Verdict
The EXN100 is more expensive than the similar CXN100 but you can see where the improvements have been made. This is a superb streamer and preamp and one of the very best options anywhere near the price.
Pros
- Superb sound quality
- Excellent selection of inputs and features
- A genuine pleasure to use
Cons
- No analogue input
- More affordable CXN100 can do many of the same things
-
CastingWireless streaming with AirPlay and Chromecast -
ConnectivityDigital inputs but not physical connections -
PreampFully functional digital preamp
Introduction
Take a quick look at the Cambridge Audio EXN100 and you could be forgiven for thinking that Cambridge Audio has taken one of their (excellent) CXN100’s, painted the centre section black and decided to charge a significant amount more money for it.
It’s the matching source to the EXA100 amplifier which I’ve already looked at and that also has a bit of an identity crisis with the more affordable CXA81 MkII amp and, for reasons I’ll cover in the review, I’ve decided to look at it on its own.
The omens that the EXN100 will be pretty decent are good too. Cambridge Audio has been making streamers for a very long time and they were one of the earliest companies to work out that, if you gave a streamer a volume control and some extra inputs, you could build a device that was able to act as the complete front end of a digital system rather than simply be attached to an integrated amplifier.
The EXN100 is part of an ongoing evolution of the idea and brings some extra features to the table to help with it. Is this a CXN100 with ideas above its station or a genuinely brilliant bit of kit in its own right?
Availability
The EXN100 is available in the UK direct from Cambridge Audio and via the nationwide chain of Richer Sounds stores for £1599. In the US, this rises only slightly to $1799 (in part, thanks to very competitive direct sales model. In Australia, this price rises to $2999 AUD.
As I shall cover, the EXN100 has a fair degree of feature overlap with the CXN100 which is still a phenomenal bit of kit and one that is available for getting on half the price of the EXN100. This is the law of diminishing returns in action and for many people, the CXN100 will be all the streamer they ever need.
Design
- Enhanced EX casework
- Larger display
- App and optional remote control
The EXN100 does look a fair bit like the CXN100 but when you actually get hands on with it, it becomes clear that it is not the same thing. The EX metalwork feels heftier than the CX equivalent and, while it is the same size, it manages to feel a fair bit more substantial at the same time.
The knurled rotary dial might seem like a small touch but it is a great deal nicer to use and interact with. Something else that has become apparent in the time the review sample has been here is that the black section in the centre of the unit really helps it to sit more happily with black devices than the CXN models do.
Something else that seems minor but really makes a difference is that the display on the EX is larger than the one on the CX. The difference on paper is tiny; 1280 x 720 on the EXN versus 1280 x 576 on the CXN but it feels rather larger in reality and the result is more vibrant and easy to read. This is not a touchscreen; Cambridge Audio prefers physical buttons alongside. Once you dial in to this approach, it works really well.
These controls are joined by a flexible combination of control app and the ability to respond to a remote handset. The Stream Magic app is now in its 4th generation and it has evolved into one of the cleanest and most satisfying control apps to use. You can set the home screen up to have the controls you need on it and nothing more and it’s impressively stable and intuitive in use.
The handset the EXN100 responds to is not supplied as standard, which at £1600 is a little disappointing but Cambridge Audio’s reasoning is that the EX amp comes with one so you won’t need two. This is fine as far as it goes but I suspect quite a few EXNs will be used on their own.
Features
- Stream Magic streaming platform
- Selection of digital inputs… but no analogue ones.
- ESS DAC for decoding
- Fixed and variable outputs
Tempting as it is to cut and paste the matching section from the CXN100 and amend it slightly, the EXN100 is slightly different to its little brother but, while it borrows some engineering and design ideas from the more expensive Edge range, it is closer in design and layout to the CXN100.
Given one of those similarities is the StreamMagic platform, this is not necessarily a bad thing. I’ve already covered that it’s stable and easy to use but it also does a great many things. As well as being able to access a local library, you get support for Spotify, Tidal (with Connect functionality for both), Qobuz and Deezer supported by AirPlay and a very good Chromecast implementation. In reality, you can get the vast majority of content to the Cambridge Audio without having to work too hard for it.
There is then a selection of digital inputs and these follow the pattern set with the CXN100 of a USB-B, optical and coaxial digital connection. For the EXN, this is joined by an HDMI eARC connection, the same as the matching amp. This is a little pointless if you own the amp but brilliant news if you don’t.
It’s a brilliant HDMI implementation too; the EXN100 will respond every time, sync and just work in a way that should be the case with every HDMI implementation but isn’t. What you don’t get is the functionality that the rather pricier Edge NQ has which means no form of analogue input which means you struggle to make the EXN100 play nicely with a turntable.
All this connectivity is sent built around an ESS ES9028Q2M DAC which can handle up to 768kHz PCM and DSD512 (or basically any file that currently exists if you want a more real world application). This is largely the same as the CXN100 but the EXN boasts revisions and improvements that are intended to eke a bit more performance from the basic design – more on that in the next section.
The last element of the EXN’s specification is an important one. You can connect it to an analogue input on an amplifier via RCA or XLR connections and it will run as a normal line level source but if you select preamp mode in Stream Magic, you can activate a 100 step volume control and connect the EXN100 directly to a power amp or active speakers.
If you have no need of analogue inputs, this is almost certainly where the functionality it offers over simpler rivals really comes into its own. As I noted in the EXA100 review, the EXN has a lot of functionality overlap with the amp and might be overkill for many people. Used on its own (or with a less well specified amp), it makes rather more sense.
Sound Quality
- Exceptional streaming performance
- Works well with TVs
- Superb preamp
One of the most important things that the EXN100 does is embody something that a few very talented digital devices I have heard in recent years do. This is a very clever and sophisticated piece of kit but, when you sit down and listen to it, none of the cleverness makes its way into the sound. Instead, the EXN100 simply sounds right in a way that’s quite tricky to describe.
What the Cambridge Audio does brilliantly is avoid putting any emphasis on any particular part of the frequency response and this means that it sounds consistently unforced and natural regardless of what you happen to be listening to at the time. The astonishing percussion workout of Svanenborg Kardyb’s Vakler is a properly potent and visceral experience with genuine depth and impact to the drumming but enough focus given to the little melody that accompanies the monstrous drumming the detail it needs.
You can then change tack completely and ask for the Sean Khan ensemble cover of John Martyn’s Solid Air and the focus is all on the superb vocal and instrumental work in the midrange and up… but this time the plucked double bass still sounds absolutely peerless. Affordable digital sources are astonishingly good these days but after a few hours with the EXN100 you’ll miss the astonishingly even handed effortlessness it offers across so many different pieces of music.
There’s something else too. This brilliance is not conditional on giving the EXN an uninterrupted feed of well recorded material. You can give it the period compressed confusion of Feeder’s Echo Park and the Cambridge Audio will deliver the anthemic intensity of We Can’t Rewind without reminding you that it has the dynamic range of a phone ringtone. That trademark Cambridge Audio ability to work with the material you want to play is integral to what the EXN100 does. It’s easy listening but done entirely right.
The addition of that HDMI socket works a charm too. I rewatched Star Trek Into Darkness (something I need few excuses to do in fairness) via the EXN100 and the Cambridge Audio is able to handle the exciting selection of space based explosions while keeping Benedict Cumberbatch sounding like Benedict Cumberbatch. It’s superbly balanced and an exceptional way of getting your TV talking to your audio system.
As to what that audio system might look like is interesting one. I did a fair amount of testing with the matching EXA100 amplifier but the EXN does rather feel like overkill for the task. Run on its own with a compact Chord Electronics TToby power amplifier into a pair of Wharfedale Super Linton speakers sounded truly exceptional and feels like a more sensible use of the EXN100s abilities. The reason why this is so effective is that the Cambridge Audio is a fantastic preamplifier. The volume ramp is beautifully judged and the sheer transparency of what it can it do means you will hear your amp and speakers with very little embellishment.
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Should you buy it?
Fabulous front end
The EXN100 can form the focus of a truly brilliant digital audio system, offering great streaming and all the extra inputs you can realistically need; very little else can match it
Precocious family
Unless you need the HDMI eARC input, it is hard to argue that the more affordable CXN100 is able to do many of the things that the EXN100 can
Final Thoughts
The EXN100 represents the latest incarnation of a formula Cambridge Audio has been working on for over a decade. The result is a product that offers sensational performance combined with all round usability that is exceptionally easy to live with
How we test
We test every music streamer we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry-standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
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Tested with real world use
FAQs
There’s no remote control supplied with the EXN100. Cambridge say they expect users to use the StreamMagic app on smartphones and tablets to control the device.
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