Cambridge Evo 150 SE

This is not how upgrades and pricing is supposed to work. Cambridge launched the original Evo 150 music streaming amplifier in the middle of 2021, back when it was still happy to be called ‘Cambridge Audio’ - it cost £2249. Fast-forward a little over four years and the company has made an upgrade or two to reimagine it as Evo 150 SE  - and now it sells for £1999. Some mistake, surely?

‘An upgrade or two’ is not to under- or oversell it, mind you. The Evo 150 was a winning formula, after all, and so it hasn’t undergone a great deal of revision.

The Evo 150 SE retains the original’s relatively compact form and relatively extensive specification. Which means the SE is a tidy 39 x 317 x 352mm (HxWxD) box that somehow finds room for a fistful of physical and wireless, digital and analogue inputs. There’s a moving magnet phono stage accessible via a pair of stereo RCA inputs, a line-level equivalent, and a second line-level analogue input using balanced XLRs. Digital coaxial, digital optical, Ethernet, USB-B and HDMI ARC complete the line-up of physical inputs.

Wireless alternatives come in the shape of Bluetooth 4.2 with aptX HD codec compatibility, and dual-band wi-fi. Once the 150 SE is on your local network, it’s Roon Ready and is compatible with AirPlay 2, Chromecast, the ‘Connect’ versions of Spotify and TIDAL, and will support internet radio too. 

Outputs include cable binding posts for two sets of speakers, a 3.5mm headphone socket and a pre-out for a subwoofer. There are pre-outs for use with a power amp, too, and the 150 SE’s ability as a Bluetooth transmitter (as well as receiver) means it can connect to your wireless headphones.  

The digital content is dealt with by an ESS Sabre ES9018K2M DAC (it’s good up to 32bit/284kHz and DSD256) before it’s amplified. The analogue stuff, of course, goes straight to the amplification stage - and here is the single biggest difference between this new Evo 150 SE and the model it replaces. Cambridge has been working so closely with Hypex on its NCOREx Class D amplification that in this implementation it’s branded ‘tuned by Cambridge’. Just as before, it turns out 150 watts into 8 ohms - but both companies seem confident their collaboration has resulted in Class D power that is capable of “warm, dynamic and controlled sound”.

Sound quality

When it comes to performance, the differences between the Evo 150 SE and the model it replaces are not quite as subtle as the tangible differences. It may look very much the same, but the new EVO 150 SE sounds like a bit of a departure.

That’s not to say Cambridge has ripped it up and started again, you understand. The Evo 150 SE is, like the outgoing Evo 150, a spacious, detailed and quite dynamic listen. It shares the same impressive facility with transients, and is able to give even the most minor occurrences in a recording the appropriate weight and context. And it’s able to keep an eye on the minutiae without losing sight of the bigger picture, the overall performance.

Given the right stuff to work with, it can create a large and well-defined soundstage - and has no difficulty in giving the required space to individual strands of a recording in even the densest of mixes. There’s appreciable ‘left/right’ and ‘front/back’ distance available, and more than enough elbow room for every protagonist.

Dynamic headroom is considerable, and as well as being able to power through the biggest shifts in volume or intensity the Cambrdge can also describe the dynamics of harmonic variation confidently too. It’s particularly adept through the midrange, where it’s able to communicate the harmonic discrepancies, the under- and overtones surrounding the fundamental, really eloquently. Voices, too, are invested with a whole stack of character and attitude, as well as a description of technique.

At the top of the frequency range there’s a fair amount of substance, which serves to balance the bite and shine the Evo 150 SE brings to treble sounds. And the Cambridge modulates from the high end down to the midrange smoothly, and with a common tonality that’s just slightly on the warm side of neutral.

In fact, it dips down into the low frequencies cleanly too, and once it’s there it generates bass sounds that are just as detailed, just as textured and just as loaded with information as everything that’s going on above them. Control of attack and decay is very acceptable, too - so the 150 SE has no problem expressing rhythms with the sort of positivity that keeps momentum levels high.

The Cambridge does overplay its hand just a little at the bottom end, though. Where tonality is concerned, bass sounds of a piece with the rest of the frequency range - but the frequency response is tilted towards the lowest frequencies, and the Evo 150 Se can sound a little musclebound and bottom-heavy as a result. 

There’s no doubt that plenty of listeners enjoy a punchy, weighty presentation - in many respects, it’s a sort of sonic shorthand for ‘excitement’. But when it comes to balance, or realism, or as natural and uncoloured an account of a recording as possible, too much bass is just as detrimental as too little. And while the Cambridge is hardly fatally flawed in this respect, it’s not hard to imagine that, if heard in conjunction with similarly bass-centric loudspeakers, you could easily end up with rather too much of a good thing.   

Obviously it's happier (and more impressive) when dealing with some hi-res stuff via network-attached storage than it is delivering some poverty-spec stuff from Spotify's free tier - but the fact is, the Evo 150 SE is remarkably consistent in its sound no matter which of its inputs you're using. Its integrated phono stage is worthy of particular mention - Cambridge has nothing to prove where amplification of turntables is concerned, and the moving magnet stage here bears comparison to the company's stand-alone 'Alva' devices. Which is uncomplicatedly good news.

Living with the Cambridge Evo 150 SE

The other physical upgrade (or, at least, alteration) the Evo 150 SE enjoys over the original Evo 150 concerns the two-section dial on the front of the fascia that takes care of volume, input selection and so on. The outer, knurled section is now knurled in a different pattern. Whether or not this makes the Cambridge any easier to live with is not really the point - it’s different, and that’s what’s important.

So in every other respect, the 150 SE carries over the older model’s ergonomics and control options - and, quite frankly, is all the better for it. As well as the overhauled control dial, the fascia includes a fairly large, bright, crisp full-colour display that shows menus, album artwork or (and this is my preference) virtual VU meters. Down each side of the box you’ve a choice of magnetically attached panels - the Cambridge is supplied with a grey slatted pair or a real wood veneer alternative. 

Control is possible via those on-screen menus, and the Evo 150 SE is also supplied with a remote control handset that makes up for in functionality what it lacks in tactile or visual appeal. Your best bet, though, is the current (4th gen) version of the StreamMagic control app. It’s a clean, logical, stable and very useful app with plenty of functionality. EQ adjustment, some rudimentary room compensation, streaming service integration, internet radio access and plenty more besides is available - and the clean look is helped no end by the ability to specify that only those inputs you’re using should occupy the front page.

Getting the Cambridge onto your local network is as painless as can be. It acts like an AirPlay speaker when it’s first booted up, creating its own little wi-fi network - so once you’ve located it and connected to it, it automatically attaches itself to your network. It’s hardly a radical feature, but it makes the set-up experience about as smooth as is possible.  

Conclusion

At the money, the Cambridge Evo 150 SE is approaching ‘ideal’ status for anyone who wants more than a hint of genuine hi-fi performance without sacrificing a) convenience, b) functionality or c) a notion of what ‘value for money’ ought to be. The new amplification stage can be rather too pleased with itself where low-end activity is concerned - but I know some listeners will consider this the opposite of a negative.

Listening notes‍

Califone The Orchids
The Evo 150 SE is an articulate and direct communicator through the midrange, and Califone’s reverential version of the classic Psychic TV tune allows it to demonstrate that fact to quite moving effect

‍Missy Elliott Get Ur Freak On
Proof that the emphasis on low-frequency activity isn’t fatal to the Cambridge’s chances is here in abundance - the sound is forceful and weighty, of course, but it’s never less than rapid. Even some heavyweights are light on their feet 

‍Nelcy Sedibe Holotelani
Momentum and attack, as well as tonal fidelity and neutrality, get a proper examination in this glorious slice of township jive - and the Evo 150 SE’s facility with tempo and rhythm ensures it just rolls along…

You buy the Cambridge Evo 150 SE because it’s a one-box, just-add-speakers solution to your desire for an entire wired-and-wireless audio system that looks the part, functions properly, sounds great in a musclebound sort of way, and is somehow more affordable than the model it replaces. And because you like the idea of being able to change its appearance every now and then…

You’ll need speakers, of course, and ideally speakers that don’t prioritise low-frequency performance - something like the Wharfedale Super Linton would do nicely as long as you can stomach the olde worlde looks. If you can’t, cast an eye (and an ear) over the ELAC Elegant BS 305 - they’re as helpfully compact as the Cambridge, and are an exciting listen to boot.

For sources, a top-tier subscription to a premium music streaming service would seem to be in order - and after that, you may want to take advantage of the Evo 150 SE’s splendid phono stage. The Rega Planar 3 RS is just the sort of device to exploit it to the full.