The UK-designed, Chinese-built Azur 851D is an upsampling processor that bumps up the digital signal to 24-bit/384kHz before converting it to analog. Last week our UPS man, whom we would recommend for canonization were such a thing within our powers, came by with an unexpected parcel: John Atkinson had forwarded to me the magazine's review loaner of Cambridge Audio's Azur 851D D/A processor ($1649), which Jon Iverson had reviewed for Stereophile's December 2014 issue.
Soon enough, our driveway will become an obstacle for the man who delivers our firewood, the man who delivers our drinking water, and our local UPS and FedEx couriers. It's November 18, and by the time you read this my family and I may be snowed in.
Audirvana to cambridge audio azur Bluetooth#
We’d like wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity to be more streamlined, but having dongles sticking out of the box is a small price to pay for its accomplished, all-round performance.Art Dudley wrote about the Azur 851D in February 2015 (Vol.38 No.2):
Audirvana to cambridge audio azur upgrade#
The Azur 851N, a natural sonic upgrade to the CXN, says all the right things, and is the ideal high-end streamer if you’re looking for a capable digital pre-amp or are after something to simply slot into your existing system. It’s an exhaustive list, although if we’re being picky we’d like to see a pair of analogue inputs onboard for hooking up older kit. There are also system connections for universal control of a multi-component Cambridge system too. Like the CXN, all the digital inputs are capable of playing hi-res files up to 24-bit/192kHz. Twin optical and coaxial inputs join a single asynchronous USB input for your laptop, and there are three standard USB sockets (one on the front, two at the rear) for connecting external hard drives and memory sticks. While the Azur really shows what it can do with a 24-bit/192kHz of Hans Zimmer’s Born In Darkness– giving it a wonderfully insightful, open and layered presentation – it doesn’t sound too compressed when fed an MP3 either the sound closes in notably, yet there’s still plenty of space and detail to enjoy.
It draws out the finer flurries of detail, and as building strings creep ever nearer to their subtle climaxes, the Cambridge proves just as capable of communicating the sweeping dynamic swings as the subtler strokes. It drives home cymbal crashes while choral vocals fill the room with power, scale and openness, and the pensive instruments that work away underneath don’t suffer for it. Striking a balance between power and delicacy, the Cambridge ensures there’s never a dull moment in John Williams’ Cadillac of the Skies.
Trumpets soar freely through the mix, and the delicate bells never have to fight for attention. In Sufjan Stevens’ Jacksonville, cascading violins, treading keyboards and lucid banjo strumming are all wonderfully textured around his exalted, tender vocals. With balance on point, there’s punch and depth down low and sparkling bite up top, with all-you-can-eat solidity fleshing out what’s a clear and articulate midrange. It’s punctual, decisive and quick on its feet with the fluctuating tempo too. Rhythmic cadence and precision comes to the fore the track’s polyrhythmic structure isn’t lost on the shrewd Cambridge as it keeps tabs on the hypnotic bass beat and jagged and melodic synth rhythms, juggling the two without compromising their close collaboration. It just about one-ups its little brother in every which way, as flagships should do, leaving you with a remarkably entertaining and versatile performer. And even with a low-res Spotify stream of Cold War Kids’ Lost That Easy, there’s a sense of isolation to the vocals and depth to the recording that isn’t palpable through the CXN. The thrashing electrics in the opening of Band of Horses’ Cigarettes, Wedding Bands that feel a little mashed together through the CXN, are more coherent through the Azur. The CXN’s muscular, full-bodied presentation, lathered in enthusiastic drive, bone-rattling punch and class-leading insight, is present in the Azur 851N, yet everything is served with extra helpings of expression and dynamic skill, not to mention extra space and openness.
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