The Edge series, from UK hifi brand Cambridge Audio, represents the culmination of 50 years of audio engineering and a completely new design, that has taken over three years for the nine-person in-house engineering team to complete. Cambridge Audio wanted to keep the signal path short across the series. Only 14 components feature in the signal path of the Edge W power amplifier, with capacitors removed altogether.

Edge features Class XA amplification technology, that shifts the crossover point out of audible range, offering the sound quality of Class A but with a more efficient performance.  An opposing symmetry twin toroidal transformer design cancels out stray electromagnetic interference. Cambridge’s proprietary streaming platform, StreamMagic, has been updated to offer improved compatibility, meaning customers will be able to stream audio from many sources, including over AirPlay, Spotify Connect and Chromecast built-in, which allows streaming from many apps, including TIDAL. Additionally, Edge supports Bluetooth aptX HD.

The new series is named after Professor Gordon Edge, one of Cambridge Audio’s founders and inventor of the company’s first product, the P40 integrated amplifier. The Edge series will be available from June and will consist of three units: Edge A (ERP: £4,500), the integrated amplifier; Edge NQ (ERP: £3,500), the preamplifier and network player; and Edge W (ERP: £2,500), the power amplifier.

“Edge has been a project of passion for Cambridge Audio. With our 50th anniversary approaching we saw an opportunity to push the boundaries of our abilities to create something truly unique, something truly inspirational. We removed all limitations during development of Edge – anything goes so long as it’s in pursuit of the best system we’ve ever made. The results speak for themselves. Edge is sublime.” Stuart George, Managing Director, Cambridge Audio.