Cambridge AXA35...WHAT VALUE!
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- čas přidán 1. 07. 2024
- In this video, we review the CAMBRIDGE AUDIO AXA35. We were very surprised by what this amp has to offer. Taking a look at the parts inside and build quality at this price to IMPRESSIVE! I still own a Azur 540 and I'm pleased to see that Cambridge's reputation of making affordable quality products remains unchanged!
Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:22 Looks, Specs and feel
3:31 Overall Performance
4:43 Volume Test, Low & High
6:12 Musical Performance
10:33 Recommendations - Věda a technologie
Shout-out to you both, and to The Audioroom! Great review!
Thank you! Really appreciate it 👍👍
Stores that carry this product but don’t really understand the hifi world can never build value the way you guys do. Also, this video was hilarious 😂. So memorable!!
If you are talking about chain stores, some of them are good! I agree that some of them don't appreciate the brand. I went into a chain store which I won't mention the name. I was looking at a hi-fi product that sold for $800. The salesmen told me who would buy just a stereo amp for that price it does not even do 7.1. True story 😂
First thanks for your great and informative vid guys. So do you think my 6 ohm Oberon 3 bookshelves plus Sub Mivoc Hype G10 (just for slight base enhancement) would fit - not only price wise? Or would the power of the AXA35 be too low to drive bookshelves and sub at the same time? And do you think that the modern AXA35 is better than my Marantz SR4021 Receiver with 2 x 85 watts and discreet amplification from 2005 ? I don't wanna make a sidestep but an improvement.
Your welcome! I think you would be getter off keeping your 4021 especially in terms of drive. When it come to sound quality I would give it to the Cambridge. I would at minimum recommend the axr100 or even cxa61. Always try to give it an audition to see for yourself 😉.
I like this little amp. Paired it with cambridge audio sx50 speaker. My main music i metal and this amp does bring nice marshal tone
👍👍
Great video guys! I appreciate the SPL info you included, most reviewers do not provide those data points. Question: if 35 watts is enough for a given room, how high in terms of speaker price point can you go with the AXA35? $1000 USD? Thank you!!
Thank you! really appreciate the feedback. I think a $1000 USD would be about right. You just always want to make sure the speakers you choose are not overly difficult to drive. Always remember to think about your source as well!
Thank you!
Hifyed Very good content, Would you recommend for a single turntable setup if it's your first one?
Looking at getting one of these. Not having a DAC isn’t really an issue since I can just plug my Mojo 2 into the AUX input if necessary (basically my audio input hub at this point haha). Really looking forward to getting one!
Hello and thank you for your great reviews! I would like to ask, if for the double price here in Greece, Musical Fidelity M2si (800€) sounds better than Cambridge AXA35 (400€). My speakers are Sonus Faber Lumina II (4 ohm 86dB). Thank you in advance!
Thank you! The MF would be better the option especially with your speakers. It’s worth the extra even if it’s double the price.
Nice review -- I'm audio beginner so this looks like a good entry amp, how do you guys feel about pairing it with the Acoustic Energy AE100 speakers? My understanding is that they're good entry point speakers that would pair well with this amp. Thanks
Thank you!…ae100 would match well if possible it would not be a bad idea to step up to the Cambridge axr100. AE speakers don’t mind extra power😉
@@Hifyed Ok thanks!
I’ve seen other reviews about this amp. It’s super clean! Wondering….. how do you think this stacks up to the IotaVX SA3? The Cambridge is slightly cheaper and definitely, at least in my opinion, looks nicer… But performance wise, a lot of dudes doing reviews on YT think that the iota is a rockstar for the price. Penny for yer thoughts?
I looked at the Iota a few months and looks promising. I think I should investigate further as I'm a sucker for products that perform well around the $500ish usd price point.
A couple of questions.
This amp or step up a bit in price to an Audiolab 6000?
Also is Marcos a son of a Sutter? As in the coach of the Flames?
The Audiolab 6000 is a good step up. It's double the price but I think is worth it. The Cambridge audio CX series would be more comparable...That's funny to think of it he could be mistaken as part of the Sutter family. He's from the East Coast and his Dad worked in the audio/video business.
Question, what is the next price point for an amp? I'm curious on the price gap. I feel it is still a good looking amp and doesn't look cheap. Thanks again for an entertaining review! 😀
In Cambridge, you can still move up in the same series however they also have the CX series which would be a step up. It's roughly starts at double the price.
@@Hifyed the next amp selection would be something in the Musically Fidelity, Rega amp. A step above and will cost more.
Hello!! Congratulations on the review!! I would like to know what would be the best combination for the KEF Q150. Would a Cambridge AXA35 or ARCAM SA10 deliver the best of the Q150 to my ears? Thanks!!
Thank you! If possible I would lean more towards the SA10. It's quite a bit more price wise but worth the difference. Also take a look at the cambridge CXA61.
@@Hifyed Thank you for taking the time to respond!! And again, congratulations on the review!!
Thanks for that review. I have that amp and im looking for a decent pair of bookshelf/stand mount speakers. Which PMC's are those?
Your welcome! Those PMCs are FB1is...You are in luck with many good speakers to match at the price point. Any speakers you have been leaning towards?
Ive always liked the sound of the Kef Q 100s. Im hoping the Q150s are an improvement. I also remember hearing the Triangles as well. Which sounded good, They were I belive the models prior to the current Borea BR03 or BR02. I am a little concerned that the Kef Q150s are not sensitive enough with 86 db and 8 ohm impedence. The Monitor Bronze 50 and 100s are quite nice.
@@doc0428 With the Kefs as long as you are not looking for louder volumes you will be fine. With our speakers at 82db it was still good. Also, I'm sure the 150's are not highly damped and won't have any large impedance swings.
@@Hifyed Thanks. Im not a loud listener. mostly mid century jazz a little classical with the odd time listening to classic rock 1960s to 90s at moderate to upper moderate listening levels and and with my current small 4 inch monitors at about 6 ohms and 85 db. the Q150s should be an improvement.
I have this amp paired to PMC tb1. I guess it could be fairly similar to those PMCs you use for your tests (what's the sensitivity on yours?). I chose the AXA35 because of the budget and bucause I have a small listening room. Sound is good, but I can sense the lack of power sometimes, specially to deliver deeper bass. So, what other "budget" amp can you recommend for my PMCs? Thank you and cheers for the great review
The are rated at 87db sensitivity, I'm thing they are closer to 86. First of you speakers are excellent! They are however not a very easy load and the more power you give the happier they are. You can to move up to the bigger brother aXR100. The NAD368 starts to get up in price however in the future you can mono them with a 268 power amp and your at 300 aside!
@@Hifyed The TB1 are rated @90dB, but yeah, they are power hungry. I actually enjoy them a lot with the AXA35. I will update some time soon to a better amp to get even the best of the PMCs I'll check on your recommendation. You know, I got them almost for free, 30€ and in great condition. So they were a gift from heaven. Thanks for your reply!
90dB is highly efficient, you should use a watt meter to check how much it's actually using, if it really needs that much watts it means you could easily read more than 90dB at that distance, so maybe they get to very low impedance which could make it difficult for some amps?
@@pedromvuus Great advice!
I appreciate your honesty. I noticed right away that it has an elevated top end shine in the 6 to 9 kilohertz range as you reported, and this shine was present with three different sets of speakers I tried with it. Other reviewers did not mention this shine. I wish I had seen your review before I bought this amp, I will be returning this amp. Any suggestions for a good linear integrated amp for $1500 or less? I trust you guys.
Thank you! are you looking for something linear across the whole band? If you are NAD products are very linear like the 368 which is under $1500. Also have a listen if possible, since it is more on the "accurate side" people also find it lean sounding.
@@Hifyed Thank you, I will check it out!
Nice video guys. A tip: now I have a Rotel Pre and Final pair (RC and RB 960 BX) that is 30 years old and I would like to exchange them. I listen to music in a small room (10sqm) with Q Acoustics Concept 20 bought 3 years ago). You recommend the AXA 35 to those who are now entering the magical world of HI-Fi, but would you also recommend it to those who have been in this world for years? Otherwise, with the same budget, what would you recommend new, with phono mm input, more dynamic then the old Rotel couple and with remote control (small gadget that I would like to have)? Thanks in advance for the advice :-)
Thank you for all the info! When last thing do have a particular genre of music you listen? Other than dynamics anything else you are missing soundwise from your existing Rotel? Concept 20s are excellent btw.
Hi @@Hifyed, I listen to Rock Progressive, Fusion, Jazz Rock and symphonic. The low volume Rotel duo lacks feeling, at medium and high volume it is great, but I hardly go up in power, living in a condominium. And after 30 years, there is also the pleasure of renewing by changing :-). Although of totally different dimensions, the Concept 20 do not make me regret the B&W DM620 (tower, 2-way with passive Reflex). Thanks in advance !!!
@@sirioruchini2151 I know the AXA35 was in your price point however I would consider going to the axr100. It has a much larger power supply. It's not about the loudness however the ability to hear more dynamics and the feeling of scale at lower volumes. If you have a good Cambridge dealer I would consider trying it out. The Rotel you have is still pretty good and you don't really want to make a sideways move. Also, consider your source! Another thing is adding a subwoofer and perhaps keeping your Rotel and changing it later. Even a small one with that being said has to be of good quality. With the music, you listen to especially symphonic you need dynamics and scale to make it to come alive! Even harder to achieve at lower volumes.
@@Hifyed Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try to listen to them both 👍😉
Paired it with b&w dm 303.. the sound is great but lack bass.. I listen to many genres of music and EDM as well so what should I do? Any suggestion?
Your best bet is to add a sub. Just make sure it’s good quality so it does not take away from the sound.
@@Hifyed
If I buy a budget sub from "Dali" is it good enough in your opinion?
Based on the Cambridge Manual. The AXA35 is only rated to be used with 8 Ohm speakers and we would not recommend using it with 4 or 6 Ohm speakers. Using the AXA35 with 4 or 6 Ohm speakers could result in the amplifier overheating, which in the long run could damage the unit. So If I use Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 which is 6ohm it will ruin this amplifier?
Thank you! This combination was suppose to be done with an AXR100. I will update the details to let people know. I had forgot to update previously.
All this was better 50 years ago! Very nice to hear that this amp can be shut off!
Excellent video. PMC , Any numbers? I’m new to Hifi
Our reference PMC are quite old. We are however review a newer and current PMC speaker shortly. Welcome to the world of HIFI!
Thanks, keep up the good work
I love mine. I have it paired with the Klipsch RP600s. Synergy between those two is great.
That would be a great combination!👍👍
Considering to get this for my Klipsch rp400m, hope it will perform well
Same setup here and totally agree. RP600s just pair so well with this amp.
@@Papito_M nice! 👍👍
Do you know if AXA25 has even better sonic performance in terms of tonality?
I had not a chance to compare them side by so I can really say. My best guess is they would be very close.
I just got the axa35 and feel that it is not very dynamic especially down in the bass. It's not so much the lack of bass but that what's there is slow. Could you recommend a sub $500 integrated amp w/phono stage that has more punch/dynamics?
I would try to keep it on overnight and see how it is the next day. The Axa 35 is not very powerful so must be paired with some easy-to-drive speakers. . This will also improve the speed of the bass. You can look into the Denon 600ne. It's the only unit that is around that price with good sound quality. Everything else will have more power but won't have the same quality. Let me know what speakers you have?
@@Hifyed Thank you for the reply and the suggestions. Current speakers are Polk Monitor 30 bookshelves, sensitivity is 89 dB, so fairly sensitive.
@@seano51 Polk monitor 30 bass/mid driver is not considered highly damped so the bass should not be slow even on axa35. If you like really fast start/stop kinda bass especially if you like EDM look into the class D like the NAD 368 or 3045/ I know it's a little more however it might be worth it for you. Just remember most Class Ds will sound quicker in the bass but has less "perceived" extension.
@@Hifyed Thank you again. I've always wanted a NAD amp so I might give one of them a try.
@@seano51 No problem! Hopefully, it works out for you.
At that price you really can't expect Blutooth or any kind of DAC. It's a pure, thoroughbred stereo integrated - no frills, just solid performance.
Good review, but why use large pmc speakers
Thank you! We just want to try and keep using using the same speakers as a controlled variable. We picked PMC for their studio nature and I know these speakers very well. This way I can differentiate what the speaker is doing compared to the electronics hooked up.
Hi
Thanks for the video
I am using axa 35 with Cambridge audio sx70 floor standing speakers.
Could you please suggest me some of floor standing speakers for AXA 35
Thank you
No problem! What are you sonically looking for that you are not getting out of your sx70?
@@Hifyed hi actually I have a doubt that whether sx70 is compatible with axa35 and my music source is LG V20 phone via 3.5mm to RCA. I play hi-res audio files and I am not sure that I am getting the exact sonic effect on my speakers and those are used speakers. Generally asking about the treble, bass and clarity
Thanks
Ebin
@@ebinkaraparambil9947 The SX70 matches well with the axa35. A problem could be your source and not the speakers(unless they are defective). I would recommend if you even have an old decent CD Player or if you can borrow a DAC. When you use 3.5 to RCA you are using a high-level output which can cause a list of problems soundwise. If you are going to use it try setting the volume to 90% on the phone or before distortion and use the volume on your amp.
Can you hook up a subwoofer to it??
Unfortunately it does not have a pre-out. You can use the Rec out however you will end up changing the volume independently.
Thank you for the response! I ended up buying the pb1000 pro which has speaker terminal inputs so I'm happy now!!!
How would this compare to a used Azur 540/640?
I think the charging port is there to power a dac not for your phone ;)
Thank you for adding that! Although the port was was also in mind to use a phone who wants to do that anyways 😉
I have a 540! I would still take the 540.
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Very strange to test a 35 watt amp with speakers it isn't capable of driving.
Show the amp!!!
Bad presentation you dont to use bad language to get your point across
bluetooth my @&$