Audiophilepure

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/cambridge-audio-cxa61

It has a nicely judged tonal balance that walks that delicate path between attack and refinement. This is the kind of presentation that works well across a wide range of speakers and musical genres. There’s spaciousness here too, and the kind of outright clarity that sets a high bar for the price.

Stereo imaging is impressive, with the amp able to place sounds and instruments with precision and stability. It’s an expansive soundfield and one that’s nicely layered, provided the rest of your system is suitably talented.

Once we spend a decent amount of time listening, it becomes clear that few rivals have the resolution to challenge the CXA61. It digs up low level details with ease and renders them with care and conviction. 

This is made clear when we listen to the Olafur Arnalds set, which relies on the system having a high degree of subtlety. It’s easy for an amplifier to sound ham-fisted when playing this recording, but it’s a trap that the Cambridge avoids. Instead it is confident and composed, but never overplays its hand.Advertisementhttps://62e056be616e9b676d217e573805e5a9.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

This Cambridge is a rhythmic performer too, delivering Prince’s 3121 with verve. There’s plenty of entertainment to be had here from thumping basslines to intricately shifting rhythms with Prince’s distinctive vocals at the centre. The CXA61 ticks all the hi-fi boxes without forgetting that all the detail and tonal neutrality in the world doesn’t matter if the emotional content of the music is ignored.

Norma Audio Revo IPA-140 Integrated Amplifier

The audio industry is broadly divided into two main camps; ‘change for change’s sake’ companies that revise every product in their line-ups on a regular basis, and ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ brands who keep their products developmentally frozen for years. Norma is one of the rare exceptions, that keeps making ever better products, but doesn’t shout about it. Looking back on our review from 90 issues ago, Norma didn’t reinvent the wheel here and the sound of the Revo IPA-140 is tonally unchanged, but it builds on its strengths and strips back on its few vices still further. In other words, it’s every bit as damn good as it ever was; “if it ain’t broke, make it better!” This integrated amplifier is one of the audio world’s best-kept secrets. 

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/rotel-ra-1572mkii-integrated-amplifier-review

And that brings me to the Rotel’s streaming features, which are limited to USB-audio (excellent, but of limited flexibility) and Bluetooth (meh). An obvious advantage would be built-in wired/wireless audio streaming such as many integrated amplifiers of similar cost already include, or a standalone network music player sitting on the shelf next to the RA-1572MKII, though Rotel does not offer one. The absence of both Wi-Fi and Airplay, which Roon among many other popular music-player/integrator/distribution applications employs as a pathway of last resort along with Chromecast built-in, only exacerbates this lack. And while the snootier level of audio snobs may scoff at Apple’s AirPlay as being “only” CD-quality-capable, in my experience it works just fine for serious listening. But to be clear, the RA-1572 MKII is certified as Roon Tested, and it worked flawlessly with Roon in my system via its USB input.

http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/audio_research_reference_160s.htm

But the improvements found in the Reference 160S are not limited to the lower regions. Two further aspects stood out. First, the reorganization of the lower bits carried along the rest of the frequency ranges, no doubt because the improvements in the foundation work like a pyramid. If the bottom layer is not level and steady, what rests above it wastes precious energy trying to find its footing. Second, the Reference 160S, mated in my system with ARC’s Reference 6 SE preamplifier and Reference Phono 3 SE, really showed the advantages that come with genuine synergy of components. Each of these products has the same new capacitors and wiring changes; these are significant in isolation, but when added together they result in improvement that exceeds the sum of the parts. The preamplifier and phono stage each opened up the soundstage and better defined the space between notes. Adding the Reference 160S to the mix added pitch stability and speed, inching the sound of the combination bit by bit closer to the best that solid state has to offer, while at the same time maintaining and improving upon the bloom and grace that define ARC’s tube sound. Symphonic recordings kept getting better with the addition of each piece of ARC’s latest-generation equipment, the addition of the Reference 160S adding the powerful tone of the amp’s bottom end to the nuanced sound of the front-end components. Hearing Kleiber’s famous (and familiar) rendition of Beethoven’s Fifth [Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft 2530 516] through this amplifier convinced me that this recording, even after countless plays, still has layers of detail previously submerged and dynamics tamped down awaiting excavation.