Cambridgeaudio azur 640 h brochure

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February 2005 Cambridge Audio Azur 640H Hard disk music server powered by proprietary AudioFile technology For too long the user friendliness, incredible flexibility, and eclectic mix of music downloads have been uneasy bedfellows with the superior sound associated with hi-fi separates. Now British marque Cambridge Audio is bringing the two together with its remarkable Azur 640H music server, which sees its world launch at CES 2005. Essentially the company has taken the best bits from the 640C - widely regarded as the world's best budget CD source - added a substantial 160Gb hard disk and CD burner, all powered by the company's proprietary AudioFile technology. This stores and manages your entire music collection, accesses music held on any PC or Mac, downloads songs from internet services, or transfers data to and from hard disk portables. And not only can this be achieved via an Ethernet cable, but also through a wireless connection. This means the 640H can talk to other 640Hs, effortlessly creating a high quality multi-room audio system without the need to install cables. Cambridge Audio's new Azur 640H builds on the strengths of the Azur 640C compact disc player. You'll find exactly the same latest generation, high-quality 24-bit/192kHz digital to analogue converter from respected manufacturer Wolfson and proprietary circuit designs featuring short-path surface mount technology. This ensures a huge dynamic range, clarity and low distortion. As you would expect from an audiophile quality hi-fi source, Cambridge Audio's Azur 640H shuns the inferior PC-quality power supplies normally used by music servers. Instead audio circuits are fed by an oversized toroidal transformer. There are no less than seven separate regulated linear power supplies for the audio section feeding the D/A circuitry, audio filter and regulator stages. In addition a fan-less Silent Supply Unit (SSU) powers the highly complex processing and memory electronics. Moreover, the audio section of the design is kept completely separate from these higher noise electronics. And just like the rest of the Azur range, the 640H employs a specially designed low resonance, acoustically damped chassis which takes in a thick aluminium front panel for ultimate rigidity. azur More/...

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azur But as well as delivering the kind of class leading sound quality you've come to expect from Cambridge Audio, the 640H opens up a whole new world of possibilities thanks to its proprietary AudioFile technology. This highly advanced embedded software manages the storage, transfer and playback of music at an enhanced audiophile level. Central to the 640H's capabilities is a powerful VIA C3 1GHz processor coupled to a substantial 160Gb hard disk. Such generous capacity means you don't have to compromise when it comes to sound quality, as the 640H lets you store music data in uncompressed form. This equates to roughly 300 albums at full CD (PCM) quality. If you desire it is also possible to download tracks using the popular MP3 format at 320 or 128kps, with the latter letting you store over 40,000 songs. You can also burn to either CD-R or CD-RW from the hard disk, with all the editing flexibility youd expect from a digital format. Perhaps most excitingly of all, AudioFile also allows the 640H to access music stored on any PC or Mac, download songs from internet services, transfer music to and from hard disk portables, or stream directly via the internet, for example playing one of the thousands of net radio stations. Just as helpfully, the broadband connection means Gracenote's CDDB track information archive is instantly retrieved, as is album cover art from Muze. And not only can this be achieved via an Ethernet cable, but also through a wireless connection. So the 640H can talk to and from other 640Hs, effortlessly creating a high quality multi-room audio system without the need to install cables. Another benefit of connecting two or more 640Hs - that is unique to Cambridge Audio's proprietary AudioFile technology - is that they can share each other's files. Thus, if you have two 640Hs you have a total of 320Gb (160 plus 160Gb) total storage capacity to access from either or both machines. And such commands are made beautifully simple by a friendly, menu-based operating system accessed by the smart, slimline Azur remote handset. The menu is presented on the 640H's clear, easy-to-read display and can also be shown on any screen, such as a plasma or LCD. The product is expected in stores in late spring 2005. More/...