Edge the best example of “pure, unfiltered “British Sound,” Cambridge said the series embodies a new design that pushes engineering boundaries to “keep the signal paths short across the series.” The Edge W power amp, for example, has only 14 components in its signal path and no capacitors. In addition, components throughout the line were chosen on the basis of a “listen first, measure later” philosophy. “Price, specs, measurements, etc. were all disregarded in favor of what genuinely sounds best,” the company explained.

The Edge A integrated amp and Edge W power amplifier are based on Cambridge’s Class XA amplification technology, which “shifts the crossover point out of audible range, offering the sound quality of Class A but with more efficient performance.” Both amplifiers also incorporate an “opposing symmetry twin toroidal transformer design,” designed to cancel out stray electromagnetic interference, and are rated to deliver 2 x 100 watts into 8 ohms (with less than 0.02 percent THD at rated power) or 2 x 200 into 4 ohms.

The Edge NQ preamp/network player supports Bluetooth aptX HD streaming and incorporates Cambridge’s proprietary StreamMagic platform, which has been updated to support a variety of sources, including AirPlay, Spotify Connect, and Chromecast built-in, which allows streaming from numerous apps, including Tidal.

“Edge has been a project of passion for Cambridge Audio,” said Stuart George, managing director. “With our 50th anniversary approaching, we saw an opportunity to push the boundaries of our abilities to create something truly unique, something truly inspirational. We removed all limitations during development of Edge — anything goes so long as it’s in pursuit of the best system we’ve ever made.”

The Edge series will be demonstrated at the AXPONA Audio Expo North America in Schaumburg, Illinois, April 13 through 15.

For more information, visit cambridgeaudio.com.