Cambridge Evo threat to Uniti range?

If they were the Eigentakt modules then Naim need to be more worried.
The review I saw placed the Evo 150 < Cambridge CA61/Cambridge streamer in terms of SQ, so Naim can relax a little.

True, but it would have been better if they had put it in the right place, on the front!

The Evo form factor is really good to look at and so is the Linn Klimax and Nad M10. All of these catch your attention. In todays modern day with little time to listen to music, every person wants to have a simple setup that is quick to turn on, hence it catches the fancy of people.

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RS are very good on home loans.

I get on really well with my local shop… they’re always willing to lend kit and give discount :slight_smile: In fact I have a set of AE1 speakers that they loaned to me last October before the big lock-up.

Looks pretty nice i must say… i bet the HDMI input works properly too… (I am very bitter about loosing my HDMI input since the last update)

Sorry to hear that, Mark - have you spoken to Naim Support? Let me know how we can help.

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Yeah I have. I sent through my issues to Duncan. He said there was a meeting about the HDMI issue on the day he emailed me last week and he said he would let me know what the outcome was. I haven’t heard anything since. I know it takes time, but it is just frustrating not being able to use one of the only two inputs that I use.

Totally understand your frustration. Let me drop Duncan a line and I or he will get back to you ASAP.

Thanks. Although I know there is probably nothing anyone can do until the next update.

I had one of these which I sold to my brother when I upgraded. I have heard it finally died recently. Fond memories of listening to the top 40 on Radio 1.

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Going back even further, I had one of these - NAD7020 Receiver. All the goodness of a NAD3020 but with a radio.

8DEEAE90-BE67-40E4-AF46-EE7389F8AAB2_4_5005_c

Loved it.

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The EVO looks like a very interesting proposition at the price point, it will tick all the boxes for the majority of casual listeners.

Subjective listening tests will have to tell if it also sounds good, that will mostly depend on Cambridge’s implementation of the pre-amp stage, since the NCore power amp will be more or less neutral in terms of presentation. The Ncore itself will be very low noise, fast and transparent, but it will likely need a ‘musical’ source to make it sound warm and lively.

Designwise they have certainly looked with great attention to the Uniti range as well as the Lyngdorfs, the EVO almost looks like an illegitimate lovechild between the two:

plus:

equals:

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I still have a NAD 7100 that I’ll be giving to my eldest daughter with a pair of Polk floor standers as soon as this covid thing lets up a bit. Sounds very good … the receiver is sensitive, and quite an impressive MM/MC photo stage. No step up transformer required for the MC.

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I must admit, I quite like the look of the Lyngdorfs. not sure I could get on with Class D though

There are signs that Class D might very well be the most popular amplifier type in a few years, with class A/B being used increasingly less.

Class D has a lot of advantages compared to toroidal amplifiers: it’s cheaper to produce, smaller and light in weight, it’s very energy efficient so it can produce a lot of watts in a smaller package, it has a higher signal-to-noise ratio and lower distortion, as well as a higher dampening factor. Last but not least it doesn’t intrinsically ‘hum’. :innocent:

In terms of sound Class D is neutral / transparent. It doesn’t have a sound of it’s own, so it will reveal the sound of the speakers and pre-amp more, which may be desirable to some audiophile listeners as well.

A few high end brands have already moved to class D, whether Naim will follow is perhaps questionable at this stage, since linear amplifiers have really been at the core of their historical acclaim. They certainly won’t be switching over any time soon i expect. However the Muso is already built around Class D, so they are clearly not against it in principle.

Time will tell… :wink:

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I used to say that while Class D wasn’t quite there yet, it was the future. Relatively new so still leaps to be made, while Class A and B had been around for so long that any improvements would be in small increments.

It seems that now Class D is up there to compete, leaps have indeed been made like with the Purifi Eigentakt modules. But I was wrong about no leaps being possible any more in linear amplifiers, just look at the measurements and design of the Benchmark AHB2.

I think this bodes well for the future, we now have two competing technologies that will hopefully push each other to new heights.

The Benchmark is not a traditional Class A/B though with a toroidal transformer, like the Naim power amplifiers. It uses a switching power supply like Class D (in this case called Class H i believe) with a low bias Class AB output stage. So it’s more a hybrid between the two, although the output stage is indeed linear with all the advantages that it brings.

Lots of commentary about how this can’t be better but has anyone actually heard this thing yet?

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Not traditional, that’s what I said, it proves large advances are still possible.

The type of PSU is unrelated to the class, an SMPS can be used with A/B, and a linear one with class D. There’s reasons why designers choose one or the other, both have their up and downsides, and the technology might make some of those more or less relevant, but the quality of the implementation is more important than the type.

Regarding class H, the clue is in the name AHB2, they indeed use Class H next to AB. But as I understand it, class H is simply a variation on AB, it’s nothing like class D.

So I do not really see why you think it’s a hybrid between class A/B and D. I see it as an advance in AB, completely unrelated to D.

I’m not an expert BTW, so happy to be proven wrong by more technical/knowledgable members.

Most modern power amplifiers have a power and an output stage, in traditional AB designs this is fully linear using a toroidal transformer that spins electrons around. Sound in nature is linear as well, so this is a natural design choice.

Class D uses a switching power design that oscillates to produce power, this can be made much smaller and is more efficient, but is difficult to keep linear due to the nature of the oscillating design.

The Benchmark design combines this by using a switching power stage (similar to Class D) together with a linear output stage, that’s why it can be seen as a hybrid design.

It’s one of the reasons why the Benchmark amplifier itself is relatively small and light weight (15lbps / 7.5kg), when compared to for instance Naim Class AB power amps.