Archive for March, 2011

Cambridge Audio Azur

Price: £180

Rating: 9.6/10

With Cambridge Audio you can be pretty sure that you’ll get good value for money and this is definitely no exception. With a price of less than £200 you could easily be forgiven for thinking that you don’t get much for that price. Not so with the Cambridge Audio Azur 340A, the performance styling, and build quality contradict it’s somewhat embarrassing price tag.

It’s fair comment to say that the bass output will leave your foundations intact, although the bass itself is excellent if not thunderous. The midrange and treble is beautifully smooth and controlled, and exempt from any harshness. It’s also incredibly fast and agile for this sort of budget, but still packs a punch when necessary. It has an uncanny knack for capturing the sublime with levels of delicacy that is unknown at this price. You’d have to spend a lot more money to get anything like an improvement with this Cambridge. The criticism that could be aimed at the Azur is the lightness of the bass, but with careful system matching this should be no problem.

A thrilling presentation make the Azur very hard to beat, with few if any in this price range to give it a run for its money, it remains exceptional value for money.

Specifications

Integrated Yes

Power output (watts)    45

Internet radio    No

Line level in      5

MM phono in   No

MC phono in    No

USB in             No

Tape loops       1

Preamp out       No

Speaker outputs           2

Tone controls   Yes

Headphone out             Yes

Remote control             Yes

Finishes            2

Dimensions (hwd, cm) 7x43x31