Cambridge Audio CXN Ethernet LAN Silver digital audio streamer

DAC, ATF2 up-sampling 24-bit/384kHz, S/PDIF Coaxial, TOSLINK Optical, 30W, 3.5kg The core technology from our multi-award winning StreamMagic streaming module enables the CXN to play virtually anything, from basic compressed MP3 formats to 24-bit/192kHz studio master quality FLAC and WAV files. And do so with incredible musicality.

Its wireless playback capabilities include Internet Radio, Spotify Connect, Airplay, NAS drives and UPnP servers, and aptX Bluetooth.

Whatever input the music comes from - wired or wireless - and no matter its original resolution, the powerful digital engine inside the CXN upsamples your favourite songs to 24-bit/384kHz hi-res quality. They’re then passed via twin Wolfson WM8740 DACs in Dual Differential configuration; the result is tonal clarity, detail and an involvement with your music that will astound you.

Intuitive to use, the CXN features an exquisite 4.3” (11cm) colour display, and can also be controlled via the free Cambridge Connect App for Apple and Android devices. Browse your music by album, artist, playlist and more; it’s beautiful, simple, and an easy way to see at a glance what you’re listening to.

Harnessing the power of Cambridge Connect

The CXN is our fastest, slickest network player yet, and this is helped by the processing power of our bespoke new Cambridge Connect app. The app, which offers a new menu system plus a more graphical and intuitive interface, locates uPnP servers on your network, makes sense of the folder structure and lists content metadata, all without skipping a beat.

The CXN also supports C-BUS control, allowing power and volume to be controlled via the Cambridge Connect app. The CXN can be employed as a digital pre-amplifier, with volume control performed by the Sharc DSP; for maximum quality, this resamples at every volume step. There’s also asychronous USB (24-bit/192kHz resolution) with DSD64 playback support. Using the app to find the track you want to play, not the player, results in a faster, more satisfying user experience. We believe this switcheroo is ingenious. Before, our streaming module would have to go find the uPnP servers and serve up the file structure back to the app - a relatively slow process. In the CXN ecosystem, your smartphone or tablet app handles all the browsing, searching and finding.

Naturally file playback support is wide, with all popular codecs and wrappers supported, including WAV, FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, MP3, HE AAC and AAC+ OGG Vorbis. UPnP media playback is joined by AirPlay, Spotify Connect and Internet radio.

Built to sound better

Just as with other components in the CX series, the CXN features a low-resonance, acoustically dampened chassis, allied to a high quality power supply - and for the first time on a Cambridge network player, there’s also a high resolution, full colour TFT display, which compliments the browsing experience on the Cambridge Connect app.

Dual Differential DACs

The two Wolfson WM8740 DACs within the CXN are used in a dual differential mode. Put simply, this means we use one stereo DAC per channel. Not only does this give us terrific stereo separation, but also enables us to multiply up and convert at 24-bit 384kHz (2 x192Khz) per channel. Why do we use Wolfson WM8740 DACs? Because they sound great, of course!

Adaptive Time Filtering upsampling

The CXN employs Cambridge Audio’s proprietary 2nd Generation Adaptive Time Filtering (ATF2) upsampling technology, which is implemented in the CXN’s Analog Devices Sharc DSP. Traditionally, upsampling algorithms consider two bits of data then draw a line between; our ATF technology considers both the data and its overall shape, then interpolates where it’ll best fit the waveform. We believe this is a more accurate, realistic way of handling audio upsampling, and results in a more convincing soundstage.

Bespoke Bluetooth

If you want to use the CXN with a Bluetooth source, we offer an optional BT100 audio receiver.

From the ground up, this is an audiophile Bluetooth device. All the coding for the BT100, from the XMOS interface to the aptX implementation, is done in-house. We even include an extension cable which enables you get the best Bluetooth range.