Cambridge Audio Azur 540

Little brother steps up

By Brent Burmester

October 2005

Cambridge Audio Azur 540C CD player and 540A amplifier. $599 each.

The last Cambridge Audio CD/amp pairing I reviewed - consisting of the Azur 640C and 640A - knocked my socks off so fast I got friction burns. This time, we match up the little brothers of both units, the Azur 540C and 540A, and keep both feet well clear of the area.

The machinery

Like the 640C, the 540C CD player incorporates a fancy 24bit/192kHz DAC from Wolfson and a Sony laser. The transport and control servos are built exclusively for Cambridge Audio and the company has implemented its own data re-clocking to reduce jitter. Jitter happens when a bit of the player sending zeros and ones gets slightly out of sync with a bit receiving them, and high levels generate a harshness in sound. All these good things are installed on an acoustically damped chassis. Round the back are co-axial and optical digital outputs and an IEC socket for the mains lead, so you try out some fancy store-bought leads or make your own.

The 540A is a 50W stereo amp kitted-out with a toroidal transformer and signal paths designed to minimise distances between components. The amp features a proprietary protection circuit which checks for overloads or faults, and volume is automatically reduced if an enthusiastic user drives the amp into clipping, which is the God-awful distortion created when the amp hits its limits and shears the tops off signal peaks. The 540A possesses six line-level inputs and two tape loops. Not common at this price point is the second set of speaker outputs to drive another pair of speakers elsewhere in the house.

Both 540 models can be remotely controlled by a matching and rather cool remote control unit and are housed in good-looking and reasonably sturdy aluminium-fronted cases as seen in the 640 series.

The performance

Let's get it out of the way: the 540s are not in the same league as their not-much-dearer 640 brethren. While they're not bad, individually and as a set, they are very much overshadowed by the higher-spec units, despite the very similar designs.

The 540C is a well-resolved player, but lacks body and drive. I ran the new Gorillaz album through it and found myself wandering away from the stereo in a distracted fashion. Let me stress there isn't anything unpleasant about the 540's sound - it's just a bit ho-hum. In fact, we're a bit spoiled these days with the likes of NAD's C542 and Cambridge Audio's own 640C, budget players that show just how good CD can be, as only high-end gear could five or so years back. The 540C, by contrast, reminds me of budget CD players from any previous generation: yes, it has the fancy technology, but it lacks spirit.

The 540A fares better in comparison with its 640 counterpart. It has plenty of poke for a 50 Watter, and is admirably neutral in presentation. Transparency is not what it might be, given the stress on short signal paths in the design specification, but the sound is a long way from the grey, cardboardy stuff that used to climb out of cheap Japanese amps once upon a time. Again, however, while the amp is technically good, it plays a little too safe. The 'big' character of similarly priced NAD units may not be quite kosher, but it's fun, which stuff at this price point should be.

As a duo, the 540s work well enough together, but they give the impression of taking too much care over reproducing the notes neatly and in the right order. The vibrancy and dynamism that allows music to thrash, or soar, or flop about the place like a 400 pound jelly was in short supply. Predictably, I'm going to tell you where you can get more of this quality for a slightly higher outlay, with all the resolution and tonal accuracy you get here and then some. Yes, I'm talking about the 640C/A pairing.

The solution

When I bought my first system, I was constantly irritated by advice from reviewers to the effect that, for hardly any extra money at all, I could have so much more than the sad assemblage of boxes I could only just afford. So, if I'm having that effect on you, because you can't stretch to the 640 combo, take heart - I have two suggestions. The first is, get the 640C, the absolute star of the Azur range, and buy the 540A to go with. The 540 and 640 amps are similar in character, and if your speakers are sensitive you won't miss the added power of the larger amp.

Alternatively, buy the 640A and stick your money on one of the CD players featured in this month's comparative review of budget decks by our esteemed (steamed?) editor. You might still prefer the 540C from what you read of its nearest competitors, but there's quite a variation in the way music is presented even at this price point, so don't feel bound necessarily to a all-Cambridge line-up. The 540C does a business-like job, and is by no means a dud, but in budget gear there's always a discernible gap between performance and perfection, and there are other flavours of imperfection on offer.

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