Champlain, N.Y. – High-end component-audio supplier Cambridge Audio is expanding its selection of networked-audio products with the launch of its first tabletop network streamer with built-in amplifier.
The $899 audiophile-oriented Minx Xi, dubbed a digital streaming music system, joins a selection of networked audio products consisting of two networked streamers without amplification and two single-chassis networked speakers.
The new product will be displayed at the CEDIA Expo.
The Minx Xi features Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Ethernet port, streaming of more than 20,000 Internet radio stations, streaming of such services as Spotify, Rhapsody and Pandora, and streaming from UPnP-enabled PCs and Macs. It also features Bluetooth to stream music from mobile devices in Bluetooth’s SBC codec and the higher quality aptX codec.
Minx Xi also connects to local audio sources via two digital inputs, three analog inputs, and two USB inputs, which also charge phones and tablets.
The device incorporates Class AB amp rated at 2×20 watts into 8 ohms and 2×27.5 watts into 4 ohms. A subwoofer output is available.
Its supports 24-bit/96kHz and 24-bit/88.2kHz playback through its Wolfson DAC, and it plays back WAV, FLAC, Apple Lossless, MP3, AAC, and OGG Vorbis files.
Like the company’s other streamers, the Minx Xi can be controlled from a supplied remote or from a Cambridge app for iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads. The app turns the streamer on and off, controls volume, and selects PC-stored songs, Internet radio stations, and streaming services.
Multiple users can simultaneously stream a different song from a PC or NAS drive to a different Minx Xi, the company said. “One person can control the Minx Xi in the bedroom to play back Nirvana while someone else controls a different Minx Xi to play back Bach,” a spokesperson explained. “Both units would be able to play back from audio stored on a single PC or NAS drive without issue, the only limitation being WiFi.”
