Cambridge Audio MXW70

Cambridge Audio’s expertise where reasonably inexpensive, high-achieving network music streamers was most recently confirmed by 2023’s MXN10. 

This half-width device delivers a full serving of performance in a compact, discreet and affordable form - a miniature hero, in other words. And now the company is back with a similarly diminutive power amplifier that wants to turn the MXN10 into a full digital-system preamplifier and/or the default choice for a desktop system - the MXW70.

At 52 x 215 x 191 the MXW70 is exactly the same size as the MXN10 it’s intended to partner. Its 70 watts of power into 8 ohms is delivered by Hypex NCORE Class D amplification that’s been specifically tuned by Cambridge Audio engineers. It has unbalanced RCA and balanced three-pin XLR inputs, and a single pair of speaker binding posts (able to accept 4mm banana plugs) as outputs, and there’s a 12v trigger input and pass-through in order to share power-switching with a connected device.

All of which means it should be the perfect partner for the already acclaimed MXN10 streamer (which is now reborn as a streaming preamp). ‘Should’, of course, is the operative word here…      

Sound quality

There’s a merciful lack of user input required in order to ensure a power amplifier is performing to its maximum. Beyond making sure it’s been powered up for a while before you start being critical, there’s absolutely nothing to it - it simply gets on with doing that thing it does.

And where the Cambridge Audio MXW70 is concerned, ‘that thing’ turns out to be gratifyingly balanced, very involving and ultimately extremely enjoyable. No matter the sort of music you like to listen to, the MXW70 gives every impression of liking it too.

Tonally it’s on the fractionally warm side of neutral - but this tilt is so mild that it’s quite easily described as a ‘trait’. Frequency response, from the bright and substantial top end to the deep and textured bottom, is even and smooth. And at every point, the Cambridge Audio reveals and carefully contextualises a huge amount of detail both broad and fine.

Which means treble sounds attack with crisp determination, while bass is varied and rapid - the MXW70 has no problem controlling the leading edge of low-frequency sounds, so rhythmic expression is both positive and naturalistic. And in between, the midrange communicates in the most articulate and unequivocal manner - if it’s information about the character, attitude and intention of a voice you crave, you’ll find this amplifier tremendously satisfying.

It’s similarly accomplished elsewhere, too. Its ability to create a large, well-defined and entirely persuasive soundstage is not to be sniffed at, and neither is its ability to track big dynamic shifts in volume or intensity without any apparent stress. It’s no less adept at identifying the more minor, but no less important, dynamics of harmonic variations in a solo instrument or unaccompanied voice.

Ultimately, the MXW70 is a breezily musical and energetic listen. As a way of bringing authentic hi-fi sound to a desktop or to a system in a place where space is at a premium, it currently stands alone.     

Living with the Cambridge Audio MXW70

Few products in all of hi-fi -land are as low-maintenance as a stereo power amplifier. It’s either switched on or off - and if it’s switched on, it’s either receiving a signal or it's not. Your interactions with your power amp should really be few and far between. 

It follows that a diminutive stereo power amplifier is even easier to live with, given that it takes up less space on whichever shelf it sits on than the more traditionally proportioned alternative. Plug it into the mains, connect it to its partnering preamplifier - and that’s really it as far as living with this power amp goes. You may have to convince yourself that the MXW70’s ‘Lunar Grey’ finish (your only option) is perhaps more decorative than it might at first seem, but otherwise this is as painless a piece of audio equipment as you’ll ever encounter.

Of course, you could try and make things more difficult for yourself. The MXW70 can be used in mono, as well as stereo, mode - and by using a couple to drive your speakers you can unlock a considerable 250 watts of bridgeable mono power. Or you could go the whole hog and drive an entire multi-channel surround sound system using a quantity of MXW70s - but even then, once they’re connected and powered up, you don’t have much to do beyond sitting back and listening.

Conclusion

It’s true that £499 spent with Cambridge Audio for the MXW70 doesn’t buy you very much stuff - not in the physical sense, anyway. But it does get you as complete, and full-scale, a sonic performance as this sort of money can currently buy from a stereo power amplifier no matter what size it is.

Listening notes

Grandaddy He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot
There’s plenty of dynamic variation in this rambling, ramshackle recording, and a huge amount of detail to be revealed by an amplifier capable of retaining it. The MXW70 does sterling work in each department.

‍Anna Meredith Nautilus
The harmonic details of the blare and rasp of this ‘orchestral banger’ (Meredith’s own description) are transmitted in full by the MXW70, and there’s almost visceral impact to the tune as a result.

‍Big Joe Williams Baby Please Don’t Go
Primitive recordings can often result in singular, and quite unpredictable, tonality - and the Cambridge Audio amp makes the rudimentary nature of this tune perfectly plain, but without sitting in judgement on it.

You buy an MXW70 because you know that size isn't everything, and because you want as rounded and high-achieving a stereo power amplifier as £499 can currently buy. And quite possibly because you take your desktop listening very, very seriously indeed.

And let's face it, your choice of half-width stereo power amplifiers is not exactly extensive - if the dimensions are the be-all and end-all for you, then there’s really only Cyrus that is competing with Cambridge Audio in the physical sense. The most recent regular-size power amplifier we’ve tested at sound-advice.online is the Linn Klimax Solo 500 monoblock - but given that you need a pair to do the same  job as the MXW70, and that a pair will set you back £47,00, it’s not, strictly speaking, a like-for-like comparison. 

The Cambridge Audio MXN10 network streamer is, of course, the obvious choice. It’s the same size, shares the same aesthetic, and can connect via 12v trigger in order to unify the power switching too. So capable is the MXW70, though, that bigger and more expensive preamplifiers are not off the menu - as long as you can live with the visual mismatch…