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Cambridge Audio has taken the Azur 840 series to its peak with the
introduction of two new models – the 840E pre-amplifier and 840W power
amplifier. The 840W is a high-end power amplifier that has been designed by
the same team behind the 840A and uses an evolution of Cambridge Audio’s
hugely innovative Class XD™ technology for a highly detailed naturally
musical performance. The second generation Class XD is now complemented by a
new output stage carefully adjusted to integrate with this novel technology, revised
balanced inputs for lower distortion and noise. An awesome 200W @ 8 Ohms
gives excellent load driving ability or, a truly massive 500W bridged mono
can be harnessed for even ‘difficult’ high-end speakers.
At the core of the 840W’s strength is a patent pending, Class XD (crossover
displacement) technology (first seen in the 840A) and which has been subtly
revised following continuing post-launch development and critical evaluation.
This unique design gives pure Class A operation at low levels, moving
smoothly into an enhanced version of Class B at higher levels. This system
should not be confused with Class AB, which inherently generates greater
distortion at high levels than a pure Class B design. XD technology feeds a
controlled current into the output stage actively displacing the crossover
point in a new way so that the usual Class B crossover point no longer occurs
at zero volume - the worst possible position in terms of distortion –
but at a significant output level. The result is a smooth and linear
transition between the two modes of operation, which differs significantly
from the abrupt, gain transition of a Class AB amplifier. To facilitate this,
the Azur 840W amplifier includes a massive, oversized low flux toroidal
transformer, incorporating a silicone-steel screen.
In our ongoing development of Class XD we have conducted exhaustive research
into further improvements of our amplifier designs to squeeze everything out
of this innovative technique. This in turn led to a new output stage topology
being developed which has been incorporated into the 840W. Two pairs of very
high current output transistors are used per channel (for the amplifier
output) plus an extra high current transistor per channel for the XD circuit.
The 840W can also be used in either bi-amped or bridged mono configurations.
When bi-amping, one 840W (of the pair) powers each speaker so that the
tweeters and woofers each have their own dedicated amplifier channel.
Alternatively the bridged mono mode allows the use of two 840Ws with each
configured as a 500 watt monobloc. In fact combinations of the two regimes
allow the use of one, two, four or even more 840Ws to be used, taking it to
the truly stratospheric high-end.
Also included is the latest development of Cambridge Audio’s proprietary CAP5
protection system. CAP5 (Cambridge Audio Protection 5) is an innovative and
intelligent protection system. It constantly monitors the amplifier, without
degrading signal purity, ensuring ultimate reliability. There is also
short-circuit detection and a solid-state temperature sensor with over-heat
cut out to ensure the amplifier delivers high performance.
All this proprietary engineering is housed within our low resonance,
acoustically dampened chassis which includes a 7mm thick aluminium front
panel.
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