CAMBRIDGE AUDIO STILL HAS AN EDGE AFTER 50 YEARS

Celebrating its 50th birthday this year, Cambridge Audio tells us:

Every component has been selected for its sonic merit through blind auditions – not price, specs nor measurement.

The Edge range includes three products starting with the Edge A Integrated Amplifier. Edge NQ is a Preamplifier with Network Player. Finally, the range is completed with the Edge W, a Class A/B 100w RMS Power Amplifier.

Stuart George, Managing Director, Cambridge Audio told StereoNET:

Edge has been a project of passion for Cambridge Audio. With our 50th anniversary approaching we saw an opportunity to push the boundaries of our abilities to create something truly unique, something truly inspirational. We removed all limitations during development of Edge – anything goes so long as it’s in pursuit of the best system we’ve ever made. The results speak for themselves. Edge is sublime.

Cambridge Audio says they pushed engineering boundaries to keep the signal path short across the series. Only 14 components feature in the signal path of the Edge W power amplifier. Furthermore, they have done away with capacitors altogether.

Edge is a completely new design that has taken over three years for the dedicated, nine-person, in-house engineering team to complete.

Edge builds on Cambridge Audio’s driving principles of creating products that bring the ‘Great British Sound’ – a pure, unfiltered audio experience – into the home. It also offers the company’s most accomplished system to date.

The series is named for Professor Gordon Edge, one of Cambridge Audio’s founders and inventor of the company’s first product, the P40 integrated amplifier.

Three simple principles and shared design philosophy are true to each product in the Edge range:

• Firstly, components within Edge were chosen for their ‘sonic merit’ alone. Price, specs, measurements, etc. were all disregarded in favour of what genuinely sounds best. This listen first, measure later approach resulted in the best possible sound.
• Secondly, Cambridge Audio’s engineers were fanatical in their efforts to keep the signal path short. Doing so has ensured the final sound is as pure and unfiltered as possible.
• Finally, it was imperative Edge featured a beautifully simple exterior. This was achieved through a ‘ground-up’ design process, resulting in hi-fi separates with a unique look.

Cambridge Audio's Edge range will be available later this year, however local distributor, PQ Imports has not yet confirmed pricing.

The range will also feature at many shows across Asia and Europe including the High End Show in Munich, Germany in May. StereoNET has already lined up a closer look at the range.

For more information visit Cambridge Audio.