FIRST TEST
Cambridge Audio Evo 75
This premium just-add-speakers streaming system is a triumph of design and a real beauty – both to look at and listen to
FIRST TEST SEXCLUSIVE, IN-DEPTH VERDICTS ON THE LATEST KIT
Streaming system | £ 1799 | View offers whf.cm/Evo_75
Having spent more quality time with the Cambridge Audio Evo 75 in recent weeks than our colleagues in the past year, one thing sticks in our minds: this just-add-speakers streaming system is very good company. It doesn’t talk to us, as many products do these days, and it doesn’t make us laugh (unless we’re playing ‘Weird Al’ Yankovich through it). But it is pleasant to be around, and that’s because its design has been so well thought out.
The first evidence for this lies in its name. ‘Evo’ is a fitting one for a product that sits within a hi-fi category as progressive as this one, while the ‘75’ denotes its wattage-per-channel output. The Evo 75 is one half of Cambridge’s new two-strong Evo system offering, which includes a more extensively featured, 150W-per-channel model called – you guessed it – Evo 150.
Together, they mark Cambridge’s entrance into a burgeoning market of premium amplified streaming boxes that require only a set of speakers to form a complete system. It isn’t exactly a late debut, but it does come after those already made by the likes of Arcam, Linn, NAD and Naim.
The best of both worlds?
Of course, Cambridge has a rich history in stereo amplification, as well as an established streaming platform on which its successful music streamers are based; so do the stars align when the two come together in one machine?
Today’s streamers are expected to be as extensively furnished as an IKEA showroom, and the Evo 75 is determined not to be out-featured at this level. Cambridge’s StreamMagic platform is an inviting gateway into streaming from Tidal, Qobuz and, via DLNA, any network-stored music drives.