Convenience has become a much more acceptable concept in hi-fi these days. No longer shorthand for compromise, its importance for modern listeners has instead inspired whole lines of products — and the impressive Cambridge Audio Evo range is one of the most impressive among them.
Initially made up of a couple of just-add-speakers streaming amplifiers and an all-in-one player, the line up has offered a great solution for anyone looking to simplify their setup since its launch five years ago.
Last year, Cambridge retired the lesser powered of the two streaming amps — the Evo 75 — leaving the reconfigured Evo 150 SE and the also-includes-speaker Cambridge Evo One holding the fort on their own… until now.
Cambridge recently unveiled the Evo 300, a brand new range-topping stereo streaming amp, promising to be twice as powerful and, the brand says, a “real step up” from last year’s Evo 150 SE in “pretty much every way”. I got to hear it at this year’s High End Vienna hi-fi show, and we deemed it good enough to win one of TechRadar’s High End Vienna Best in Show awards.
As much as I love the fun of system matching with hi-fi separates, it can be expensive and time consuming, so there’s a lot to be said for a the simplicity of a streaming amp — particularly one that is claiming a hefty output of 300 watts per channel of Class D amplification, all wrapped up in a seriously stylish design.
You even get to choose from interchangeable side panels for the Evo 300’s black aluminum body, with the option of a traditional real-wood finish or a more modern black slatted look. I’m partial to the wood look myself.
The Evo 300 is like a slightly stretched out version of the Evo 150 SE, measuring just a couple of inches wider. This means it also features the brand’s largest screen at 7.8 inches, which is an OLED that looks as bright and crisp as ever. This shows any changes to volume and input as they happen, but also displays album artwork or a choice of digital VU meters, if you prefer.
The same incredibly tactile dual-concentric control dial from the 150 SE sits along the front panel, for adjusting volume and choosing input, plus there’s a front-mounted 6.35mm headphone output and a handful of playback controls just to the right of the display.
While Cambridge told me that it’s managed to squeeze even more power from the same Hypex NCOREx amplification modules as the 150 SE, the company’s flagship streaming amp has had a DAC upgrade, with the improved 32-bit ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M now on board to support playback of just about any Hi-Res Audio you can throw at it.
It also now features a dual-mono layout under the hood, for maximum channel separation, and improved stereo imaging, alongside a balanced pre-amplifier stage. Plus there’s now the addition of HDMI eARC for the most up-to-date connection for your TV, and flexibility with independent volume and subwoofer controls.
These join the things we loved from the 150 SE, such as dual speaker outputs, optical, RCA and balanced XLR inputs, and a moving magnet phono stage for hooking up a turntable.
Comprehensive streaming support is of course offered via Cambridge Audio’s excellent StreamMagic platform, which includes Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Qobuz Connect, plus you can use AirPlay 2, Google Cast, and Bluetooth 5.4. It’s also Roon Ready for multiroom support with other Roon-compatible devices.
All of this points to a seriously capable centrepiece in a serious hi-fi system — particularly considering the much more powerful speakers it can now be paired with.
I got to listen to the Evo 300 hooked up to a pair of Dynaudio Contour Legacy floorstanders — which really aren’t messing around at $14,000 / £10,000 / AU$20,000 per pair. But the Evo 300 takes them in its stride, with a confident, full-bodied presentation, and volume to spare.
From a brief first listen, it’s easy for the power and scale that this relatively compact single box is capable of to be the main takeaway. Streaming from Spotify Lossless, the Evo 300 delivers an incredibly expansive and spacious sound, with a solid stereo image and good separation.
But the level of insight, clarity and detail retrieval also feels notable here. Combined with Cambridge’s reputation for musicality and what appears to be a more refined tonal balance — even at high volume levels — it all means that, on first impressions, the Evo 300 certainly sounds to be the substantial step up it is promising to be.
Of course, trade show demos offer far from perfect conditions for a truly critical appraisal of sound, so I’m very much looking forward to seeing how it performs in the real world.
The Cambridge Evo 300 is very much priced for its capabilities though, so at $3,999 / £3,499 / AU$6,399, you’re going to want to make sure your space or gear can really make use of these beefier specs before you invest.
If not, the Cambridge 150 SE remains a great option for just-add-speakers convenience, and at almost half the price in the UK and Australia (£1,999 / $3,299 / AU$3,849). In the US, the price is bizarrely close between the two models, though the Evo 150 SE often falls to $2,699.
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