Cambridge Audio Duo
£199
Few phono stages at this price offer such a sophisticated visual. And the Duo’s not short of connections or features either. On the front there’s a 6.3mm headphone output and buttons for power and cartridge options straddling the substantial dial, with MM and MC ins and single-ended outs and a small balance level on the back. Aesthetically, it’s a delight.
Good intentions do not a five-star review make, of course, but such attention to detail is often indicative of a honed sonic performance. So it is with
some anticipation we hook the Duo up to our reference system and shuffle our first record from its sleeve.
Our confidence is repaid within The Blue Nile’s A Walk Across The Rooftops. It’s a detailed, dynamic performance that doesn’t shy from the warmth of the record, but nor does it wallow or warble in it either. The presentation is spacious but cohesive, offering dimension while hanging its image in front of our noses, impossible to ignore.
A rhythmic drive
Clear dynamics help the music drive rhythmically, supporting the Duo’s definite timing with beats of varying intensity, while also etching in the expression of Paul Buchanan’s soulful and often mournful vocal.
While the Duo doesn’t perhaps match the punch harnessed by Rega’s Fono MM MK3, it doesn’t lack bite either. More driven tracks on the album are delivered with verve, though the smoothness and warmth come into their own with its opulent performance of the more inward-looking Easter Parade.
That kind of sonic glow is one reason you might opt for the Duo over its class-leading counterpart. It flourishes under these kinds of conditions, offering similar levels of detail, timing and dynamics but with a fuller body and perhaps more wholesome presentation.
That isn’t to neglect its compatibility with moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges, nor, more importantly as far as we’re concerned, its in-built headphone amp. Those additions make the Duo a unique prospect as a five-star performer at this price, and ought to earn it a reasonable amount of admirers regardless of its sonic character.