Cambridge CXN V2 - My new audiophile streamer and internet radio - detailed review

[Deleted member 15865]

Thanks for the link!
Spotify did a brief A/B test with lossless some time back within a small group. Hope they roll it out soon. They anyway have all the source files in WAV from the artist. So keeping fingers crossed !

Spotify is preparing to launch a Hi-Fi music tier

The company is A/B testing its pricing strategy on some users

www.theverge.com

That’s great news! I’d await it. May be they are waiting for the lossless streaming market to grow to make the scale attractive enough for the to launch. But then again, once Spotify (or for that matter even Apple) launches with attractive pricing, the demand for lossless streaming would double overnight. If as you say, they already own the wav source files, what does it cost them to stream lossless? Just server space?

 

[Ashenden]

That’s great news! I’d await it. May be they are waiting for the lossless streaming market to grow to make the scale attractive enough for the to launch. But then again, once Spotify (or for that matter even Apple) launches with attractive pricing, the demand for lossless streaming would double overnight. If as you say, they already own the wav source files, what does it cost them to stream lossless? Just server space?

They collect the source file from artist in WAV or FLAC and encode it to OGG at multiple bit rates currently. With lossless they’ll have to have higher bandwidth compared to current OGG even if we assume 10% of existing users switches to lossless tier

 

[Ashenden]

But then again, once Spotify (or for that matter even Apple) launches with attractive pricing, the demand for lossless streaming would double overnight.

Moving audio/video data around is a major challenge for the internet today. A 1 hr audio CD will be around 500-600MB uncompressed vs the current 60-80MB with lossy. Also if accessed on mobile phones the connection should be robust enough to enable a good data buffer. Mobile data cost/GB in India is very less compared to elsewhere, so that too will push adoption to home users and audio enthusiasts.
Like it or not, YouTube is the largest music streaming website now. It’s very easy for them to switch over, but their priorities are set in increasing video bit rates from 4K to .......

 

[raghupb]

Nice review.
Utilize as many connectivity options as applicable.
Stop worrying about formats and codecs.
Enjoy the music.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Udit99]

Nice review

 

[rikhav]

With new update, CXN V2 becomes roon ready

 

[Deleted member 15865]

With new update, CXN V2 becomes roon ready

That’d be great news if true! Thanks @rikhav.

But when I check the Cambridge website, it still shows that the CXN V2 is not Roon ready but (is Roon tested. https://techsupport.cambridgeaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000104397-Network-Players-Roon
I doubt it can be made Roon ready retrospectively as that will need hardware changes.

Even the Roon blog posts (both June and Sep updates) say the CXN V2 is now Roon Tested. What this means is that one can play Roon on CXN V2 through Chromecast (not the same as playing it natively).

Roon Partner Update: September 2019

As our partner program continues to grow, the Roon Ready and Roon Tested offerings from our partners become even more diverse. September was one of those months that covered the whole spectrum. Fro…

blog.roonlabs.com

Roon Partner Update: July 2019

We’ve always admired the timeless nature of the audio industry – from vintage tube amps to modern streaming DACs, we’re spoiled by such a broad spectrum of gear. While it’s …

blog.roonlabs.com

Here’s the difference between Roon ready and Roon tested.

Roon Knowledge Base - Roon partner programs

In a nutshell, CXN V2 can play Roon now, but through Chromecast - which is never at the same sound quality as when played through same online source if embedded in (native to) the V2. So if you play a song directly through Tidal on V2, it will sound better than if you play the same song using your Tidal subscription, but through Roon app. That’s not too useful for audiophiles for whom sound quality is paramount, but still has value for those who don’t mind compromising on SQ a bit for the superior user experience that Roon provides.

Anyway, let me update my V2 and check what’s possible and what’s the extent of quality drop. If not huge, one can still use Roon for exploring new music, even if not for serious playback.

 

[rikhav]

Cambridge Audio Edge NQ and CXN V2 streamers get Roon update

A Roon Ready software update is now available

www.whathifi.com

This is an article published 18 hours ago so this is a new update.

Chromecast is roon ready since more the. Year. So the actual device would be now roon ready without the Chromecast support

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Ok guys, here’s the latest on this. I updated the CXN V2, took a trial of Roon and viola, @rikhav, you are right! The CXN V2 is now indeed Roon Ready (and not just Roon Tested). Looks like they already had whatever hardware it takes and just needed the two companies (Roon and CA to come to an agreement). This now makes the CXN V2 that much more valuable.



Here’s what I did further. I played the same song (and version) from Tidal through the following four methods:

1. CXN via Chromecast from Mac

2. CXN via AirPlay from Mac
(Note that both above options were possible even before this update)

3. CXN Roon Ready (from Mac)
4. CXN Roon Ready (from iPhone)
(Note that these two options are now possible after the update)

The Mac screenshot (Roon App) which allows me to select option 1, 2 , or 3 above:


The iPhone Roon app screenshot which is option 4:


I also compared the above with:
5. Playing without Roon directly through the Stream Magic App (as was possible even before the update)

Note that all the options 1 to 5 played exactly the same song and version from Tidal so exactly the same material.

Here’s the result for each option above:

1. Not surprisingly the worst (Chromecast always gives worst result). It sounded tinny and compressed
2. Airplay was significantly better than Chromecast (May be because I was playing through Apple Mac). You could hear a richer sound.

But now the fun starts:
3. Roon Ready from Mac was delightful! You could now hear the textures and the microtones, even the highs has more brilliance, and vocals depth.
4. Exactly same as 3 above - obviously because it doesn’t matter if you play Roon Ready through Mac or Phone as CXN plays it natively.

5: Now, how did Roon Ready (3 and 4) compare when played through Stream Magic using native Tidal (the mode I used to use all this while)?

I’d say both Roon Ready (I.e. options 3 & 4) and Tidal native (from Stream Magic - I.e. option 5) were equally good in sound quality - but different! The sound signatures were somewhat different. While Tidal native sounded more focused and elite, Roon Ready sounded more organic and had more reverb. But each sounded as uncompressed, detailed, rich and clear as the other. I am not sure if the qualitative difference is down to the apps involved - Roon vs Stream Magic.

But since the interface and user experience of Roon is many times better than Stream Magic, I am inclined towards buying the Roon subscription ($120 per year). Stream Magic is horrible when it comes to creating and playing your favourites, and Roon also gives suggestions to explore music closer to what you are playing. And integrates various streaming apps as well. Though one has to keep the Roon Core (Mac or PC) connected to the network while using it.

 

[rikhav]

You would have used the phone as just the controller while playing tidal via roon
The processing is done by any pc , in your case your Mac and send to your cxn which acts as a roon end point or a network end point (NAA).

 

[Deleted member 15865]

You would have used the phone as just the controller while playing tidal via roon
The processing is done by any pc , in your case your Mac and send to your cxn which acts as a roon end point or a network end point (NAA).

Rikhav, I think in options 3 and 4 when the CXN is used in Roon Ready mode, the streaming is done by the CXN directly (natively). But may be the Roon app still does some processing at the Roon Core (the Mac) although I had not activated any DSP there.

 

[rikhav]

Rikhav, I think in options 3 and 4 when the CXN is used in Roon Ready mode, the streaming is done by the CXN directly (natively). But may be the Roon app still does some processing at the Roon Core (the Mac) although I had not activated any DSP there.

With roon, the end point never does any processing.
It's always the machine used as core which does everything.
The end point just gets the data and transmits it to the dac.

You can also use the machine used as core also as end point and directly connect it to dac but using separate end point and core is how roon recommends.

Even if you did not enable any dsp, the core does all whatever is needed and sends data to end point.
In your case the cxn has become a roon end point

 

[Deleted member 15865]

With roon, the end point never does any processing.
It's always the machine used as core which does everything.
The end point just gets the data and transmits it to the dac.

If the end point (CXN V2 in this case) gets the streamed data (from the router) and transmits it to the (its own) DAC, how can the data go to the machine (MAC) for Audio processing? What is the processing you are referring to here?

 

[rikhav]

When you play anything via roon, the Mac in your case (roon core) plays file, downloads any information related to track, downloads the stream from tidal or qobuz server incase you are using those , applies any dsp if you have chosen, and sends data to your end point which talks to your dac and sends data to it to play music

 

[Deleted member 15865]

When you play anything via roon, the Mac in your case (roon core) plays file, downloads any information related to track, downloads the stream from tidal or qobuz server incase you are using those , applies any dsp if you have chosen, and sends data to your end point which talks to your dac and sends data to it to play music

I am not so sure about that. When using a Roon Ready end point, I don’t think the audio data goes from the core to the end point. The end points picks it directly from the router.

 

[rikhav]

I am not so sure about that. When using a Roon Ready end point, I don’t think the audio data goes from the core to the end point. The end points picks it directly from the router.

Then why do you need ghe core ?

I can be wrong but I think I have used roon enough to not be mistaken but still I may stand corrected

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Then why do you need ghe core ?

The Core would still organise your collection across various sources.

I can be wrong but I think I have used roon enough to not be mistaken but still I may stand corrected

Frankly, I don’t know much about Roon, so I could be wrong too. If the Core does all the processing, then what is the difference between a Roon Ready and Room Tested end point?

As per the Roon Labs link I gave in the first post, “Roon Ready Partners and Roon are each in control of what they are best at... audio is in the hands of the hardware manufacturer, and the control of the user experience in our hands.”

I wonder what that part in bold means!

The link: https://kb.roonlabs.com/Roon_partner_programs

 

[rikhav]

Roon tested is that the dac is certified by roon. What it needs to make a certain equipment roon tested I am not too sure .

When a equipment beocmes roon ready you don't need an external roon end point , the equipment works itself as an end point.

Before this update you were using the Chromecast cast part to act as roon end point .

So assume you did not have Chromecast inbuilt and now after this update the cxn acts as a roon end point as the compamy installed the required firmware into the machine

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Possibly you are right, @rikhav. As this Room knowledge base says in the Architecture chapter:

“The core is responsible for:

• Retrieving audio from files or internet services and decoding it to PCM or DSD
• Streaming PCM or DSD audio to outputs”
  
  
  Roon Knowledge Base - Architecture

 

[drkrack]

Ok guys, here’s the latest on this. I updated the CXN V2, took a trial of Roon and viola, @rikhav, you are right! The CXN V2 is now indeed Roon Ready (and not just Roon Tested). Looks like they already had whatever hardware it takes and just needed the two companies (Roon and CA to come to an agreement). This now makes the CXN V2 that much more valuable.

View attachment 44236

Here’s what I did further. I played the same song (and version) from Tidal through the following four methods:

1. CXN via Chromecast from Mac

2. CXN via AirPlay from Mac
(Note that both above options were possible even before this update)

3. CXN Roon Ready (from Mac)
4. CXN Roon Ready (from iPhone)
(Note that these two options are now possible after the update)

The Mac screenshot (Roon App) which allows me to select option 1, 2 , or 3 above:
View attachment 44237

The iPhone Roon app screenshot which is option 4:
View attachment 44238

I also compared the above with:
5. Playing without Roon directly through the Stream Magic App (as was possible even before the update)

Note that all the options 1 to 5 played exactly the same song and version from Tidal so exactly the same material.

Here’s the result for each option above:

1. Not surprisingly the worst (Chromecast always gives worst result). It sounded tinny and compressed
2. Airplay was significantly better than Chromecast (May be because I was playing through Apple Mac). You could hear a richer sound.

But now the fun starts:
3. Roon Ready from Mac was delightful! You could now hear the textures and the microtones, even the highs has more brilliance, and vocals depth.
4. Exactly same as 3 above - obviously because it doesn’t matter if you play Roon Ready through Mac or Phone as CXN plays it natively.

5: Now, how did Roon Ready (3 and 4) compare when played through Stream Magic using native Tidal (the mode I used to use all this while)?

I’d say both Roon Ready and Tidal native (from Stream Magic) were equally good in sound quality - but different! The sound signatures were somewhat different. While Tidal native sounded more focused and elite, Roon Ready sounded more organic and had more reverb. But each sounded as uncompressed, detailed, rich and clear as the other. I am not sure if the qualitative difference is down to the apps involved - Roon vs Stream Magic.

But since the interface and user experience of Roon is many times better than Stream Magic, I am inclined towards buying the Roon subscription ($120 per year). Stream Magic is horrible when it comes to creating and playing your favourites, and Room also gives suggestions to explore music closer to what you are playing. And integrates various streaming apps as well.

I don't know how much the official Roon Ready helps, but I was using Cxn V2 with Roon even before that. I could live with uncomfortable UI of stream magic instead of paying 120 USD yearly. I'm using Audirvana on PC for almost similar tasks of Playlist and Favorites creation, and Audirvana on PC can stream to Cxn v2 Streamer directly. Though the Discover Music Option isn't there, but other UI features are quite robust when compared to Roon.

In fact I chose a dedicated streamer with a decent software, instead of paying for Roon lifetime.. You always have stream magic for bit perfect playback.