"They now compete with the very best in class when it comes to sound and are pretty much in a league of their own when it comes to features... This refined and revealing pair delivers a dynamic, clean and engaging result."
Azur 851C
Upsampling DAC, CD Player & Preamplifier
Our finest CD player and DAC, the 851C uses our extensive digital knowledge to become the cornerstone of your digital hub. No matter the source of your digital music, twin DACs in dual differential mode and 2nd generation Adaptive Time Filtering make the music sound as the original artist intended – extraordinary.
"Sweet, refined and simply musical... the sonic performance is absolutely consistent. Highly recommended!"
- AV MAX, JULY 2014
"They now compete with the very best in class when it comes to sound and are pretty much in a league of their own when it comes to features... This refined and revealing pair delivers a dynamic, clean and engaging result."
Press reviews
Witchdoctor
New Zealand,
WitchDoctor name the 851A&C as joint Product of the Year winners!
"They seem to be the absolute class leaders at their respective price points. The build quality that just shouldn’t be possible for the money, and the huge feature sets are impressive enough, but with sound quality that is out of all proportion to their price tags, these components are on another level when it comes to value for money."
Hi-Fi Choice
United Kingdom,
851C wins Hi-Fi Choice's CD Player of the Year!
"Impeccably engineered and with sonics the match of most machines at twice the price, what's not to like? Smooth and svelte sounding yet commanding and incisive, only its rivals will regret the advent of this sparkling talented new CD player."
AV Max
United Kingdom,
"The 851C truly lives up to all our expectations of being sweet, refined and simply musical. The amount of flexibility, in terms of usage, that imparts is very exciting and inviting. Be it as a CD player, a DAC or even the digital pre-amp. More importantly, the best part here is that irrespective of the mode/application that you decide to use it in, the sonic performance is absolutely consistent. Highly recommended!"
Witchdoctor
New Zealand,
"Cambridge Audio more than met my expectations... they’re both built incredibly well, they’re loaded with features, are customisable, versatile, easy to use and sound fabulous. The CD player is a knockout... The amp in particular is the best sounding unit of its type I’ve ever heard in this price range."
HD Fever
France,
"Musical, dynamic, pleasurable and sophisticated listening, enormous power, impeccable build quality, great design and ease of use - who could ask for more?"
What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision
United Kingdom,
"The Cambridge brand might have built its reputation on turning out high-quality budget kit, but the Azur 851C shows it’s more than capable of moving up a gear or three when the price goes up."
Hi-Fi News
United Kingdom,
"Frankly, the feature set of the 851C and 851A is the stuff of high-end audio dreams, but packaged in sensibly-priced components... As is so often the case with products from Cambridge Audio, what you're getting is cutting-edge technology for substantially less than high-end prices... This Azur combo took me to places I haven't been for a long time!"
European Imaging and Sound Association
Portugal,
"So while the 851C DAC/player brings a quiet composure to the party, the 851A is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a muscular amp that grips the speakers and serves up tight, powerful and extended bass. In the 851C and 851A you’re getting cutting-edge technology for substantially less than high-end prices. Add the best speakers you can afford and this two-channel system will deliver a taste of hi-fi heaven."
Hi-Fi Choice
United Kingdom,
"They now compete with the very best in class when it comes to sound and are pretty much in a league of their own when it comes to features... This refined and revealing pair delivers a dynamic, clean and engaging result."
The details
Dual Analog Devices AD1955 24-bit DACs
Analog Devices Black Fin ADSP-BF532 32 bit DSP performing 2nd Generation ATF2 upsampling to 24-bit/384kHz. Linear Phase, Minimum phase or Steep modes.
2 Pole Fully Differential Linear Phase Bessel filter
S/PDIF 75 Ohms or TosLink optical
S/PDIF 75 Ohms or TosLink optical
XLR balanced 110 Ohms per phase
USB Type B conforming to Audio profile 1.0 or 2.0 (user selectable)
Balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA analogue audio outputs
USB 1.0 16-24 bit, 32-96kHz USB 2.0 16-24 bit, 32-192kHz TosLink 16-24 bit, 32-96kHz S/PDIF and AES/EBU 16-24 bits 32-192kHz CD playback is intrinsically limited to 16-bits 44.1kHz
< 0.0004%
< 0.0004%
< 0.0007%
< 0.0002%
+/- 0.2dB
+/- 0.4dB
> 120dB
< 60pS for all digital inputs, CD playback and USB 2.0 < 180pS for USB 1.0
< -130dB
< -114dB
< 50 Ohms
2.2Vrms (2.2Vrms each phase for the balanced output)
40W
8W
<0.5W
Black or silver
430 x 115 x 360mm (16.9 x 4.5 x 14.7”)
10.0Kg (22lbs)
Yes
Azur 851C Upsampling DAC, CD Player & Preamplifier, Power Cable, 3 x AAA Batteries, Remote Control
