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Cambridge Audio A1
by RedFlag
Anyone who has a Cambridge A1, or has experience of using one, will know exactly what I am talking about when I say that it is the perfect amp, it was for me anyway. What I was looking for when I wanted to purchase an amplifier was great quality, but at the same time, I didnt have the money to spend on an expensive one. The Cambridge A1 ... filled the gap between the two.
Now I am not saying that this is the best amp on the market, far from it, it doesnt deliver the sound quality you would expect for an amp that costs over £1000, but costing a couple of hundred, this amp does the job greatly. The Cambridge was a perfect addition to my stereo system, and when I bought, I was always planning on buying a more advanced amp once I could afford it, but it did the job, and I kept and used it a lot longer than orginally planned, I did upgrade eventually though.
The functionality of the Cambridge is easy enough for anyone. I explained to my dad for example that the input sockets on the amp were for things like CD players stereo's and the likes, and I personally even just with my laptop to give that added sound quality when watching films. It was great, and for the cost definitely recommendable. It didnt take long for me to figure out how to use it, seen as it was pretty self-explanatory, all you had to do was press the power button, and once you had connected itto your chosen device, adjust the volume, which took a little longer to figure out, as the buttons for bass, treble ect was a new concept to me.
You could do far worse than the Cambridge A1, and although I dont have mine anymore, I would still recommend it. Thanks for reading.
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Cambridge Audio A1
by Holland1
I've had this amplifier for over ten years, and it's still going strong. Mine looks just like the one in the Dooyoo photo, but if you google the model it looks a little different now, it's just been updated cosmetically over the years. It's the same basic amplifier and has the same features, making it a great starting point for anyone ... building a hi-fi system.
I bought this amplifier when my dad donated his old "separates" to me - he was replacing his hi-fi system so he gave me his old amplifier, tuner, cassette player, and record deck. The amplifier he gave me was on its last legs so he suggested I bought a new one to get the best out of the music I was playing. I also bought a CD player as CD's were all the rage back then.
My dad is one of these people who likes to research a lot about a product before going ahead and buying, the kind of person this website was created for I guess! This is probably where I get this trait from. But anyway, I remember him doing a lot of research, he also has good knowledge of music equipment, and he recommended that as a starting point on my limited budget, the Cambridge Audio A1 was the best buy for me.
The amplifier cost me around £100 at the time, and I can remember making the trip to Richer Sounds with my dad as though it was yesterday. Looking around online you can still pick these up for around the same price. Looking on the Richer Sounds website, I believe that Cambridge Audio have been market leaders with their range of budget amplifiers for the past 15 years. I can't say I'm surprised by this, as anyone who knows their stuff knows they are a good make.
This amplifier is exactly the kind of equipment I like - it does the job, but it's not overly complicated or difficult to set up. Even though I am a bit of a technophobe, I can still manage to set this up as part of a hi-fi system. At the back of the amplifier it is very obvious what wires get plugged into which socket. It looks very elegant and classy, and I like the fact it looks simple and isn't cluttered with lots of control buttons and flashing lights.
This amplifier offers the most basic of features, but I have never felt like it is missing anything for my basic needs. It has a volume control which is a simple knob, it has bass and treble controls so you can adjust the balance of the music, and it has a knob to set it to different inputs, depending on what you're listening to. It can be used for producing sound from a CD player, tuner, tape deck, record deck (if anyone still has one of those, sadly I had to get rid of mine), and I have also used it for my TV and DVD player.
The amplifier produces perfectly clear, high quality sound. I used to use it as part of my hi-fi separates, and then when I moved in with my partner and we had two of everything, we set this amplifier up in the bedroom and connected it to the DVD player for watching films in bed. It has many uses, and is very hard wearing. I know this because I have had it over ten years, and it's still working as well now as it ever has. This includes a few scrapes I've had with it, including dropping it on the lawn once during a house move when my dad and I were having a bit of a "chuckle brothers" moment and it fell out of our grip.
The only downside I guess, is that it doesn't have a remote, so if you need to adjust the volume this will involve getting up and walking over to it. This isn't a huge issue, and is probably true of most amplifiers, but it's a bit annoying when you're watching a film in bed and the sound fluctuates making you have to jump across the room to turn it down!
I would highly recommend this amplifier as a good budget buy to start a hi-fi system, it is one of the cheapest out there and provides brilliant quality which will last you for years.
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