I have the cxa81 connected at the xlr input from the cxn. The cxc is input to the cxn with optical cable.
I am amazed at the sound quality from the sources I have used so far.
Cd audio is as good as the hi res audio I’m playing from quobus or tidal.
The internet radio is superb. Especially from the 320kbps aac broadcasts. I can just tell the difference compared to lower bitrate broadcasts.
I haven’t used the Bluetooth on the amp yet. May never need to as the cxn has chrome cast as well as built in tidal. Brilliant.
I’m very happy with my purchase. I haven’t seen much tv since I’ve had it.

After researching for a good Hi-Fi Amp, I finally decided to purchase CXA81.
Sound quality is excellent, although lack of Phone stage, but the Bluetooth aptX HD not so much! The built in Bluetooth will cutting in & out and buffering so often. The bluetooth transmitter dongle attached to my computer is Avantree, aptX HD capable. I solved the bluetooth issue (sort of) after I purchased an external Bluetooth receiver, Avantree also aptX HD capable, connected through the optical input of the CXA81. A simple external bluetooth receiver with aptX HD capability able to stream my music without buffering or cutting in & out. I'd rather not to use an external Bluetooth receiver if Cambridge can provide me a solution to fix the Bluetooth issue. I would give FIVE STARS, until the Bluetooth issue is solved.

It’s absolutely ridiculous to take away tone and balance controls, the beautiful interface and metal face as its predecessor had and charge more for it. I’m just plain irritated with Cambridge for doing that. Not to mention I've seen lesser brands with better binding posts. They need to get their product lineup straightened out so people can understand the differences and see they are getting what they are paying for if they want to move up or down the product line. I’ve never had the CXA80 so I can’t attest to any sound differences. If it sounds the same I’ll be even more irritated, because the CXA80 has greater functionality that I would use (don’t need Bluetooth) and it costs a whopping $500 less! Who’s in charge here? I can also get their recent top of the line Azure products on the used market for much less. If you want to add their CXN streamer you’re in it for over a painful $2,500 after taxes. That’s a lot! And guess what? Still no tone controls and not even a CD player/transport.

Ok, let me calm down now and say that besides my value related irritations, there are some things I do appreciate. I’m surprised how many manufacturers do not include a USB-B port. The CXA-81 has it and I love it. I can play all my HiRes files directly from my computer and Roon and it’s using the CXA-81 built in ESS Sabre DAC. The sound is whole and full where it needs to be, slightly forward and slightly warm just the way I like. Works really well for me in a small room. In a larger room I’d use the subwoofer (or something with tone controls!). Compared to many other units I’ve had I get little to no ear fatigue with the CXA-81 – another huge plus for me. It doesn’t seem to be trying so hard like some other units out there do. I can rock out or chill out, either way the soundstage is wide and separation is very good. I was surprised that it didn’t care much about how far my speakers were separated. It has a solid focused mid-section and tone is centered very well. Overall, if I ignore the big ‘cost/value’ issue, I really do enjoy the CXA-81 quite a bit. I can’t stop playing it. Will see if its worth it over time.

Bought recently with the cxc cd transport
the clarity and detail it provides is effortless , do make sure you use some decent speaker cable , very happy with purchase