This is a major departure from my normal listening habits.
Never in my life have I owned a “home theatre” system. I’m not one for a “HT in a box”…, unless I was living in a studio apartment alone…(there is always hope). My music listening is always done in two channels, pure..no tone controls …no nothing. I dont like the signal messed with outside of an upsampling DAC in the chain.
I had been feeling a need to get some “BEEF” behind my speakers, which thrive with good wattage. I am currently enjoying a two year love affair with a pair of Tayler Acoustics Tylo Reference Monitor II’s, which is a handsome two piece setup consisting of a triangular shaped monitor on top (just like the standard Ref. monitors from Tayler, only w/a different shaped cabinet), and those sit on a bass module that has 2×8″ drivers mounted internally, and 2×10″ forward firing drivers. They are a full range, extremely articulate pair of loudspeakers, so say the least. I have been driving them the last month with a Manley Stingray 40wpc Int. Tube amp from Manley Labs. A wonderful piece of gear…, but not enough “OOMPH” to push the Taylers to concert volume and room pressurisation. So that was the first motivator. The 2nd factor…., I like watching movies. The kids like watching movies. And you just can’t beat a decent HT setup for movies at home.
I had heard some of the mid-range Cambridge gear at various showrooms over the years, and always walked away impressed by what I heard. So…it seemed logical that I could build my HT around their new 640R Receiver, keep my Taylers as the front mains…, and build the speakers for the rest of the channels (its a 7.1 channel system). Let me list some of the features of the Azur 640r and I”ll comment on them as I go…..
- 7.1 channels driven by 7 discrete amps w/their own boards and dedicated circuitry. Each little amp (Class T) is its own 100w individual power source. The amp is rated at 100wpc, an honest approach compared to those other companies that might sum this info and call it a 700wpc powerhouse. When used in pure two channel mode, the power gets “bumped’ up to 120wpc for the front mains while the rest of the amps go dark. The “.1″ sub-woofer channel can be defeated, routing that crossover information to the main pair. Very nice for a full range set of speakers as in my situation.
- More than enough digital inputs, both Toslink and Coax, accepting up to 24/96 for incoming streams. It then up-samples to 24/192 and sends it through the DAC chip (same one that is found in their $450 DAC-MAGIC external DAC). The Azur is *smart*. If its being fed a digital signal from my Squeezebox, it recognised the two channel PCM stream and goes right into two channel mode on its own. You can still simulate multi-channel…if you wanted to, but it defaults to two channel mode, which is just the way I like it. If it senses a 5.1 PCM stream, it goes right into that mode for playback (and again, there are various DSP sound modes to choose from, but I keep it straight up for movies w/little if any extra effects added in). All digital signals are subject to the DSP based tone controls (treb/bass)…if you want them. The cross-over frequency for the bass is 100hz. More like low-mid bass. Same goes for the treble, its more in the “high-mid range” bandwidth…, so adjusting either gives you more of a mid rage “warmth” than the typical extreme “happy face EQ” sound.
- Analog direct mode…., a nice thing. I have a modest turn table setup, and running the RCAs into the “aux” input of the Cambridge Azur…., and hitting the “analog direct” button will bypass the DAC and feed the analog signal directly to the amplification segment of the receiver. A nice pure approach, as it should be. There is also a “7.1 direct” mode, which you would use seperate wires for all the multi-channel information (hooking up your DVD/HD/Blue-Ray directly via its analog outputs). Doing this gives you the purest approach for multi-channel …, and the only way you can listen to multi-channel music like SACD for example. In this pure analog mode (along w/the analog direct mode), bypasses the DAC and all DSP, thus defeating any tone control or other DSP effects.
- HDMI switching. This DOES NOT up-sample, tweak or in any way change the incoming resolution of video signals, be them component, composite, S-Video or HDMI. All inputs (and you get all these flavours for every input) are routed out the main HDMI output to your monitor (TV, or what ever). It would be cool if there was a fancy video scaler in there that up-sampled to 1080p output.., but that is a reason why this is not a $2k+ HT receiver. That’s A-OK by me. all of my video signals are in High-Def any way, so a “dumb switch” is not a problem for my applications
There are many more features to this box…but most of them are fluff or not concerning to the “music listener” type. Lets get to the most important factor…how does it sound ? Like I said, I am coming from a Manley Stingray, a high-end, hand built, Class-A two channel stereo that is “high end” in every regard. Add to that the upgraded EL-84 power tubes, upgraded rectifier and preamp tubes as well, about $700 worth of new glass on top of system that already costs $2k on its own. It sounded glorious…, but I wont go into that. When I put the Cambridge in its place…, I was stunned. The added 80wpc of power of course was the most apparent upgrade in sound, as my massive Taylors were boomin’ once again, making the couch rumble and the plaster fall from the ceiling. Just the way I like it ! This box (as well as all their gear I have heard), has a classic Britannia sound to it. Its warm…, non-fatiguing …spacious and deep. The sound stage is remarkably huge and the imaging is like SOLID ROCK. Actually…., to my ear, its a sonic upgrade from the Stingray. Yea, I said that.
I found two matched pairs of PSB Alpha monitors at a local pawn shop that were in good order…, and I picked them up to use as the rear channels. I”m currently using a 3rd from my “spare set” as my center channel until I build one (feeling out my cabinetry making skills and seeing if there is a potential marriage there w/my electronic knowledge). Multi-channel info…, like watching “Lord of the Rings”…or any movie …, its spooky. I’m just not used to being shocked by unexpected sounds coming from areas of my room where no sound came before. I’m more than happy with it. The kids love it. The wife finds it easy to opporate, the remote is intuitive and simple…, what more can a guy ask for ?
I’ll be updating this entry as I listen more, take some pictures…etc. If you want to go over the official specs, visit the corporate web site. They’ve got all the fixin’s up there.
