Edge Series
In the build-up to our 50th anniversary, we asked our engineers a simple question – what would they make if anything was possible?
Forget cost. Forget limitations. Create a system that delivers previously undiscovered layers of detail, is highly transparent, offering superlative sound-staging. A product true to Cambridge Audio’s foundations of creative innovation and entrepreneurial ambition.
Over 3 years in the making, utilising a team of 9 engineers, the result is Edge.
British sound personified.
Five decades ago our founders had a vision – to create hi-fi systems that delivered the Great British sound into people’s homes. Nothing added, nothing taken away.
One of these talented engineers, Professor Gordon Edge, was the brains behind the innovation and design of our first product – the ground-breaking P40 integrated amplifier. In recognition of our heritage, we developed Edge. The embodiment of Cambridge Audio’s signature Great British Sound and the pinnacle of 50 years of Hi-Fi expertise.
Beautifully minimal in its design, each component has a curved extruded aluminium front and floating top plate. It’s an extraordinary exterior that’s hiding some extraordinary audio engineering inside.
Let the music through.
To remove the barriers between you and your music, we have worked hard to minimise the number of components in the signal path in the Edge series.
As a result, Edge delivers a more faithful reproduction of the original recording; an impressively detailed three-dimensional sound, with striking staging and focus.
We only ever choose components for their sonic merits – not price, not specs, nor measured performance. This ‘listen first, measure later’ ethos means blind-auditioning all price and performance levels and only going with those that sound the most dynamic, give the greatest presence, offer a revealing clarity; in short, the most musical.
Gone are the rows of buttons and dials you often see on high-end audio kit. Instead, the Edge Series features one high-quality dual concentric volume and source select control knob, enabling you to navigate menus and control the volume with a simple twist.
Designed and assembled in the UK, this mechanical marvel comprises 31 precision-milled engineered parts. The complexity inside enables the most intuitive and purest of interfaces.
The minimal lines of the Edge NQ are enhanced with a stunning 5” high-resolution TFT display. Designed to present album artwork in beautiful clarity, adding to the overall listening experience.
We’ve designed Edge with a circuit board unlike any other. Conventional capacitors were replaced with a DC coupled topology, which reduces distortion.
We used a solid-state volume control to ensure perfect channel balance at any volume.
We pioneered the use of toroidal transformers in amplifiers, which led to improved performance. In Edge we take this one step further, using opposing symmetry twin toroidal transformers. This cancels out electromagnetic interference whilst offering outstanding power and maintaining consistent tonality, no matter how loud it’s played.
Our unique Class XA amplifier topology brings Class A sound quality, but with improved efficiency and less heat. We added a bias voltage to a traditional Class AB design to shift the crossover point to a position where distortion is inaudible to the human ear.
We want you to be able to listen to digital content from a wide range of sources at up to 32bit/384kHz and DSD 256. So our input board has a digital coaxial (S/PDIF), ARC (Audio Return Channel), USB and two TOSLINK (S/PDIF) connections for versatility.
Since 2011, our engineers have designed and engineered our very own streaming software – StreamMagic. In line with our customer needs and expectations, we are continually evolving and updating this platform, and the Edge NQ preamplifier with network player features the latest version of this award-winning module. With a new, faster chipset and support for 24bit/192kHz and DSD128 files, it’s one of the fastest high-resolution streaming devices available. StreamMagic natively supports Spotify Connect, TIDAL, Airplay, Bluetooth aptX HD and Internet radio, meaning you can enjoy your music from a wide range of sources. Thanks to Chromecast Built-in hundreds of other services including Sirius XM, Qobuz & Soundcloud can also be enjoyed on the Edge NQ in up to 96kHz/24Bit quality.
