Best Network Players Under $900 | New Cambridge AXN10 & MXN10
A good network player can make a big difference in your system and the new AXN10 and MXN10 from Cambridge will accomplish just that. Both offer sound quality and streaming capability that rival streamers in much higher and pricier categories, making them a must have for anyone looking for reference level sound without spending reference level money.
The AXN10 and MXN10 offer the same performance, just in different sizes. The AXN10 is larger and designed to fit in with standard audio components, complementing a stacked system. While the smaller MXN10 is ideal if you plan to put your streamer in a media cabinet or you just want a smaller form factor.
Both feature the ESS Sabre ES9033Q DAC chip, which is able to unpack and decode a range of high-res files up to 768KHz 32bit PCM, providing a ton of clarity and detail. But the way this state-of-the-art chip has been implemented and tuned by Cambridge is what makes it special—Cambridge’s StreamMagic Gen 4. StreamMagic is Cambridge's name for their playback engine, now in its fourth generation. The playback engine is responsible for sourcing your selected music and serving it to the DAC chip for rendering/conversion. By designing their playback engine in house, Cambridge is able extract the best performance possible from the ESS 9033Qs.
Both pieces offer built-in access to high-res streaming services including Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer and Spotify Connect—all accessed and controlled through the StreamMagic App. Apple Airplay 2 and Chromecast are also built-in so you can access Apple Music. There’s also internet radio and a local USB connection. Plus, both pieces are Roon ready.
For outputs, you have an analog out via RCA for connection to a pre-amp or integrated amp as well as coax and optical digital/pcm outputs. If you wanted to use a separate DAC, making the AXN or MXN a streamer only, you have that option.
