Cambridge Audio CXN100 Streamer Vs Eversolo DMP-A6 (and FiiO R9)

[Music] the new cxn 100 streamer from Cambridge audio is going to be a popular product no doubt so I wanted to do an a Tob comparison with the ever solo DMP A6 which is also currently a very popular product but can we say that one of them is a winner the price is £900 $1,100 or ,50 for the cxm 100 and for the ever Solo £760 or 8 $160 or Euros this cxm 100 replaces the outgoing cxn version 2 which I used to own both of them come in a lunar gray finish I think Cambridge audio were offering a black limited edition finish I'm not quite sure why they don't offer that as standard because it seems to me most people's Hi-Fi is black but answers on the postcard with that one panel Gap fit of the ever solo is marginally better than the Cambridge audio when you run your finger across the panel gaps the ever solo is made out of a nice slabbed aluminum case on all sides with cutout logos that have been milled into the aluminum and the cxn 100 is made out of a front aluminium face plate and then this ply metal wraparound case so certainly on build quality the ever solo has it neither of these units come with remote controls which may be a frustration to some although I would say you can actually buy them as an aftermarket add-on but to go over quickly the use cases of these to the uninitiated the first use case could be as a streaming preamp using the onboard Dack and single-ended RCA or balanced XLR analog outputs and the front volume control in use with a power amplifier or you can use them conventionally as streamers with with a fixed full volume output to a preamp or integrated amplifier and using the same connections or alternatively you could use them purely as a digital transport to another deck so improving the Dack in these units and using their own digital outputs the cxm 100 uses an ESS 9028 q2m DAC chip in a single stereo configur figuration whereas the ever solo uses two ESS 9038 q2m da chips in dual mono configuration which means one per Channel both of these streamers offer PCM audio rates up to 768 khz 32bit and DSD 512 we cannot I don't think give much truck to the different da chips being used to imply that one should sound better than the other because obviously Lots comes down to the analog output stage and the power supply and on the subject of dual Dax how well these streamers deal with cross talk but on the issue of audio quality the Cambridge audio doesn't upsample its analog and so Optical and coax digital outputs whereas the ever solo does on the same digital outputs but additionally it has a USB digital output up to 768 khz 32bit debates aside about whether upsampling actually matters if you decide to upgrade your Dack at a later stage and use the digital outputs of either of these streamers then having that ability of an upsample signal that just works better with some other dacks as I sometimes find in my reviews obviously there's going to be a benefit there the cxm 100 can be used us as a quazi server with its usba input which is on its rear back panel Cambridge audio moved the socket from the front on the version two to the rear on this cxm 100 ever Solo in contrast has the capability to use on the DMP A6 a mvme m.2 lose my voice solid state drive up to 4 terabytes I think they improved it from 2 terabytes to 4 terb capability with an update but Cambridge audio say on their support pages that you could experience cataloging issues in using large USB drives due to memory constraints so I think on paper given the differences in the drives that are available to be used with these two streamers the ever solo has it so far as use as a proper server that's said though I didn't experience cataloging issues myself because my library is relatively small and additionally I don't know the processing specs between these units because whilst ever solo State the specs of the processor used in the DMP A6 I don't think Cambridge audio do from there available online resources both of these streamers have coax and optical digital inputs adding additional digital sources there's no HDMI ARC which might be a frustration to some the ever solo has a USBC digital input which is unusual but that adds to connection to the plethora of USBC sources that there are nowadays this contrasts the Cambridge having a usbb input for connection to PCS and Macs acts as a slave obviously you need to add Windows drivers if you're going to be using a Windows PC the ever solo has a usba OTG socket that's used for transferring music from the solid state drive to a PC or Mac or you can use it in the other direction much like the Cambridge as a USB music drive and so when you look at all of this they're pretty evenly match so far as connections are concerned I would reiterate though that I'm disappointed that the came Bridge doesn't have a USB digital output for connection to a Dack because I think there are some terrific dacks nowadays over USB in use I did find myself noticing that the display brightness and the vividity of the colors of the ever solo is much better than this cxm 100 Cambridge audio actually improved the display from the version two to this one the version two had a very grainy blocky display but the ever solo is like an iPhone screen and the Cambridge is sort of like an older smartphone type screen of about I don't know six or seven years ago the colors are slightly washed out with the Cambridge and you can tell there's not as high a dynamic range it's a bit of a shame really because I don't know for the life of me why the Cambridge audio Engineers didn't go out find out the parts used in the ever solo and simply put them into the Cambridge this is such an important part of the overall use and Aesthetics of the product and something that a consumer is going to see for what is I would have thought quite limited additional cost the dmpa 6 has a bigger screen in what is a smaller case so it takes up less real estate in your rack that's quite a smart thing to do but it means that you can read it easier from Fairly standard couch listening distance es to your Hi-Fi system if you select the text display option of the evera you can see album information very clearly if you press the I button information button on the front of the Cambridge audio it changes the display but you don't get a choice over the size of the text so all of this makes it the case that the people that have designed this ever solo have clearly put more into the user experience the ever solo is seamless in switching from content and sources so whether it's DN Rune AirPlay for example as is the Cambridge I should say but I actually had issues for about 2 to three hours when I first started using this Cambridge in terms of being able to find it in Rune so whilst the ever solo was easily viewable and selectable in Rune this Cambridge wasn't and that went on for some time and obviously that's indicative of they not being a problem with my network but the player itself also I had issues when I was trying to Ru or AirPlay content to the Cambridge where it was playing that content but its own stream Magic app which is the proprietary app you get with this unit that app was still trying to find the unit they both have Spotify connect tidal connect and are mqa capable also AirPlay 2 and Rune ready whilst the cxm 100 is chomecast supported the ever solo Isn't So conceivably that could be a deal breaker additionally both can deal with Bluetooth and both have internet radio but the cxm 100 has tidal quas and diesa built into it stream Magic app for Native bit perfect streaming whereas the ever solo has tidal built into its own app for similar bit perfect native streaming and additionally if you load up other services you do so via the ever Solo's Android operating system which crucially means using ever Solo's EOS audio engine that you can avoid Android down version of audio streams this basically means that the ever solo gives you access to way more services at bit perfect native form you might be thinking well I don't like logging into streamers as if I'm logging in on a phone because I'm a bit of a technophobe or that you're not going to be using the touchpad of the ever solo because you're not going to be using it at your rack obviously these issues are circum invented by the cast feature in the ever solo app where the screen and touching ability of the screen is essentially mirr if you don't use it that way then you can use the conventional browse and Playback features of the ever solo app but it's important to stress the Cambridge cxm 100 screen isn't of a touchpad type and you're also restricted in the sense that you only get the stream Magic app out of the box so to speak so far as tidle is concerned both of these streamers support the newer 2448 to 24192 Tidal highres Flack files which you can play back via tidal connect or from these streamers own individual apps but additionally in Rune because remember both of these streamers are Rune ready in the Cambridge the sample and bit rates are shown in the display for these file types but additionally for the ever solo you get the same information and if it's a 1 192 file Max flat comes up in the display I think this is much like on phones where you see the text Max to show the maximum sample rates I'd challenge any opinion that states that the ever solo app is complicated to use and that the Cambridge app is the opposite or that the Cambridge is more of a a kind of streaming CD Player substitute suggesting that the Cambridge is really for those that want streaming simple because the ever solo app is just as easy to use the player is just as easy to use the unit itself and if you want to dive into more complicated features of the ever solo you can the stream Magic app is basic in my opinion and it does have some bugs with the software they're small things but sometimes a little bit annoying on the other hand in my experience and use of the ever solo app it's been bombproof and it's clear to me that ever solo are putting way more into app development and updates than Cambridge audio are which seems odd for the fact that these are streaming products and that's one of the most important areas an example of this a couple of months ago ever solo bought out a new app update you get quick access widgets from the main page so you can easily select certain streaming services there are also new album artwork type displays with rotating albums and of course the killer new feature parametric EQ and graphic EQ these features the Cambridge audio doesn't have in its app additionally there are balance controls using these streamers analog outputs into my Hegel h390 in use of my PMC speakers you notice that the ever solo has a slightly more layered and separated approach to sound than the Cambridge also it's more open and forward in its presentation as regards to treble the Cambridge on the other hand is a little bit more laid back in this area the Cambridge still excels at treble but slightly less so compared to the other solo but I'd premise this with saying that it's only when I'm playing more forward recordings do I slightly prefer the cambridge's sound assuming though I haven't turned on the ever solo EQ which by the way doesn't have any effect on sound quality because it's done in the DSP and is lossless I think that the Cambridge on the other hand has a slightly less Resolute approach to resolution such that if you're playing balance recordings it doesn't give the same visceral and as exuberant an experience as the ever solo if that makes sense the ever solo is more emotive to the cambrid is I'm not going to say unaffecting approach because the Cambridge isn't like that at all but it has a more sober sided approach to resolution relative of course Sound Stage is wider with the DMP A6 but I felt that the Cambridge audio represented Sound Stage in a higher and deeper fashion base frequencies are also more dynamically astute with the ever solo such that if you're playing something like an electronic drum machine the base frequencies seem to stretch out and return in comparison to the Cambridge audio's Fuller and slightly deader approach to Bass I also think that the ever solo is slightly the better transiently Dynamic performer of the two in another system using totem Acoustics bison Tower speakers that I've reviewed before again using my h390 a more neutral approach to base and treble I prefer the ever solo again with the EQ always off not turning it on and off depending upon the recording and how toppy the recording is the ever solo was giving a greater dynamic presentation again and More hefted in range I'd say this is no more apparent than when you try tracks like the narcotic Suite skylined by The Prodigy if you don't like The Prodigy try that track cuz if you like music that pleases an audio file system as we all like to do now and again try it because you'll be surprised it's hard to separate these streamers out on the basis of using them on analog output Duty simply because the differences are so small despite the fact I'd say that my preference is with the ever solo for both of the systems and speakers I mentioned obviously speaker preference and overall preference is going to play a part but I'd premise that comment with the fact that now ever solo have brought out EQ such issues of matching and preference are almost inconsequential because of this EQ you can't say that the Cambridge is less bright to the ever solo being more bright as you see sometimes in YouTube comments simply because of this EQ capability the DMP A6 can sound lean and even bright in certain systems whereas the blue sound node X has a distinctly warm character that means that some care needs to be taken with partner equipment I think that if you listen to both of these products in a dealer in an unfamiliar acoustic environment with alien equipment partnered with these streamers you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two of them I suspect I wouldn't so if you're after the finer differences between these two products and you want a to B them go to a dealer always that allows you to try at home before you buy or allow you to have their loan stock personally my feeling of dealers is that if they don't do that they're not actually adding any value other than being of transactional value in terms of allowing you to buy particular products so always always get it in your environment home first when you're buying pricey Electronics before you commit to buy and if dealers don't allow you to do that don't use them go to dealers that will because I'm sure wherever you are you will find dealers that do that in into an alna s9c Pro de and their matching SC1 clock I prefer the digital Co axle output of the ever Solo versus the same output connection of the Cambridge audio when using the higher audio quality output of the ever Solo's USB connection it is much easier to discern an better audible quality difference into the same Anna combo which Anna told me is to do with the that the DAC requires a higher clock frequency for more accurate processing in the dax's phase lock loop I just wanted to add a quick comment about the F R9 streamer which is just arrived I thought I'd put this in the mix in terms of sound quality I haven't done a full assessment on it yet so this isn't a full opinion obviously and I will be reviewing it in due course but against these other two streamers certainly sonically the R9 is the improver as you'd probably expect it's a lot more expensive I tried it with the matching pl50 linear power supply there is a sense of Greater ease to the music there's greater depth and transient Dynamics are better obviously this is a streamer that's meant to be used in a Hi-Fi system and perhaps more predominantly as a desk based headphone hub for your headphones and the rest of your system even if you're inclined to buy the Cambridge audio cxm 100 maybe you're a fanboy or you're just inclined to buy that brand you've still got to get over all of the other solos pluses access to more higher quality music streaming services a better improved USB audio output of higher quality less rack real estate space is needed EQ better build quality full server functionality but beyond all of that the ever solo offers better ability to interface with your music by way of its more vibrant touchpad screen and that is basically a reason to buy the ever solo because it means that you're going to use your Hi-Fi more that is essenti what we're doing listening to music it comes to none other than that if you reduce it all down but beyond all of that you're getting the ever solo at a lower price one of my subscribers said I shouldn't use the word Nob brainer but in this case I really do think I'm going to use that word because that aply describes the differences between these two products regardless of thoughts about single use cases like for instance chomecast and saying that the product isn't one to be recommended on the basis that a viewer is wanting chomecast and therefore to equalize the products out that the ever solo is somehow just as good as the Cambridge or the other way around because the Cambridge has chomecast that is to not properly review and reviewers that do that what they're trying to do is reduce products down to being equal in order that they don't have to call out products and say one product is better than another obviously there's a case for that and you can do that when products are close but I'm confident that if 100 people or a thousand people came round to my living room and went through these products in the same way that I've done for this review they'd be finding that 70 to 80% of the time they'd be recommending and buying the other solo so that's the context that you have to look at reviews and I would be very very suspicious about reviews or reviewers that seek to all the time reduce products down to being the equal flavors of ice cream it's been described as and it's total nonsense so what I'm saying is you have to look at the generality of all the features and how many boxes the ever solo ticks against the Cambridge audio so far as considering which reviewer to trust and which reviewers to use as a a basis for your short list also by looking at which reviewers to consistently offer an opinion that everything is the same this review is slightly backed up by the Andrew Robinson review who also did the ever solo cxm 100 comparison orbe it in a slightly roundabout read between the the lines type way but I think emphatically the ever solo is the better product and if anyone was asking me Simon what do I buy I would Clearly say the ever solo I just wanted to say that I've Got No Malice or motives or financial reasons to rate the ever solo More Than This Cambridge audio and if it had been the other way around I would have quite happily done it one of the reasons that I'm into reviews that people don't quite understand is that I buzz off of being honest and being the ears and eyes for people that watch reviews in a sea of reviews that is untrustworthy and where no comparisons are made and where I can add value and where I can do these comparisons and truly speak my mind I'm very very happy to do so I hope this review has been useful and thanks as ever for watching please make sure to comment like And [Music] subscribe [Music]

Channel: 13th Note HiFi Reviews

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Id: n0u-UytEj_8

Length: 25min 51sec (1551 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 30 2024