Cambridge Audio has been in the music-streamer business since the early 2010s, developing their StreamMagic software platform and producing many high-quality streaming components. Along the way, they have become one of the go-to brands for affordable, high-value streaming solutions. Sure, they also offer the relatively expensive Edge NQ network player ($4999, all prices in USD) as part of their reference Edge series, but much of their extensive catalog is geared towards cost-conscious audiophiles.
They recently introduced the EX line, said to be the spiritual successor to the highly regarded Azur 851 series of components—a series known for offering near-reference performance at affordable prices. That line included the Azur 851N streaming preamp reviewed ten years ago by Hans Wetzel on SoundStage! Access. Believe it or not, their new EXN100 streaming preamp ($1799) has the same price tag as the 851N did a decade ago, while offering a fully updated design. In addition to the EXN100, the subject of this review, Cambridge also produces the matching EXA100 integrated amplifier ($2199), for those who wish to have an all-EX component system. I’ll be reviewing the EXA100 amplifier for SoundStage! Hi-Fi.
Description
The EX series follows Cambridge’s aesthetic of components with few controls on the fascia, clean lines, and hardly any adornments on the rest of the chassis. Other than the thick front panel, the casework consists of formed sheet metal. The unit measures 3.5″H × 16.9″W × 12.8″D and weighs 9 pounds. The construction is relatively sturdy and quite substantial for a product in this price range. The one color available is described as Lunar Grey, which I presume is the color of the fascia, as the other surfaces have more of a matte-black finish.
The milled aluminum front panel is approximately 3/8″ thick and dominated by a large, clear central insert, behind which is located a 1280 × 720-pixel color display. The sides of the insert each have three small embedded radio buttons to control track navigation on the left, and source selection and info on the right. The large, knurled volume-control knob sits on the right side of the panel below the raised “EXN” lettering. The power button is located on the left side under the company’s logo and name, which are also presented in raised lettering. The display is quite bright and vibrant, which, along with the clean and tidy aesthetic, affords the unit a rather luxurious quality.
The display is informative, offering the usual track, album, and artist information, as well as album art, format info, source input, track and elapsed time, and a track-progress bar. There are also icons at the bottom for indicating such things as connection status, MQA decoding, and mute, and a few other status indicators. Pressing the info button cycles through the other display options: no album art, album art only, digital clock, or VU meters. The display also momentarily shows just the volume level in a large font each time the volume is adjusted.
Even though it features a full suite of inputs and outputs, the back panel is laid out in an organized manner. A single row of connections comprises the audio inputs and outputs: USB-A for media on storage devices, ethernet, USB-B for PC audio, HDMI eARC, optical (TosLink) and coaxial (RCA) S/PDIF audio inputs and outputs, and both single-ended (RCA) and balanced (XLR) analog outputs. Switches are provided to lift the ground for the USB-B signal input or the general chassis ground.
Above the audio connections are an RS-232 service port, an RCA in and out to connect components that support Cambridge’s Control Bus for synchronized operation, a combined Trigger/IR In, and a Trigger Out. There are also two short Wi-Fi antennas and a similar Bluetooth antenna.
Inside the sleek full-sized chassis lies an ESS Technology ES9028Q2M DAC chip mated to Cambridge’s latest StreamMagic Gen 4 module. The specs are similar to their less-expensive CXN100 streamer, which utilizes the same DAC chip, but the company says that significant improvements have been made for the EXN100, particularly to the design of the analog stages, with handpicked components such as Nisshinbo Muses op-amps to improve sound quality.
The EXN100 supports Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect and is Roon Ready, and the StreamMagic app provides access to Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer, UPnP, and internet radio. Other connectivity options include AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and Bluetooth 5 with the SBC, aptX, and aptX HD codecs. Ethernet 10Base-T and 100Base-T and up to Wi-Fi 5 connectivity are also included. The EXN100 supports the PCM, MQA and DSD audio formats, and the ALAC, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, WMA, MP3, AAC, HE AAC, AAC+, OGG Vorbis, DSF, and DFF file formats. The S/PDIF Toslink input accepts PCM signals with resolutions up to 24-bit/96kHz and DoP64, with the coaxial input increasing the sampling rate to 192kHz. PCM data from the USB input and local USB media can be up to 32/768, as well as DSD up to x512. PCM up to 32/768 is supported through UPnP.
Importantly, there is a digital preamplifier mode that allows variable analog output so the EXN100 can act as a preamplifier utilizing the high-quality 32-bit volume control of the ESS Sabre DAC. If the EXN100 is used strictly as a digital streaming device, DSD can be outputted as PCM to accommodate DACs that cannot accept a DSD bitstream; otherwise, it will be limited to DSD64 over DoP due to the limitations of S/PDIF. Additional features include automatic power-down with user-specifiable time intervals and a setting for limiting the volume (with a user-variable percentage) that apps can attain, without affecting the volume-control knob or the remote control. And while it does not have any analog inputs, let alone a phono input, Cambridge does offer two turntables with support for Bluetooth aptX HD that are suitable for use with the EXN100.
Setup
I have never used a product based on Cambridge’s StreamMagic platform, but as expected with such a well-established product, installation and use with my system was both intuitive and seamless. After loading the StreamMagic app on my Samsung Galaxy S21 smartphone, I plugged the EXN100 into my home network via ethernet, and everything was recognized and worked as it should.
Through the app’s Settings menu, I was able to turn on the digital preamp mode to allow for variable output to my Lyngdorf MXA-8400 multichannel power amplifier; the Settings menu also allowed for selecting the active inputs so that I did not have to scroll through all of them on the unit’s control panel or see them in the app if they were not in use. The Library menu provided access to music services, allowing me to connect my Tidal account and view any servers or locally connected drives. There was a slight lag when accessing very large libraries of music files, but once inside the folders, navigation was relatively snappy. Selecting the Radio tab brought up the internet-radio screen, where I could search the internet for stations to my heart’s content.
The StreamMagic app’s interface is simple and easy to use; it has refreshingly few menus and tables, and those few are logically laid out. I would have liked a Windows or macOS version, but as with many audio-control apps, only versions for iOS and Android are available. While I appreciated StreamMagic’s ease of use and the other connectivity options such as Chromecast, Tidal Connect, eARC, and USB-B, I did most of my listening through Roon via the ethernet connection. But I did test a few of the other connection options to ensure that they operated properly. I did not experience any issues.
In addition to the Lyngdorf MXA-8400 power amplifier and Samsung Galaxy S21 smartphone, the rest of the review system comprised a pair of MartinLogan Masterpiece Classic ESL 9 hybrid electrostatic loudspeakers and a Beelink mini PC running Windows 11, Roon, and Tidal. Cables and power accessories were by Shunyata Research, Analysis Plus, Clarus, ESP, and Zero Surge.
The sound
Using the EXN100 as a streaming preamplifier with the Lyngdorf MXA-8400 power amplifier, there was excellent fidelity, and I was able to hear incredible amounts of detail deep into recordings. The $8999 Lyngdorf amplifier is simply beyond reproach, with measured performance that cannot be bettered by anything in its class, and a neutral and balanced sound I find wholly satisfying. The EXN100 may not be quite up to that same exalted standard, but it is an extremely capable component, especially considering its reasonable price, and it proved to be a good match with the Lyngdorf amp.
The Complete Warner Years (16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC, Warner Music Group - X5 Music Group / Tidal) is a compilation of Vince Guaraldi recordings with a cool electronic vibe and a more spacious soundstage than the many acoustic versions of the Peanuts scores that we are all accustomed to. The ubiquitous “Linus and Lucy” features a reverberant electronic harpsichord placed hard right and a piano hard to the left but set back slightly. The bass is placed even further back, and not very prominent, yet was distinctly rendered by the EXN100—as was the soft shushing of the brushes, a little to the left of center, with every gentle tap and caress of the skins clearly reproduced.
In comparison, Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas (2022 Remix) (24/192 FLAC, Craft Recordings / Tidal) is a much more straight-ahead presentation of an acoustic jazz trio. The 2022 remix has a different presentation from the original mix, with the brushes placed much more prominently to the left and quite forward. There is also what sounded to be a percussive use of the bass, with everything constrained to a relatively small space between the speakers. I actually prefer the original mix of A Charlie Brown Christmas (2012 Remastered & Expanded Edition) (24/192 FLAC, Craft Recordings / Tidal), which has an even narrower soundstage. The slightly damped and tighter piano has a powerful quality, with greater punch. While I could not hear the percussive beats of the bass, its fat and bouncy undulations as it was deftly strummed were more expressive and less one-notey, as is sometimes the case with acoustic bass. The brushes are also placed more to the center of the stage and at a lower, more realistic volume, giving a better sense of the delicately swirling brushwork. The more pronounced brushes in the 2022 remix sounded unnaturally boosted and almost shaker-like in comparison. With the EXN100, I was easily able to hear the differences between these two versions of A Charlie Brown Christmas.
The transparency and detail present in the recordings of the small jazz ensembles were carried over to the full orchestra and choir in Karl Böhm’s 1971 recording of the Mozart Requiem with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (16/44.1 FLAC, Deutsche Grammophon / Tidal). I find this interpretation of Mozart’s final work to be somewhat staid, but the recording still captures the majesty of the composition and the grand scale of the production. The EXN100 presented the orchestra and choir with power and specificity on “Rex tremendae” and then with equally impressive tranquility for “Confutatis,” as the lonely violin intertwined with the ethereal women’s choir delicately filling the entire soundstage. As good as this sounded with the standard-resolution FLAC stream from Tidal, the EXN100 sounded even better with the SHM SACD version of this album (DSD64 DSF, Deutsche Grammophon / Universal Music). With the higher-resolution DSD file, the complex, layered choral passages and opening notes of the strings on “Rex tremendae” had additional weight and definition that was spine-tingling. The soloists on “Benedictus” were placed holographically between my speakers, exhibiting amazing fidelity on this DSD version mastered by Emil Berliner Studios. The EXN100 played back the native DSD bitstream with aplomb. Based on what I heard through this high-resolution Cambridge streamer, I have ordered Deutsche Grammophon’s The Original Source vinyl pressing of this recording cut directly from the original four-track analog tapes and also mastered by Emil Berliner Studios.
Amii Stewart may be best remembered for covering “Knock on Wood” in 1979 and then fading into relative obscurity. However, she has released multiple albums over the past few decades, including a couple of tracks on the cast album of Lady Day (16/44.1 FLAC, Perle Nere Sas Edizioni musicali Planet Musical / Tidal), a musical based on the life of Billie Holiday. Listening to her vocal range and interpretation of both the original songs written for the musical and of Holiday’s classics was thoroughly enjoyable through the EXN100. “Knock on Wood (1985 7″ Remix)” from Knock on Wood: The Anthology (16/44.1 FLAC, Sanctuary Records / Tidal) really kicked, with its catchy disco arrangement combining with Stewart’s powerful voice as she went on a few vocal runs and playfully growled some of the lyrics. Again, with the EXN100, I was able to discern subtle differences; the original “Knock on Wood (7″ edit)” sounded slightly compressed in comparison. This made everything equally louder, but the vocals and instrumentation were more closely centered between the speakers compared to the more expansive presentation of the 1985 remix.
Comparison
It’s been many months since I had the Eversolo DMP-A8 streaming preamplifier ($1980) in my system, but that component left a lasting impression on me. I recall its wonderful sound on all types of music, including Ryuichi Sakamoto’s solo piano performance on Opus (24/96 FLAC, Milan Records / Tidal). With the EXN100, I did not feel as though there was anything lacking in the playback of this album in comparison.
In the film version of this performance on Criterion Blu-ray, you see Sakamoto stopping to tell director Neo Sora that he must rest before continuing as he practices a few bars of “Tong Poo.” On the high-resolution Tidal FLAC stream of the performance, his acoustic rendition of this techno classic is powerful and moody; I could sense his laboring on the more challenging passages, recorded only a few months before his passing. The bass on the deepest notes might not have been quite as taut as they were with the Eversolo and its DSP-enabled FIR filters, but the sound of this intimate piano composition was still exquisite. His phrasing is more fluid on “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” as he summoned the strength to provide one final glorious performance of his most recognizable song. The piano was rich and spacious as the notes flowed smoothly from my speakers and out into my room from the beautifully drawn sonic image of the Yamaha grand in front of me. The Eversolo may be more substantially constructed, have an audiophile-grade resistor-to-resistor analog volume control, and possess the ability to apply DSP FIR filters, but I don’t remember it sounding markedly better than the Cambridge on these tracks.
Conclusion
The Cambridge Audio EXN100 is an outstanding digital player. You could simply use it as a streamer by connecting its analog or digital outputs to a preamplifier or integrated amplifier. However, I feel that its value, and the value of other similar high-quality streamers, is in their ability to act as streaming preamplifiers. It may lack bass management and room correction, but the EXN100 still sounded great in my system when connected directly to my power amplifier and speakers, both of which cost many times its moderate price.
. . . Roger Kanno
Associated Equipment
- Speakers: MartinLogan Masterpiece Classic ESL 9
- Preamplifier: Anthem STR
- Power amplifier: Lyngdorf Audio MXA-8400
- Digital sources: Beelink Mini PC running Windows 11, Roon, and Tidal; Samsung Galaxy S21 Android smartphone
- Speaker cables: Analysis Plus Chocolate Oval 12/2
- XLR interconnects: Shunyata Research Venom-X
- Power cords: Clarus Cable Aqua, Essential Sound Products MusicCord-Pro ES
- Power conditioners: Blue Circle Audio PLC Thingee FX-2 with X0e low-frequency filter module, Zero Surge 1MOD15WI
Cambridge Audio EXN100 streaming preamplifier
Price: $1799
Warranty: Two years, parts and labor
Cambridge Audio Headquarters
Gallery Court
Hankey Place
London
SE1 4BB
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7940 2200
Website: www.cambridgeaudio.com
