British hi-fi maker Cambridge Audio celebrates its 50th anniversary with the release of the Edge series-- a flagship hi-fi range created following a "listen first, measure second" philosophy.
The Edge series is named after Cambridge Audio co-founder professor Gordon Edge, the inventor of the P40 integrated amplifier. It consists of 3 units, namely the Edge A integrated amplifier; Edge NQ preamplifier and network player and Edge W power amplifier. The result of 3 years of development, the series is built out of components chosen through blind listening tests, not specs or measurements.
Cambridge says it kept signal paths as short as possible-- for instance, the Edge W amplifier has just 14 components, with a DC coupled topology replacing capacitors in order to reduce distortion. The amp also features Class XA amplification with the crossover point shifted out of audible range, leading to more efficient performance than Class A. Meanwhile an opposing symmetry twin toroidal transformer design cancels stray electromagnetic interference. Power output clocks at 100W RMS into 8 Ohms for both Edge A and Edge W.
Meanwhile the Edge NQ gets an updated version of the StreamMagic streaming platform, now with built-in Chromecast, AirPlay, Spotify Connect and Bluetooth aptX HD support. The integrated amplifier also offers HDMI ARC, USB and digital and balanced/unbalanced analogue audio connectivity.
“Edge has been a project of passion for Cambridge Audio. With our fiftieth anniversary approaching we saw an opportunity to push the boundaries of our abilities to create something truly unique, something truly inspirational,” the company says. “We removed all limitations during development of Edge, anything goes so long as it’s in pursuit of the best system we’ve ever made. The results speak for themselves. Edge is sublime.”
The Edge series ships from June 2018.
