TWO NEW PHONO AMPLIFIERS FROM CAMBRIDGE AUDIO
UK boutique brand, Cambridge Audio is making hay while the sun shines on turntable sales.
Its bountiful audio harvest includes two thoroughly sophisticated, but nicely priced phono amps that predictably are going to make the brand much dough.
Called the Solo and the Duo, the pair is superbly finished as you’ll read and moreover, just as well presented thanks to really clever and useful features.
The Solo is a model built solely with moving magnet cartridges in mind. No bad thing since the majority of new turntable buyers will shop for an entry to mid-level vinyl spinner.
Their budget will also see these newbies opting for a moving magnet cartridge rather than a pricier moving coil model with non-user replaceable stylus assembly.
The Duo will handle both moving magnet and moving coil cartridges. It has a built-in headphone amplifier as well along with a volume control.
Cambridge has given both the Solo and the Duo a Balance control. It’s on the rear of both models and if you’re wondering why, spare a thought to the build quality of some of the beer-budget moving magnet cartridges.
The Balance control can be used to trim the difference in channel output levels. A problem that could arise with cheap ‘n cheerful cartridges.
Both new phono amps are equipped with subsonic filters.
Cambridge Audio's local distributor, Synergy Audio, have told us that they Solo and Duo will be available in February 2018, but pricing has not yet been confirmed.
Specifications
SOLO
- MAX POWER CONSUMPTION - 10W
- GAIN @ 1KHZ - 39dB
- NOMINAL OUTPUT - 300mV
- SENSITIVITY FOR NOMINAL OUTPUT - 3.35mV
- EQUIVALENT INPUT NOISE (A-WEIGHTED) - ~0.09uV
- RIAA CURVE ACCURACY - +/- 0.65dB 30Hz-20kHz
- SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO GROUNDED INPUTS REF. 1V OUTPUT (20HZ-20KHZ BW) - >90dB
- THD+N 1KHZ (20-20KHZ BW) - <0.0025%
- INPUT IMPEDANCE - 47k Ohm
- INPUT CAPACITANCE - 100pF
- OVERLOAD MARGIN - >30dB
- CROSSTALK @10KHZ - >85dB
- DIMENSIONS (H X W X D) - 48x176x132 (1.9x6.9x5.2”)
- WEIGHT - 0.68kg/1.5lbs
DUO
- MAX POWER CONSUMPTION - 10W
- CARTRIDGE SUPPORT - Moving Magnet | Moving Coil
- GAIN @ 1KHZ - MM: 39dB | MC: 60dB
- NOMINAL OUTPUT - 300mV
- SENSITIVITY FOR NOMINAL OUTPUT - MM: 3.35mV | MC: 305uV
- EQUIVALENT INPUT NOISE (A-WEIGHTED) - MM: ~0.09uV | MC: ~0.08uV
- RIAA CURVE ACCURACY - +/- 0.3dB 30Hz-50Hz
- SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO GROUNDED INPUTS REF. 1V OUTPUT (20HZ-20KHZ BW) - MM: >90dB | MC: >70dB
- THD+N 1KHZ (20-20KHZ BW) - MM: <0.0025% | MC: <0.20%
- INPUT IMPEDANCE - MM: 47k Ohms | MC: 100 Ohms
- INPUT CAPACITANCE - 100pF
- OVERLOAD MARGIN - >30dB
- CROSSTALK @ 10KHZ - MM: >85dB | MC: 75dB
- DIMENSIONS (H X W X D) - 48 x 215 x 159 mm (1.9 x 8.5 x 6.2")
- WEIGHT - 0.95kg (2.1lbs)
For more information visit Cambridge Audio.
Further reading: Turntables & Phono Amplifiers Forum
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