The British manufacturer, known for its amplifiers since 1968, is moving into active speakers for the first time. Three models, from 499 to 1,999 euros a pair, and the ambition of making the living-room rack disappear.
The idea fits in one sentence: no more amp, no more DAC, no more cables trailing behind the furniture. You plug in, you stream from your phone, and that’s it. Cambridge Audio is late to this game, but with an argument few competitors can match: sixty years of in-house electronics.
The Cambridge Audio L/R S, 499 euros a pair
The most compact of the three, designed for a desk, a shelf or a bedroom. A 21 mm aluminium tweeter, a 76 mm long-throw mid/bass driver, 2 × 50 watts of Class D power. Bluetooth aptX HD, line input, optical, USB-C and a subwoofer output, but no Wi-Fi. ON-mag, which tested it, gives it 4.5 out of 5 and highlights a bass performance unusual for this size.
Cambridge Audio L/R S, photo by Percy Dean
The Cambridge Audio L/R M, 1,399 euros a pair
The living-room model. A 2.5-way design, a 28 mm Torus tweeter, two 100 mm drivers and two passive radiators, for 2 × 150 watts. It goes online with the StreamMagic Gen 4 platform, AirPlay 2 and Google Cast, and adds a phono input for your turntable and an HDMI eARC port for the TV.
The Cambridge Audio L/R X, 1,999 euros a pair
The flagship, with its 2 × 400 watts. 130 mm drivers and passive radiators tuned to 38 Hz to reach down into the bottom of the spectrum. Same connections as the M, with power reserves in a different league.
On these two models, the link between the two speakers is either via USB-C cable or wireless, using the WiSA HT protocol, and in both cases at 24-bit/96 kHz. That leaves you with just one power cable per speaker.
The 28 mm Torus tweeter, photo by Cambridge Audio
A design that embraces colour
Designed by Red Dot winner Ged Martin, the range has a look closer to industrial design than to the British hi-fi tradition. The brand’s signature “floating” base is highlighted by white LED lighting, adjustable in colour temperature and switchable off for those who prefer to keep things discreet. Six finishes are on offer: black, white, walnut, blue, green and orange. It is just about the only range on the market where the speaker isn’t a black box. Note that the real walnut finish costs extra on the M and X models.
The Cambridge Audio L/R S is available on Amazon. The L/R M and L/R X models are distributed in France by specialist retailers.
