The vast majority of today's consumed music is served up by streaming platforms, leaving traditional hi-fi setups struggling to stay relevant. Cambridge Audio has launched a powerful multi-driver all-in-one music streamer that can also play nice with legacy gear.
Cambridge Audio says that the Evo One takes the hi-res streaming smarts and musical essence of its award-winning Evo 75 and Evo 150 streaming amplifiers. But it's built around a 700-watt Class D amp that pushes 50 W of power through each of the four 1-inch dome tweeters, four 2.24-inch cone mid-range drivers and six 2.75-inch long-throw woofers.
These drivers are positioned around the front, sides and rear for optimum all-around dispersion. And output is routed through "advanced Digital Signal Processing" for a combined effort that's said to result in "breathtaking clarity and deep controlled bass that defies the limits of the one-box form factor."
Streaming content is served up via the fourth generation of the company's StreamMagic platform, which supports Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Deezer, Qobuz , Roon Ready, UPnP and Internet Radio and enables playback at up to 32-bit/192-kHz resolution over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Listeners can also feed the system with tunes over Bluetooth 5.1, AirPlay 2 and Google Cast, and the unit is multi-room ready.
There are nine buttons to the front of the unit for controlling the show, plus a StreamMagic mobile app includes seven-band EQ for tweaking playback to personal taste, along with a number of presets and room optimization.
Should cabled gear still feature in your life, the Evo One sports HDMI eARC for connection to a big-screen TV, a moving-magnet phono stage for vinyl lovers and a line input for other analog sources. There's an optical digital input too (for your CD transport perhaps) and a USB Type-A port for music-by-thumbdrive.
All of this sonic goodness is wrapped up in a stylish chassis from award-winning designer Ged Martin that boasts a figured top made from walnut veneer, fabric-covered honeycomb grilles and a generous 6.8-inch color display panel at 1,280 x 480 pixels for displaying album artwork, track info, a clock face or virtual VU meters.
The Evo One is available now for US$1,499, which puts it in the same ball park as Naim's excellent second-generation Mu-so unit. The video below has more.
Product page: Evo One