Make way for the future....

Lyngdorf TDI 1120... another excellent “all in one option” with room perfect correction.. read the reviews .. just add speakers ... 

I’m a Cambridge Edge (their flagship line, compared favorably to Hegel H590 by Hi-Fi News) owner, as well as owning the 851n streamer/dac in another system, and I followed the release announcement of the Evo line closely.

It was fascinating to me in the way that they did it, and what they focused on. In particular, they (CA) actually led in the press release with the aesthetic value of the product, focusing prominently on the removable side panels (wood look or the textured look).

Okay, so what is interesting about that? Well because they spent comparatively LITTLE time discussing the sonic merits of the product. They mainly focused on the look and feel of the product. This is just a very different marketing approach than most companies take.

As to the sonics, they use the NCore class D modules rather than the latest and more expensive Purifi class D modules, fwiw.

It’s targeting a different demographic, with a different focus, and maybe it is the right approach. Time will tell. But the approach was very interesting to me - not in an "I’m interested in purchasing this" way (I'm not in the market for a product like this now), but in an "wow, this is a completely different marketing strategy" way

Was not familiar with that Boulder unit. I bet it is the bomb!

NAD m33 gets similar rave reviews supposedly upping the ante from prior models. I wonder how the two compare? Or the CA evo if anyone has heard one yet. Same league at least?


FWIW I own and concurrently run BEl Canto c5i integrated in my second system and the much beefier ref1000m monoblock amps in my main system. Both are very good, in the same league I would say, but the 60w/ch c5i cannot match the ref1000ms in terms of overall muscle and authority, at least in larger rooms.

Also the c5i is a true digital integrated amp like the NAD I believe whereas I run an Audio Research tube pre-amp with the ref1000m’s. The two do not sound radically different but the tube pre-amp with the Class D amps is a good pairing I would say and many agree. There is a difference, but not night and day, and both sound very good and hard to fault on their own. I am happy listening to either though the c5i and its 60 w/ch does impose some limits in terms of spl in a larger room but nothing that would matter most likely for many.

There is a nice comparison a review of three excellent streaming amps.  It is from Chris Kelly for the Ear Sept 24, 2020 where he reviews and compares the NAD M10, NAIM Unity Atom, and the Lyngdorf 1120...  

Not sure how this Cambridge unit would compare but this review is very informative.

After 50+ years of separates, many brands and many price points I moved to a simpler set up this year with a NAD M33. Sold the preamp, the two monos, the DAC, the phono stage, the laptop storage, the transport, an equaliser, a tuner, the Revox A77...

Now it’s a Rega P6, M33, a NAS, an Oppo player, wires and a pair of GoldenEar Triton Ones.
LOVE it!

It suits my trimmed down lifestyle and the fact that I’ve had my years of playing with heavy ’boxes’ and while I enjoyed it all, it's now, "been there, done that". So, I guess it depends on where you are and the depth of your pockets - it’s the future for me (what’s left of it) but maybe not for everyone.
Now I’m going to borrow a ripper and transfer the CDs to the NAS to sell the Oppo - that will take time. Happy camper.