With something as good as Cambridge Audio's CXN V2 available for just £799, it isn't easy to justify spending that much more on a streamer. True, you don't get the fancy build and super-slick apps of pricier models, but what this box of tricks does, it does extremely well. It really is a special product at the price and an essential audition if you're in the market for an affordable entry into streaming or networked digital music.

The Cambridge Audio CXN (v2) will deliver a sublime music experience using just about any digital audio protocol you can imagine—now and down the road.

For those who have built up a serious HiFi rig over the years but are curious about how to explore the wide world of digital music streaming, the Cambridge Audio CXN V2 offers a compelling option. It features fairly intuitive operation, comprehensive streaming app support, elegant looks, a nice color screen and excellent sound quality. And with a price tag of just under $1,000, it won’t break the bank. Highly recommended.

Cambridge has ticked all the boxes in creating value for the Money Streamer. It looks great, it sounds great, it’s easy to use and features just about every connection the average audiophile could ever need. I’m biased of course but CXN V2 is just incredible. I’m curious to see how the CXN ages over the years and how it fares with the ever-changing digital world. For now, I will simply enjoy the variety of music options I now have at my fingertips.

That having been said, the Chord combo’s small size requires a certain mindset for operational harmony if it’s parked, Ant-Man like, on an equipment rack as part of a full-sized system. This is where the CXN V2 more than excels. It’s a lovely slice of full-width design that makes navigating and accessing multiple sources at speed as complicated as falling off a log and whenever you switch it on, it simply sounds fab.

Overall, this is one of the better network streaming devices out there and I absolutely recommend you buy the AXA35 with it if you have a good little speaker setup. It isn't supremely powerful, so long as your speakers don't demand 100W+ or more, you'll be good on this rig and enjoy anything you use it with.

The only two drawbacks that I found were that it doesn’t have Bluetooth built-in. And even if you purchase the wireless dongle, it doesn’t do apt-x HD. So you can’t get high res Bluetooth support. It also doesn’t have MQA hardware built in. If Cambridge Audio decides to build another version of this, which I hope they are, hopefully, they will include those two things, making this an even better player. But if you are looking for a player to play high-res music that looks good and you kind of like looking at your mark, this is definitely something you should check out.

Making the best even better, the CXN (V2) is the best streamer out there at this price point

The CXN (V2) Network Music Streamer is an amazing piece of gear. Value is off the charts. Great sound, remarkable feature set, plus a great companion app equals a clear winner. There is no other streamer in its price range that can touch it. If you are looking to step up from the quality streamers at the $500 price point (like the Bluesound Node 2i and Audiolab 6000N Play), this unit is a no-brainer.