Cambridge Audio CXA81 Integrated Amplifier

"Five Stars" – What Hi-fi? Magazine

"Sets a New Baseline for Integrated Amps"

Cambridge Audio's CXA81 integrated amplifier is poised, effortless, and sophisticated in its performance. Its 80-watts-per-channel power delivery give it complete authority over music, and it wrings every emotional and musical nuance from your whole collection.

Half a decade after the CX range redefined performance at its price point, Cambridge Audio decided it was time to reimagine, reengineer, and reinvigorate. The all-new CXA81 and CXA61 integrated amplifiers build on the foundations laid (and the Awards won) by CXA80 and CXA60, but with a fresh and progressive perspective.

England's What Hi-fi? magazine award the CXA81 its top rating of Five Stars in the September 2019 issue, raving that it "sets a new baseline for integrated amps… a rare product that has the ability to make us switch off our reviewing brain and simply let us be wowed by the music."

Making the Best Better

How do you take an admired and successful integrated amplifier, one that’s won respect and plaudits around the world, and make it even better? Well, if you’re a Cambridge Audio engineer, you examine every aspect of the performance, and then you do everything you can to make it ‘more’. More refined, more precise, more engrossing… more musical. The CXA81 is everything audiophiles loved about the CXA80, but more so.

Uncompromised and Uncompromising

All the research and development that’s been expended on the CXA81 has been for one reason alone: to make this the most accomplished and absorbing integrated amplifier ever offered at the price. Every component selected, and every engineering decision taken, is based entirely on the desire to progress. The CXA81 has been designed and specified without compromise, in order to deliver the complete musical picture.

The Whole Story

The CXA81 is designed to bring your music to life, no matter how it’s stored. It features an entirely new digital board, including the cutting-edge ESS Sabre ES9016 digital-to-analog convertor, which means digital audio files up to 32-bit / 384 kHz, or DSD256, are brought dramatically to life, with every detail and nuance delivered intact and in full. The CXA81 combines unparalleled accuracy with vivid musicality, without sacrificing convenience.

Power and Control

Thanks to numerous improvements and upgrades, and thanks to an overspecified toroidal transformer, the CXA81 delivers a prodigious 80 watts of power per channel. This means the CXA81 has complete authority over even the most demanding speakers, it means big dynamic shifts in music are handled with total control, and it means the whole musical picture is available no matter if you’re playing at discreet background levels or at party-time volumes.

Absolute Flexibility

The CXA81 covers all connectivity bases, giving you complete freedom of choice. As well as providing digital optical and digital coaxial inputs, it features unbalanced stereo RCA inputs alongside balanced XLR sockets. There's wireless connectivity, too, via Bluetooth’s cutting-edge aptX HD. So there’s no need to compromise on performance in the name of convenience.

Unmatched Sonic Integrity

At the heart of the CXA81 beats a completely reimagined and redesigned power amplifier stage with optimized capacitor values. The resulting sound is pristine but not clinical, with unrivalled musical coherence no matter the source.

Thanks to relentless dedication to progressive engineering, The CXA81 is a complete solution. Its combination of versatility, power and audio excellence means it can form the center of your musical experience for years to come.

Product Features

Overview

80-watts per channel with Class AB amplification for detailed and powerful audio performance
Separate, symmetrical left and right channels are carefully engineered to deliver incredible sound-staging
Balanced XLR inputs for low noise interference
High Quality DAC - Connect digital sources directly via TOSLINK and Coaxial
USB Audio Input accepting up to 32-bit / 384 kHz & DSD 256 digital files from Mac or PC
Bluetooth aptX HD built in

Connections

Analog Audio Inputs: 1x balanced XLR, 4 x RCA
Digital Audio Inputs: 1 x S/PDIF coaxial, 2 x TOSLINK optical, 1 x USB audio, Bluetooth (integrated)
Outputs: Speakers A+B, 3.5mm headphone, Preamp Output, Subwoofer Output

Compatibility

TOSLINK optical: 16/24bit 32-96kHz PCM only
S/PDIF coaxial: 16/24bit 32-192kHz PCM only
USB: audio profile 1.0/2.0 (default 2.0), up to 32bit 384kHz PCM, up to DSD256 or DoP256
Bluetooth: 4.2 A2DP/AVRCP supporting up to aptX HD (24bit 48kHz)

Box Contents

CXA81 Integrated Amplifier
Power Cable
Remote Control
3 x AAA Batteries
Control Bus Cable

Product Specs

Power Output: 80W RMS into 8 Ohms, 120W RMS into 4 Ohms
DAC: ESS Sabre ES9016K2M
Frequency Response: <5Hz– 60kHz +/-1dB
Bluetooth APTX HD Receiver Built-In
Roon Tested
Max Power Consumption: 750W
Standby Power Consumption: <0.5W
Dimensions (H X W X D): 4.5 x 16.9 x 13.4”
Weight: 19.1 lbs.

Product Warranty

Parts & Labor

2 Years | 3 Years With Registration

Cambridge Audio Warranty Information

Product Manual

	Cambridge Audio CXA81 Integrated Amplifier User Manual (PDF Format)

Best Stereo Amplifiers 2021, 2022 Award - What Hi-Fi?

"Sets a new baseline for integrated amps… a rare product that has the ability to make us switch off our reviewing brain and simply let us be wowed by the music."

- What Hi-fi? Magazine, October 2021

2022 Recommended Components - Stereophile

"The CXA81 consistently created a large, atmospheric soundstage with solid images."

"I greatly enjoyed my time exploring the CXA81. It helped me realize how much music can be had for such a low price. It knocked me flat with its ability to sound good in so many ways. It is versatile, well-made, and smartly designed. Most important, it sounds good to great. If you're in the market for an affordable integrated amplifier, this one should be on your audition list."

- Ken Micallef, Stereophile, December 24, 2020

2022 Editors’ Choice Award - The Absolute Sound

2022 High-End Audio Buyer’s Guide | Integrated Amplifiers Under $5,000 - The Absolute Sound

"...the CXA81 could be the perfect start to a system that is one step up from entry-level high end. You could begin with this unit, some inexpensive cables and speakers, and a low-cost or hand-me-down CD player (use digital-out), and have a decent-sounding system. As time goes by, you could upgrade a cable here, a pair of speakers there, add the CXN V2, and bit by bit hear the improvements, until you arrived at a truly impressive setup. The whole time the CXA81 would be keeping up with the advancements and performing well enough to pass on the increase in fidelity for each change. Highly recommended!"

- Muse Kastanovich, The Absolute Sound, December 16, 2020

"Editors’ Pick" - Forbes Magazine

"Now, let’s move on to the sound quality. After a couple of weeks of listening to the Cambridge Audio CXA 81, I have to admit I am totally smitten."

"The sound is superb with so much detail, rhythm, and pace. Paired with some fine Q Acoustics 3050i floorstanding speakers, the music sounded sublime with plenty of attack and a smooth finish. There’s plenty of bass on offer, but it never swamps the midrange or muddies the treble. The midrange sits forward and is as clear as a bell, while the treble trilled along, providing the fairly small tweeters in the Q Acoustics with plenty of detail. The soundstage was resolved in such precision, with every instrument in its place, clear vocals and a brilliantly articulated upper end. The whole sound has a warmth that even made digital sources sound like analog recordings."

"No matter what genre of music I played the CXA 81, it handled all of them superbly. Even recordings that were old or not technically brilliant, still managed to shine abd made listening to them a magical experience."

"The Cambridge Audio CXA 81 integrated amplifier is probably the best-value amplifier in its class. You’d have to pay a lot more money, or possibly opt for a power and preamp combo, to get anything that sounds close."

- Mark Sparrow, Forbes magazine, April 11, 2020

"I really enjoyed my time with Cambridge Audio’s CXA81 integrated-DAC. Its higher-resolution DAC and integrated Bluetooth receiver are welcome upgrades from Cambridge’s previous CX-series integrated-DACs, which in their five years on the market won praise for their value and performance."

"Throughout my listening, the CXA81 delivered impressive dynamics that belied its price tag, and conveyed subtle details that pulled me into the music. This attractive, affordable integrated amplifier-DAC is a must-hear for anyone who wants to put together a mid-priced, modern digital music system."

- Gordon Brockhouse, SoundStage! Simplifi, December 15, 2019