Cambridge Audio CXNv2 upsampling everything to 384Khz

Thanks all for your help, it makes sens as a technical explanation as to what is going up, the CXNv2 is upsampling to it;s highest supported feature, but from and audio engineering point of view that makes no sense for critical listening. I really want a networkable Streamer that will give me bit transparency to a digital output (networked to Roon so Roon Ready), the DAC will just follow and lock to the incoming sample rate, which in turn should be clocked from the sample rate of the file source without sample rate conversion.

I’ve done plenty of listening tests over the years (including several years working in high end recording studio), to know the artefacts sample rate conversion leaves behind. If I am doing critical listening indeed my job involves critical listening to source files which may or may not have artefacts in them, I want to know any artefacts I hear are in the source, not in the replay signal path.

I will continue to take this up with Cambridge Audio, who should not have told me the CXNv2 was roon ready in response to a question about bit transparency replay with Roon

Thanks for this, it does explain what is going on, I only wish I could disable ATF upsampling, My ears tell me I want bit transparency, not ATF upsampling.

Looking at what @BlackJack posted earlier, I think the digital outputs are bit-transparent… does the amplifier provide you with information about received bit rate?

I think @AndyR has the answer , the signal passes through untouched so should be bit perfect

BUT coax is 24 192 , optical is only 24 96 , Ironically USB is 24 384 (correction actually 192 according to Ref Manual)

So in your set up use coAx , I suspect there may have been a better non CA solution, the Edge streamer matches but is very pricey in your case

A simple USB bridge may have been better

Pretty classy amp though …

I can confirm using digital coax to an external dac still upsamples to 384 . Not sure if there is a solution. The manual says it will pass through not upsampled but this is not what is happening.
Any solution?

Is it possible Roon’s information is incorrect and it is bitperfect?

Roon is displaying what the DAC is telling Roon it is doing. It may be that the DAC is reporting back to Roon in error, but, you’d have to ask Cambridge for more information.

Maybe we need to be clear what we are expecting here…

Roon is reporting what the CXN is reporting; the CXN is upsampling the feed to its internal DAC - but it’s passing a bit-perfect stream to the Edge.

What does the Edge say it’s receiving?

Im using the coaxial out on the CXN . According to the manual, that stream will not be upsampled but Roon says that it is.

Do you want the CXN to report what it’s sending out the coax, or what it’s sending to its internal DAC? Roon can’t know which output of the CXN you are using.

So are you saying that using the digital out is not upsampled like The Cambridge manual says and it is indeed lossless though it’s showing enhanced in Roon ? I’m a little confused .

That’s how I’m interpreting it. What are you feeding the to coax to? Does it have a sample rate display? Do you have another DAC with a display that you could connect to see?

I’m connecting digital out of Cambridge CXN to an external dac like Chord Qutest or Rme adi- dac2

If you can decipher the lights I’m sure the Chord will tell you the sample rate; the RME has a display…

The dacs display 16/44 . So I guess I’m getting lossless even though that’s not what Roon is saying.

Hi @davidh,

Roon is outputting a bit perfect stream, you can see that in signal path.
Roon is reporting “Enhanced” because the Cambridge is upsampling that bit perfect stream.

“Enhanced” does not mean it’s a bad thing, but you need to look at the details at each stage of the signal path to understand what is happening to the signal.

As the original poster let me add a few comments (I have also been in dialogue with Cambridge Audio about this).
the CXNv2 does upsample everything to 384KHz sample rate for it’s DAC, as someone with many years experience in recording studios and both professional and consumer, I have expressed to Cambridge Audio that I don’t think this is good practise, and that at the very least the upsampling should be a whole integer of the sample rate, so yes, upsample 48Khz or 96Khz PCM to 384k, but 44.1 or 88.2 or even DSD should be upsampled to 352.8KHz. Cambridge Audio told me the Edge NQ streamer does not up sample and offered no promise of user control of this or of any change on the CXNv2

However they have confirmed as others have written, that the SPDIF digital output is bit transparent up to 24bit 96Khz for the optical and 24bit 192Khz for the coax (so I have connected the Coax)

As others have said, Roon is reporting what the DAC is doing (sample rate conversion and upsampling), and therefore will not show bit transparency with the CXNv2 when you are apparantly achieving just that…

The Cambridge Audio Edge A (a truly amazing amplifier by all measures) has no sample rate indication.

So using the SPDIF out of the CXNv2 to the Edge A I have no idea what PCM rate is in play other than an understanding of what it should be.

That’s the deal, so I just trust my ears, in fact most of the time I use a Chromecast Audio connecting digitally to the Edge A, then Roon reports the bit transparency (to 24b 96K anyhow). To my ears the DSD playback from the CXN to the digital output does not sound very nice.

It is upsampling by an difficult integer, if you’ve ever put a 44.1KHz master tape through a sample rate converter (to 48KHz) you will know it is not a good outcome. Stereo image suffers, the high frequencies become (to my ears) sibilant. Up sampling to 384K from 44.1 is similar since 384k is a whole x8 integer from 48K but from 44.1 it is a "difficult " integer of upsampling (x‭8.707482993197279‬) which cannot be considered transparent. It will introduce quantisation errors.

My Teac NT 505 does upconversion 2x 4x 8x. If I don’t want I just turn it off.

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So using digital out from the CXN to an external dac has been confirmed by Cambridge as bit perfect even though Roon says its enhanced because it’s picking up what the CXN’s internal dac is doing ?

Ok but that’s an expensive device if you’re only using it as a streamer to another DAC.
Cambridge has a good reputation, from back in the day.
If you use it as a DAC, a stre@ming DAC, how does it sound?
Seems from commentary here it isn’t good at all?