Cambridge Audio CXA80 – Review
By Todd Kehoe, Founder / Editor, Wax and Wire
Some gear changes how you hear music. The rare ones change how you feel silence.
Introduction & Context
When Cambridge Audio launched the CXA80, the world of hi-fi was shifting. The old guard still clung to CD players and vinyl, while the new wave was showing up with laptops, streamers, and playlists. Integrated amps were no longer just volume knobs and speaker posts — they had to be hubs.
The CXA80 was Cambridge’s answer. Eighty honest watts, a Wolfson DAC onboard, and a design that didn’t bow to nostalgia or fashion. It’s not about chasing the “flavor of the month.” It’s about building something you can live with — sleeves rolled up, ready for whatever you feed it.
Sound Quality (Musical Anchors)
Tuning / Balance
Neutral with a touch of warmth. Balanced in a way that earns your trust — honest, but not clinical.
Bass
On Massive Attack’s Angel, the low end hits with taut authority. Muscular but never sloppy. Switch to Bad Bunny’s Tití Me Preguntó and you get bass that’s agile and textured, refusing to smear across the midrange.
Midrange
The heart of the CXA80. Billie Holiday’s vocals arrive close, smoky, and unforced. On H.E.R.’s Hard Place, the voice sits forward and natural, soulful without being spotlighted. Thom Yorke’s layering on In Rainbows feels integrated, not dissected.
Treble
Miles Davis’ cymbals on Kind of Blue shimmer like candlelight — never harsh. With Hiatus Kaiyote’s Nakamarra, percussion is sharp and detailed without drifting into fatigue.
Dynamics
Micro: the whisper of brushes on a snare, the inhale before a vocal phrase. Macro: Beyoncé’s Halo swelling without crushing the room. It doesn’t flex for show — it breathes.
Soundstage & Imaging
Not a schematic, but a canvas. Rosalía’s MALAMENTE places her voice dead center, percussion spread around the room with believable energy. It creates space you can trust.
Cohesion
Everything feels of a piece. One photograph, not stitched fragments.
Build & Design
Brushed aluminum, weighty knobs, clean lines. No gimmicks, no cosplay. This isn’t jewelry for an Instagram feed. It’s a tool built for music.
The ace: Cambridge’s choice of the Wolfson WM8740 DAC. Two optical inputs, one coax, one USB. Not an afterthought, but tuned for a natural, slightly warm character — digital that doesn’t feel digital. It may not top today’s charts for resolution, but it tells you Cambridge’s philosophy: sound first, specs second.
System Synergy
The onboard DAC is more than capable for most listeners, but the amp doesn’t sulk if you add something better — it scales gracefully.
Speakers? It pairs beautifully with KEF LS50s, DALI Zensors, Wharfedales. Genres like jazz, acoustic, R&B, and layered rock thrive. Play Kendrick’s HUMBLE. and you hear the difference between slam and smear. Spin Burna Boy’s Ye and percussion drives forward, rhythm intact.
It won’t deliver nightclub rumbles, but it isn’t supposed to. This amp tells the truth, not fairy tales.
Pairings
Music
Jazz, acoustic, R&B, indie, layered rock, Afrobeat, Latin pop, and hip hop with texture over brute force.
Moment
Late-night listening in the living room, records spinning while the day winds down, or a first date where the silence between tracks does half the talking.
The Fit
Obsessive Fit: Not for those chasing ultimate transparency — but scales well in serious setups.
Enthusiast Fit: Sweet spot — honest, versatile, and refined enough for music-first audiophiles.
Everyday Fit: Strong candidate — approachable without being casual, flexible without compromise.
Lifestyle Fit: Less about frictionless convenience, more about sitting down and letting music take the wheel.
Listening Rituals & Community Connection
The CXA80 thrives in real spaces, not shrines. Shared evenings in the living room. Quiet reflection with a record spinning. A night where the drink lasts longer than the conversation.
It doesn’t demand the spotlight. It shapes the night around it.
Comparisons & Perspective
Against its successor, the CXA81, the CXA80 feels leaner, a little rawer. The 81 put on a clean shirt; the 80 kept the stubble. Compared to NAD or Marantz peers, Cambridge leans toward clarity instead of warmth. Not better, not worse — just different recipes.
Closing Reflection
The Cambridge Audio CXA80 doesn’t pander. It doesn’t kiss your ass. It just tells the truth — sometimes blunt, sometimes kind, always about the music.
It may not change how you feel silence, but it will change how you fill it.
Recognition
The Good Pour — not perfect, not polished. But the amp you reach for when the record spins, the glass is half full, and the night stretches on.
Closing Summary
Listening Snapshot
What it is: A muscular but honest British integrated with a Wolfson DAC inside.
Where it fits: Enthusiast / Everyday Fit — music-first listening, late nights, real rooms.
What it does best: Midrange honesty, natural flow, and scaling with better sources.
What to pair it with: KEF, DALI, Wharfedale — and music that lives in your world: Billie, Kendrick, Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Miles.Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.