Cambridge Audio Azur 840A Amplifier
Efficiently a house brand Cambridge Audio's Azur 840A £700 pricetag of Richer Sounds, may not be everyone's concept of budget, but it is not jaw-droppingly expensive either. It is also an incredibly remarkable little bit of kit having a front panel that is a denser ball of aluminium than you will discover on most sub-£l,000 amps, while the significant weight indicates there is a lot going on indoors.
This intends to reach quite practically the functionality degree of Class A, minus the excessive power consumption (thus additionally heat output signal, cooling requirements, size...) of an actual Class A enactment effective at providing this type of power.
Non-intrusive overload protection as risk levels are approached only winds down the volume.
SOUND QUALITY
If there is an issue with this amplifier it is one we have come across on several occasions before with ultra-low-distortion products - they can seem somewhat dull as compared with their peers. The chief reason we are confident of the investigation is the fact that our listeners' notes refer to a negligible dearth of dynamics or of 'sting' in the sound, but in exactly the same area from any two listeners. Each listener on the flip side, commended a broad range of sonic facets at other points.
For example, each listener in turn mentioned the manner in which quite chaotic musical textures so are not hard to hear into and dissect and remain clear, and all additionally picked up on the bass' understated strength. Because that bass is well controlled, it's somewhat less obvious than it is made by some amps and so the 840A can seem a little thin sometimes. Though, it's there in spades when there's actual demand of low frequency electricity. Group tonality looks sometimes disconcerting, looking one minute somewhat lean, the next a touch warm in line with the track playing. Again, it looks like this is in substantial part a reaction to another amps in an identical group's coloured presentation.
Freed in the distractions of comparisons that are direct, in long term listening it gives vast levels of detail using at least fuss.
Not everyone will need such simplicity, but this can be a great place to search in case you do.
