THE LEGENDS OF ELECTRONICS: From GORDON EDGE to STAN CURTIS the history of CAMBRIDGE AUDIO.

It all started with the British invasion of American Rock'n'Roll! We are in the 60's and a new approach to youth music called Rock N Roll is born with new headliners such as the Beatles, Pink Floyd or Led zeppelin, the list is very long...

The novelty of the time consisted in a more advanced research in the instrumentation and the complexity of the arrangements. Henceforth known simply as rock music, this music added a progressive and nuanced dimension to the rhythmic. This depth of rendering demanded more from the reproduction equipment and a new generation of entrepreneurs was to come along to offer the OEM revolution both upstream for the recordings and downstream for the audiophile users. At the time, there were two schools of thought, one seeking to impress with powerful bass, while the other favoured the enhancement of midrange frequencies for presence and vocal components. It was in 1968 that an engineering duo decided to create equipment that would perform without emphasis and seek purity without accentuated artefacts. The foundations for Cambridge Audio and the 'British' sound were laid. Gordon Edge and Peter Lee. (reproduction)

1968 - 1970 The beginning. 

A trained engineer specialising in innovative designs, Gordon Edge decided with fellow engineer Peter Lee to create a high-fidelity stereo amplifier. The first product was the P40, which introduced a concept that is still in use today: the toroidal transformer to reproduce the sometimes heavy load required by rock music. The P40 was an immediate success, but it had one simple flaw, the manufacturing process was complex and prevented large scale production. The next model, the P50, would address this. At the time, the company was called Cambridge Audio, a division of Cambridge Consultant.

When asked what motivated them in the beginning Gordon Edge said, "For us it's about removing all barriers that might distort or alter the original recording and not adding anything of our own flavour. Therefore, what you heard from our products had to be pure, unfiltered sound. First P40 amp.

1971 new beginnings on a more solid basis.

Our two founders soon realised that they had created a new sensation in the burgeoning world of electronics, but they were not ready for the next step. As is often the case with start-ups, working capital was sorely lacking, so the company was invited to be acquired by Hammond & Co Ltd, who set the business up on its own and named it Cambridge Audio Ltd. A renowned engineer, Stan Curtis, was recruited and within 20 years he had made Cambridge world famous. Stan Curtis 

Stan's initial focus during the 1970s was on developing a complete range of radio amplifiers and receivers as well as a turntable and speaker range. Most of the required components were now manufactured under one roof, including printed circuit boards and aluminium enclosures. All transistors were manufactured to Cambridge specifications and even carried their own company part numbers. Each product was extensively tested after manufacture and a printed certificate of the test results came in the box for each individual unit. An unusual approach for mass-produced products...

However, it was during the 1980s that Cambridge Audio really asserted its leadership with the development of first-class CD players. The CD1 was the first CD player in the world to use two and then three different parts to form a whole. A trio consisting of a transport mechanism to ensure accurate disc rotation, a digital decoder with better-than-standard performance and a third device to calculate errors and apply a correction to the signal to be amplified. To complete the set, the amateur could buy a dedicated amplifier and a preamplifier perfectly matched to each other.

So much so that when the second generation CD2 was launched in 1986, magazine reviews were exceptional and the company found itself in the enviable position of being six months out of stock before the first unit was even delivered!

The '90s' the new digital age

In 1994, a product that is still available was born: The Dacmagic 1 followed by the Dacmagic 2, which won the prestigious "DAC Decoder of the Year" award from the trade magazine "What HIFI" in 1995. To complement the brand's high-performance CD players and digital decoders, the A1 extended dynamic range amplifiers launched in 1995 sold 200,000 units. 

Dac Magic 2

To emerge as the lion of the decade, Cambridge introduced the "Isomagic S700" in 1999, the first HDCD decoder to play the promising CDs of the time, and a Dolby Digital decoder, the V500. 

V500

From 2000 to today.

With success, Cambridge is now a full-line company for those who want high performance at a reasonable price. Cambridge has always favoured the use of robust components over complex correction circuits. For example, the use of large toroidal transformers avoids the overuse of capacitors to meet the energy demands of dynamic music. Capacitors act as small reserve batteries for an amplifier and over time they degrade, whereas a transformer remains constant. It either works or it doesn't!

The same goes for tone controls, there is no need for them, because if the rendering is pure, adding bass or treble will only falsely alter the result.

The current range

Although Cambridge nowadays offers portable Bluetooth speakers and loudspeakers, I will list here the audiophile ranges introduced since 2000.

• The regular range models. ''AX''

Originally named "Topaz", the series called "AX" since 2019 represents an above-average quality-price ratio. It is the perfect choice for those who want to learn about high fidelity.

What makes the biggest difference from its competitors is the famous transformer that ensures solid efficiency with a very low distortion rate of 0.15% 20 Hz - 20 kHz at 80% of maximum power. A sign that Cambridge is not blowing its advertised output, a 200 watt amplifier consumes 550 watts maximum. So we are talking about continuous watts and not "peak"...

• Affordable audiophile models ''CX

The "CX" series has replaced some of the Azur models that were really too broad! Yes, by now you know that the "CX" range means high performance models.

We obtain here amplifiers, dac, and CD which are completely completed with the new realities of the digital. Power, but above all precision, is the order of the day. As far as network decoders are concerned, the CXN model has won five awards of excellence from What HIFI magazine in a row. These awards are well deserved, as this product, which is used by the author of these lines, is in its second generation with major innovations too numerous to list here. (Come and see us in shop for details) Note that we have never seen as many software updates on an aftermarket product as this one, it is frankly extraordinary with about 6 updates per year !!!

The digital signals change, but your purchase is renewed, so hats off to the Brits!

• The Azur 851 range

At the time of writing we are looking forward to a replacement for this exceptional range.

The Azur 851 series is the culmination of decades of experience, years of hard work and collaboration between engineers and musicians. But it is the fanatical attention to fine tuning that creates such impeccable products. In-store selection Azur 851 and CX series

The film series.(Discontinued)

Cambridge no longer makes home cinema productions, it now concentrates on its first love, high-fidelity stereo. For the pleasure of the eye, I share some pictures of these devices now sought after by collectors...

Azur 751RAV V2

CXR200

• The EDGE 50th Anniversary audiophile series.

To celebrate their 50^e anniversary in 2018, the people of Cambridge have assembled a team of engineers and artists to create the most ambitious project in the company's history. Forget the cost. Forget the limitations. To create a system that offers layers of detail previously unheard of is highly transparent, offering an exceptional soundstage. A product that is true to the foundations of Cambridge Audio's creative innovation and entrepreneurial ambition.

In honour of one of the founders of Cambridge Audio: Gordon Edge, they have developed a set without any compromise in quality. The project lasted 3 long years, which is a lot when you already know how to design similar equipment, but the result is amazing...

A unique approach to high fidelity.

Much is owed to Cambridge, and here are two patented innovations aimed at precision reproduction.

1. The XA amplification class.

 Present in the Edge range, this amplifier configuration takes Class A/B even further. In addition to reducing crossover distortion by extending the duty cycles of the output transistors, residual distortion is moved to a level inaudible to the human ear via voltage modulation applied to the output transistors.

• Class XA moves crossover distortion away from the centre point where the amplifier output spends most of its time
• Below the transition point, the amplifier really works in pure class A without any crossover artefacts
• Above the transition point, the amplifier switches to an optimised class B with even lower distortion than is possible with class AB
• Although it generates less heat than a Class A, the Cambridge XD system still consumes more energy than a Class B.

2. Digital audio oversampling.

The Cambridge Audio engineers responsible for developing digital audio processors, determined that taking a lower signal and making it more accurate by raising each of the audible components to a level of 24-bit 384 kHz (a CD runs at 16-bit 44.1 kHz). Raising the clock to this level reduces to zero the fluctuations (Jitter) that distort the sound. In simple terms, the nuances are preserved without any other distracting components to the ear. A CD or even an MP-3 sounds better on Cambridge equipment. Several Cambridge products using digital processing exploit this process...

Personal recommendation: A Deezer premium subscription played through a Cambridge DAC sounds literally better than a CD!

The last word.

As in many industries, some shine brighter than others. Far from being a shooting star in the audio entertainment firmament, Cambridge has been able to progress and build on its acquired knowledge. Quebec has long embraced the brand that represents the precise and nuanced British sound that is the hallmark of its second-generation rock music invaders. Many pioneering bands were discovered here before they were discovered in the rest of America...

 Few companies retain their artisanal spirit after 50 years of existence: Cambridge Audio.

Stay tuned!

- Christian. Silver CX and Paradigm Prestige Speaker Package