What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
15 OCT 2004
Cambridge Audio Azur 640T
A decent piece of kit to top off the Cambridge Audio Azur range – it’s
just not the best at this price
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Cambridge’s Azur range has given budget hi-fi a much-needed kick up the posterior. Its CD players and integrated amplifiers have received glowing five-star reviews, so can the 640T continue the trend?
This DAB/FM tuner (note, there’s no MW/LW capability) is built to the same impressive standards as other components in the range, with a solid and stylish aluminium front fascia, partnered with a slimline remote. A long line of buttons flows across the unit’s front panel, providing access to preset stations, waveband selection, the LCD, and auto-tuning functions.
Natural Contours included
The rear of the 640T has analogue outputs and inputs, together with coaxial and optical digital outputs. There’s also a switch to enable or disable Cambridge’s Natural Contour Technology (NCT), which adjusts the unit’s timbre between ‘warm’ and ‘lively’ to suit each broadcast. We thought most stations sounded better with this facility switched off.
Auto-tuning is hassle-free, though the Azur did miss some channels, Kerrang and Planet Rock, that rival tuners had no problem finding.
Music is delivered in a bold and forward manner, with plenty of drive and gusto. Low-end delivery boasts a decent amount of weight and authority, while instruments and vocals are expressive and dynamic, which lends itself well to rock and pop stations such as Smash Hits.
However, compared to the best at this price, the Cambridge lacks control and composure. Tracks such as Guns’n’Roses’ Paradise City lack differentiation and separation between the various musical elements. The Azur doesn’t quite have the clarity and definition of the class-leaders.
The Cambridge Audio 640T isn’t a bad product, but it’s not quite the top tuner it aspires to be.