Integrated Amps · Cambridge Audio

Cambridge Audio CXA81

Class-AB integrated amplifier with built-in ESS Sabre ES9016K2M DAC. Four analog inputs (3x RCA unbalanced + 1x switchable RCA/XLR balanced). Four digital inputs: 1x coaxial S/PDIF (up to 24/192 PCM), 2x TOSLINK optical (up to 24/96 PCM), 1x USB (up to 32/384 PCM and DSD256/DoP256). Bluetooth 4.2 with aptX HD (24-bit/48kHz). Two sets of speaker binding posts (A/B or A+B in parallel). Preamp output (variable RCA) and subwoofer output (low-pass filtered at ~2.5kHz, 12dB/oct). Headphone jack (3.5mm) mutes speakers when inserted. Balanced XLR input gain is 31dB vs 40dB for unbalanced. Headphone gain is 18.6dB for balanced input, ~24.6dB for unbalanced. Preamplifier output impedance 48 ohms midrange/treble, 77 ohms bass. Speaker output impedance 0.115 ohm at 20Hz–1kHz, 0.16 ohm at 20kHz. Measured clipping power: 89W into 8 ohms, 128W into 4 ohms (exceeds rated spec). USB operates in isochronous asynchronous mode; accepts 16/24-bit data at 44.1–705.6kHz via USB. Digital inputs invert absolute polarity. No phono stage included. RS-232, 12V trigger in/out, and Cambridge Control Bus ports also present. Specs extracted from web sources: https://www.soundstagesimplifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/112-cambridge-audio-cxa81-integrated-amplifier-dac, https://www.stereophile.com/content/cambridge-audio-cxa81-integrated-amplifier-measurements, https://audioappraisal.com/cambridge-audio-cxa81-integrated-amplifier-reviewed