So I’m a music nerd from way back. I was running McIntosh reference tube amp(s) in the 70s and 80s. After getting my kids grown and finally having a big enough house, the Klipsch LaScalas and the tube reference amp had to come out to play. After another 10 years, the tube amp started eating some very high dollar tubes and I cried uncle. I paired my other Cambridge pieces, CXN streamer, Azur CD, and Cambridge phono pre-amp, with your new CXA81 MKII and I have been smiling like a Cheshire Cat ever since. No more mixing and matching power tubes for my preferred music sources. I have found a very sweet spot for my ears with this amp. It handles everything brilliantly and importantly, is very neutral with very little coloration. I really appreciate the preamp subwoofer output that now allows me to really tune my active subwoofer to the room it’s in. I have found I was really missing some low end dynamic range that you have now supplied. I’m now enjoying everything I’ve got on vinyl, CD, digital, or Spotify. The new DAC in this amp is very, very musical to my old tube ears. And yes, I could have purchased a lot higher dollar reference amp to do the exact same thing in my opinion. But I truly appreciate a great bargain and engineering when I find it. Thank you for a job well done.

PS: I made the mistake of setting my phono preamp too close to the CXA81 MKII in my equipment stack. The nicely sized toroidal coil in this amp is a beast and can generate some pretty awesome buzz if you are too close with mission critical signals.

After 30 years, I decided to invest in a new stereo system. After the first song on the new combination CXN and CXA81 MK II, I was thrilled by the musicians who performed in my living room.
I should have made my decision much earlier!