Стримеры — Cambridge Audio MXN10

The MXN10 is a half-width network music streamer from Cambridge Audio of London, part of the compact MX range. It was announced in February 2023 alongside the full-size AXN10 and went on sale in March of that year at a suggested price of GBP 449, USD 499 or EUR 499. Cambridge describes it as a discreet way to add streaming to an existing hi-fi system or a desktop setup, including older equipment without any network features. It is now discontinued.

Key specs that matter

An ESS Sabre ES9033Q chip does the digital to analogue conversion. PCM is accepted up to 32-bit and 768 kHz and DSD up to DSD512, and the file list covers ALAC, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, WMA, MP3, OGG Vorbis and the AAC, HE AAC and AAC+ variants. Cambridge quotes a frequency response of 20 Hz to 70 kHz within +0 and -1 dB, a tighter tolerance than the plus or minus 3 dB figure often used. There is one pair of unbalanced RCA line outputs and a digital pair made up of coaxial and optical sockets. The case measures 215 x 52 x 191 mm and weighs 1.2 kg, maximum power draw is 20 W and standby consumption stays below 0.5 W. Finishes are Lunar Grey and Black, with a plain aluminium fascia.

Engineering and use context

The streaming side runs on the fourth generation of the StreamMagic module, built around a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor at 1.8 GHz. The StreamMagic app handles browsing, playlists, presets and a 7-band adjustable EQ, and a later free firmware update added app volume control to both the MXN10 and AXN10. The unit supports Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect with MQA, Amazon Music, Qobuz, Deezer, internet radio, AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in, UPnP, and it carries Roon Ready certification. Local files can be played from USB mass storage or from NAS drives on the network. The network link is either 10/100 Base-T Ethernet or dual-band Wi-Fi 5 on 2.4 and 5 GHz, using two supplied antennas that also serve Bluetooth 5.0 with SBC and AAC over A2DP and AVRCP. Multiroom use is possible through Google Home, AirPlay and Roon groups.

Pairing

Cambridge names the MXW70 compact power amplifier as the partner for this streamer - both boxes share the half-width format and stack into a half-width streaming system. The MXW70 delivers 70 W per channel in stereo or 250 W when bridged to mono, and offers RCA and XLR inputs with a 12 V trigger input and pass-through. For a separate converter, the coaxial or optical output can feed a DAC such as the DacMagic 200M from the same MX range.

Alternatives

The Cambridge Audio AXN10 is the full-size streamer launched at the same time, priced at GBP 549 and sitting in the AX series of entry-level separates.