Cambridge audio cxn v2

[girishtd8262]

I am surprised to see cxn v2 playing master on tidal Argentina.
Earlier with turkey or usa tidal all master were playing under hifi. Now master is shown as master only.v2 is not capable of playing master audio

 

[devdutta]

Is there any difference in sound quality??
Are u feeling the difference.

 

[girishtd8262]

I have changed my speakers .and amp .can't comment on this.now I like the sound quality

 

[aruns]

Dear friends... Is this a good buy even today in 2022?

 

[girishtd8262]

Dear friends... Is this a good buy even today in 2022?

Price has gone up. it's really good streamer.

 

[aruns]

Price has gone up. it's really good streamer.

Compared to New Node (2021), can you give your valuable opinion / comparison of two? Thanks...

 

[girishtd8262]

Compared to New Node (2021), can you give your valuable opinion / comparison of two? Thanks...

I have no idea about node.cxn v 2 sound is good but sometimes streammagic gives connectivity problems

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

but sometimes streammagic gives connectivity problems

My issues with StreamMagic are mostly with its user-unfriendly design (for example, who in his right mind keeps 100 radio station logos in a horizontally scrollable list?).

However, never faced connectivity issues with the app. Regular firmware updates ensure any bugs are immediately tackled. Also I find Cambridge’s support team quite responsive to complaints/requests.

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

I am surprised to see cxn v2 playing master on tidal Argentina.
Earlier with turkey or usa tidal all master were playing under hifi. Now master is shown as master only.v2 is not capable of playing master audio

It’s an old post, but the thread has got revived. Hence would like to add that CXN does not have the required decoder to unfold MQA completely. Hence even if Tidal might show MQA, you won’t get to hear the intended MQA sound in CXN. It’s a different matter that it’s highly debatable if MQA is any real improvement over FLAC (unlike hi-res). One can form their own conclusions on the subject.

https://techsupport.cambridgeaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/4411352799633-Can-the-CXN-V2-support-MQA-content-

 

[girishtd8262]

It’s an old post, but the thread has got revived. Hence would like to add that CXN does not have the required decoder to unfold MQA completely. Hence even if Tidal might show MQA, you won’t get to hear the intended MQA sound in CXN. It’s a different matter that it’s highly debatable if MQA is any real improvement over FLAC (unlike hi-res). One can form their own conclusions on the subject.

https://techsupport.cambridgeaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/4411352799633-Can-the-CXN-V2-support-MQA-content-

I would like to know is mqa decoding is by the streamer or dac .if i connect external dac to cxn and use cxn only as streamer will it play mqa.

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

I would like to know is mqa decoding is by the streamer or dac .if i connect external dac to cxn and use cxn only as streamer will it play mqa.

By the DAC. If you use a DAC that can decode MQA and bypass the CXN’s DAC, then you can listen to MQA files in all their intended glory. Cambridge Audio themselves have one such DAC. Read here:

https://techsupport.cambridgeaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/5310538815389-How-do-I-setup-my-CXN-V2-with-a-DacMagic-200M-for-MQA-Passthrough-

But why would you buy the costlier CXN if you intend bypassing its DAC? I did that mistake. Well, not exactly. I bought CXN also for its DAC and used the DAC section for two years before I outgrew the sound and went for a vintage Cambridge DAC whose sound is much more to my liking. In hindsight, I could have saved some 30-35k going for Node instead and connecting with the standalone DAC of my choice.

 

[girishtd8262]

By the DAC. If you use a DAC that can decode MQA and bypass the CXN’s DAC, then you can listen to MQA files in all their intended glory. Cambridge Audio themselves have one such DAC. Read here:

https://techsupport.cambridgeaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/5310538815389-How-do-I-setup-my-CXN-V2-with-a-DacMagic-200M-for-MQA-Passthrough-

But why would you buy the costlier CXN if you intend bypassing its DAC? I did that mistake. Well, not exactly. I bought CXN also for its DAC and used the DAC section for two years before I outgrew the sound and went for a vintage Cambridge DAC whose sound is much more to my liking. In hindsight, I could have saved some 30-35k going for Node instead and connecting with the standalone DAC of my choice.

My chain has cxn as streamer, auralic Vega dac with ps audio amp .how can I confirm that actually I am listening to mqa.
From cxn co axial out put to dac from there XLR to amp.

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

My chain has cxn as streamer, auralic Vega dac with ps audio amp .how can I confirm that actually I am listening to mqa.
From cxn co axial out put to dac from there XLR to amp.

The said DAC’s specifications page doesn’t list MQA as a streaming format, so probably you are not.

 

[girishtd8262]

The said DAC’s specifications page doesn’t list MQA as a streaming format, so probably you are not.

Thanks i got it

 

[insane79]

Price has gone up. it's really good streamer.

Prices of everything in av have shot up post covid, not only the cxn v2

 

[chander]

@sachinchavan 15865 & @girishtd8262 - instead of starting another duplicate thread, seeing that you are both owners of CXN V2, can you please guide me with your opinion on the following -
1 - Have you heard any difference using the XLR vs RCA on the CXN V2?
2 - If you have tried both, what cables are you using?

Thanks!

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

@sachinchavan 15865 & @girishtd8262 - instead of starting another duplicate thread, seeing that you are both owners of CXN V2, can you please guide me with your opinion on the following -
1 - Have you heard any difference using the XLR vs RCA on the CXN V2?
2 - If you have tried both, what cables are you using?

Thanks!

Chander, my amplifier (8200A) doesn’t have XLR inputs. So I can’t say. When I tried with (XLR-RCA) adapters, I didn’t find any improvement (expectedly so). As for RCA, I’d say the choice should be made considering the sound of your overall system. I don’t think the RCA cable that worked with CXN in one system works best in another. FWIW, I currently use SF’s Zeus RCA, but then it’s connected to my external DAC and not the CXN.

As on the RCA vs XLR, I have no first-hand knowledge, but have read that XLR is particularly useful for lengthy connections. It is also said that XLR truly helps when the internal cabling at both ends is also balanced. I don’t know if that’s the case with CXN (please check).

 

[girishtd8262]

Hi. XLR or rca doesn't make any difference when it is less than 10 ft .i have used both honestly no difference at all
But I'm using XLR cables now just for my satisfaction and my amp has XLR input.

 

[chander]

Thanks @sachinchavan 15865 @girishtd8262 for your inputs.

I have been researching on the XLR vs RCA debate and from what I can see - as always, there is no real consensus. Hence I thought to check here as CXN V2 is one of the shortlisted candidates in the upgrade path.
@sachinchavan 15865 - I have checked and read on a couple of forums that CA is fully balanced.

My biggest concern is my RCA lengths to Genelec has to be a minimum of 3 mtrs due to the placement of the gear and another speaker is just a foot away from the gear, so it will just be left plonked on the floor, so worried about RFI interference/noise etc as I have never used such long ICs.

Thanks again for your inputs.

 

[chander]

also another question to @girishtd8262 - when you changed from RCA to XLR did you have to change any settings in CXN V2 as XLR is supposed to be higher in Voltage?