Cambridge Audio 640H - £500


Our Rating: 3star.gif

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Rating: 2.4/5 (88 votes cast)


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Review By:
Denony & Steve-p

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Cambridge Audio 640H

Along with the Hifidelio, the Cambridge Audio 640H offers a stand-alone music server

Sound quality from this device is excellent as would be expected from this hifi manufacturer and build quality is superb, in-line with their newest range of hifi components

The inclusion of a TV output allows the display of album art and easy selection of tracks, which can also be done on the built-in LCD screen

The remote is excellent and selecting tracks is easy via the search function

By adding more devices, the 640H will automatically share files across each player, as well as sharing the hard disks to increase overall space (although 160Gb is more than adequate for most)

Sadly, only wired networks are supported by default, for wireless you will need an adaptor

Although an excellent device on paper, reliability problems and fan noise are major drawbacks for this player, which will hopefully be resolved with future updates

  RatingNotes
Price 2.5star.gif Many features at an attractive price, but reliability issues sadly outweigh them.
Sound Quality 4.5star.gif Excellent sound quality, but the unit itself is loud (internal fans)
Ease of Use 3star.gif TV interface, keyboard and USB port makes general use easy.Downsides though are the lack of a web interface, very slow interface and the only way to delete music is via a computer
Compatibility 3.5star.gif Digital outputs, USB ports and a keyboard port make editing track data much easier.
Looks 4.5star.gif Definitely looks the part, sturdy and would fit into any hifi. Also an excellent metal remote.
Audio Formats 4star.gif AAC, MP3, WMA and WAV No FLAC support and only ASX internet radio streams
Reliability 1star.gif Sadly the major downfall of this device, many reliability problems. Freezing interface and unreliable USB ports being most problematic.
Networking Support 3star.gif Wired only, wireless via adaptor
Overall 3star.gif This product definitely has potential, the build and sound quality are in place, however, the software issues are still a hindrance as well as the fan noise. One to watch for the future though.

Advantages

  • Build Quality
  • TV interface
  • Excellent Remote
  • Sound quality
  • Album art
  • Compatibility (USB ports etc.)
  • Hard disk expansion
  • Background compression
  • Excellent search function

Disadvantages

  • No restore CD provided
  • Noisy
  • Difficult to delete tracks
  • LCD doesn't scroll
  • Gaps between tracks
  • Doesn't play copy-protected CD's
  • No lossless compression
  • No web interface
  • Lack of UPnP support
  • Slow user interface
  • Analogue recording function does not allow tracks to be split.

Supported hardware/software

Top

Compatibility

Top
Music Format (Info) Compatible
WAV
yes
AIFF
No
FLAC
No
MP3
yes
AAC
yes
OGG
No
WMA
yes
Wireless Method (Info) Compatible
Wireless B
No
Wireless G
No
WEP 64
No
WEP 128
No
WPA
No
Top
Internet Radio Options Compatible
Operate Without PC
yes
Custom Presets
No
IPv6
No
HTTP Proxy
No
Multicast
No
Clock Radio
No

Comments to date: 2. This is page 1 of 1.

Happy listening   UK-

Posted at 8:48pm on Thursday, December 20th, 2007

Had a 640H for a year now. Wireless bridge took a month to get working but worth the hassle. Quality of sound is amazing but two drawbacks: Software interface is very last century and some reliability issues now cropping up.
Sounds fantastic but, sorry, would recommend it.

Passing through   Ireland-

Posted at 2:04pm on Tuesday, December 5th, 2006

Have you guys tried the following software UPGRADE?

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/content.php?COID=67&Title=640H+Software+-++Upgrade



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