Review: Cambridge Audio AXA35 stereo integrated amp 

What about those people saying all the front buttons went dead?

And how do you like it? What speakers are you matching with the CA?

For anyone in the future who sees this. The 315 and 316 are basically the same amp. The difference is the new low power standby circuit.

I know exactly what you're talking about. I had a store in my hometown. Used to sell vintage gear and records. There's always something ready to fail on these old electronics. Even so, that's all I've been using for the last 10 years. I've finally sold all of my "legacy" equipment and I'm ready to unbox something after a long time. I'm thinking about marrying this integrated with a pair of Klipsch 600m. Any thoughts regarding the results I might achieve? The same as you, I mainly listen to vinyl and those equipment are somewhat affordable here in Brazil...

@@madeira-de-vento I'm sure the speakers you have and this amp would serve your purpose very well although I haven't heard those speakers. I don't know how available they are in Brazil but if you could find a pair of Klipsch heresy ones you would be very happy also. I know the RPM 600 have a good reputation.

@@BartholomewSmutz Thanks for the prompt feedback!

The difference between 35w and 45w is 1 db , barely recognizable by trained ear

I'm thinking along the same lines. I wonder if the IO is better?

@@spellacy29 yes it is. All day

Did you like it? :)

@@parada Love it

I have the CXA80 and I love it. Great amps.

it's to power a DAC i think

Are you using an outboard DAC, or the internal DAC of the CXA60?

@@andrewfurst5711 I’ve a Schiit Modi Multibit. Much better to my ears.

i had 2 of those,damn sounds powerful than 50 watter..one i gave away to a niece and the other to my sister..im using Primare and Roksan amps now but respect to NADs value for money and SQ.

We don't necessarily spell the best though

Nicholas Rigg What the fuck is your problem if all you have to do is pick fault with other people you’re a waste of space

Tut, tut, language. ;-) Seriously, though: There is a fine line between a national bias in which products one chooses to review (acceptable IMO if it is not excessive -- how many German products does WhatHIFI review?), and a national bias in the actual reviews. Steve fails on neither account.

Christopher Brown hi CHRIS sorry yes Germany make som Mitty fine products and always has but if I was to list all the country’s that-do it wold take all day. Ps the ass ole I used bad language is a troll

I was under the impression this was made in china

My two 24 year old avi s2000mi integrated amplifiers biamped together, kick the Cambridge amplifiers, naim, cyrus, amplifiers into to the dust I'm afraid. They are hardly never ever on sale on the used 2nd hand market, they are as rare as hens teeth. Between the two of them together biamped, there is 350 Watts into 4 ohms and 750 Watts into 1 ohm, and 38 amps of current.

Is your Cambridge setup still working for you? Thinking about getting the CXN V2, I've heard the sound is really good.

​@@andrehbAs I mentioned before, I am really satisfied with its sound quality and highly recommend it.

@@ramin3080Good to know, thanks

Hey man, I’m also thinking of doing this but with some Q acoustics probably. Do you think the ifi Zen DAC is good enough or it needs an external like the Schiit Modi 3?

Hey! I recently modified my audio setup Monitoraudio + bluesound node 2i. I highly recommend the bluesound

The NAD is still a fantastic amp don't despair :) Just because Steve preferred the Cambridge doesn't mean that you will feel the same. I used to own that 316bee, its a kick ass little amp.

@@mag-wp6yt Thanks for sharing your opinion. I was "kind-da" squawking a bit just because Steve has always been touting that NAD amp. I actually like it a lot and got it really cheaply. Plus, it's kind of a "stop over" amp until I can save up for a Freya+ and Aegir. I bought a pair of the Zu Dirty Weekend speakers recently and am really looking forward to giving them a good "work out". I picked up the NAD to get them off o my AV receiver. Definitely an improvement. I appreciate your perspective though. Cheers!

I hope your enjoying the NAD. I am going to buy Either this AXA 35 or the NAD 316BEE. i didn't know about this amp until Steve reviewed it. The thing is my Elac bookshelves are 6 ohm speakers. The axa35 does not recommend anything under 8ohm. I might be forced to get the NAD and that's certainly not a bad thing. Any suggestions or comments on your NAD before i pull the trigger this week? Id really like to know. Thx Frank :)

Hola Frank ¿Por cuál amplificador te decidiste?

Yup, I heard a comparison back in 1976 between a 100w Pioneer receiver and a 40w Tandberg receiver and the difference was night and day - in favor of the Tandberg. My guess is that the Tandberg had a much better damping factor and greater dynamic headroom. Then again, it's possible that it was the exact opposite - the Tandberg had a "warm" sloppy bass where the Pioneer was better engineered. It's too late now to do an objective comparison, unfortunately.

I wrote a similar comment right after I saw the back of the unit. Frankly, I don't care how good it sounds. I just looked at their website and they seem to have a distinctly anti-customer approach to their offerings. It looks like least expensive preamp they offer with analog inputs is $4k. So they are willing to make a $100 mini integrated amp, which I can understand not having much in the way of inputs and outputs, but they won't sell you an analog input preamp for less than the price of a used car. I am very turned off by this company.

Maybe because the amp has no built in DAC.

It's a service port. 🤦

Have you used the tone control? It one of the best things about this amp. Just the right amount of refinement to treble and bass for different recordings. I am usually in the 0 to +4 on treble and 0 to +2 on bass ranges. It's great to be able to find that sweet spot with a quick tweak on the remote.

@Boneseyy L I found the tone controls needed a finer adjustment ability. Too heavy-handed for me.

@Boneseyy L The amp is ok, but the 6 to 9 K treble rise is a fatiguing coloration for me. Just a heads up, folks. I sent it back.

I Have the Kef Q150 and the sound with the NAD is more detailed , and less agrresive because the less amount of bass of the kef´s 150 i think that i don´t tried the sound of the AXA35

sure you can, in stereo only

Did you buy the Cambridge audio? I also have a Marantz pm5005 and I'm wondering the same thing?

Yes, I'm curious about this as well. A reply here would be much appreciated.

Me too, trying to decide. Can’t hear either in person.

Sign me on both of those.

A freq response graph shows you how loud an amp plays at each frequency but the graph does not show you what the amp sounds like at those frequencies.

@@dreamdiction That statement sounds wise, and would be if you left off the last three words.

Measuring implies you know some engineering...

​@@edwardallenthree A frequency response graph shows you how loud an amp plays at each frequency but the graph tells you NOTHING about the quality of reproduction at any of the frequencies shown on the graph.

🙄 yes because as any audiophile knows measurements and frequency reaponce charts are what any buying choice should be based on. Get real ive got a croft phono integrated and its one of the worst measuring solid state amps on the market, sure sounds like heaven though.

no

You can disable the auto turn off. While the unit is on, press and hold the power button until you see the LED flash 5 times. 5 times and it means the auto power off is disabled. If you press and hold again for a total of 10 flashes, then that means the auto turn off is enabled again.

@@svtcontour Thanks for the tip. :)

@@BanBiofuels Anytime my friend. I actually find the info not in the manual for this model but in one of the high end models and I was like what if they did the same and just didnt document it. Boom it works hah. BTW I hated that feature too! Stupid stuff. Glad it stays on now :)

The 325 is a price point above the 316 though. I've owned the 326bee beside the 316bee and sure it is definitely weightier in the bass department but has nothing to do with the newer models being interior, it's just a higher spec amp.

What amp did you choose?

I Have The Nad Too in complement with legendary KEF Q 150 Speakers and the sound is AWESOME

Buy a tube amp if you want high quality

Same here, but also considering the Music Hall A15.3

Nuno Are you considering the axc35 too?

@@CM-dw3gh no, I bought a Marantz CD6006. It sounds marvelous.

@@nunofernandes4501 the only cd6006 I can see to buy now is B stock from hyperfi. Its £229. The cd6005 is even cheaper and believe it has the same DAC chip

@@CM-dw3gh the 6006 was discontinued but for that price it's a good deal. I bought mine for €422 and still think it was worth every cent. The new 6007 costs 500.

@@nunofernandes4501 would you buy b stock though? It's like 2nd hand as far as I can tell.

So i used to have the predecessor to the AXA 35 and that's the topaz am10. I picked up an AXA 35 when it came out and I was a little concerned about that as well because I really enjoyed the built-in phone stage in the topaz. When I had it I compared it to the vaunted schiit Mani and found that it was about 95% of what the schiit mani has with the exception of a bit of clarity. However I actually liked the built-in one better in the topaz because it sounded warmer and more analog. The Mani on the other hand kind of to me made Records sound sort of CD like in the presentation. I only bring that up because I emailed cambridge Audio when the Axa 35 came out and I bought one and asked them if it's the same phono stage as the older topaz and their response was yes it is. And my experience so far with it is that the built-in phono stage in the 35 is fantastic, it has great warmth great sound stage presentation and is not overly noisy. What I mean by that is I found over time that the Mani has a tendency to really display everything that's in the groove of the record including surface noise whereas the 35 built in stage glosses over that surface noise better. Granted as I previously stated you lose a little bit of absolute resolution but I think the price of the 35 the built-in phono stage is more than acceptable and fantastic truly when paired with a budget turntable like the uturn pluto or rega p1 or project debut.

Ben Krake yes, that would be a great match. The SCHIIT Modi Uber dac would be a great fit

Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac thanks a lot mate. I’m saving up for my speakers first, then I’ll get the amp and then the DAC. At 35 watts per channel, should drive the Klipsch pretty well at 96dB. I have been looking at an Emotiva preamp and power amp set up too. 🙂

As you can see in my post I have the same transport and DAC but with a Tube Depot 8 watt kit amp and back loaded horns. I bet your system sounds sweet!

@@lynnpoole7830 The Zu's really make it all happen .. 97 db 1w/m sensitivity. Really a full sound.. better even than my vintage Sherwood S 5000 ii. Tomorrow I get back my restored Conrad Johnson PV5 Preamp so I'm anxious to hear the results..

More power isn't always better. Keep researching.