Cambridge Audio has just launched its latest wireless streaming speaker, Evo One – and it’s a thing of beauty.
Designed by Red Dot Award-winning designer Ged Martin, Evo One is an all-in-one solution for modern listening needs, compatible with the most popular streaming platforms like Tidal and Spotify, as well as with more niche ones like Qobuz, Deezer and Roon.
Shaped like an extra large cereal box pushed onto its side, Evo One’s four mesh walls hide 14 individual drivers that combine for 700 watts of amplification and provide 360 degrees of room-filling audio. This arsenal of sound consists of four 1-inch silk dome tweeters, four 2.25-inch aluminium cones for the mid-range, and six 2.75-inch long-throw woofers – all of which have been tuned to Cambridge Audio’s famous sound, one it has cultivated since its inception in 1968.
Atop the Evo One, Cambridge Audio has used a real walnut veneer that gives a refined, premium feel to the speaker – owing to the differences in the natural grain of the wood, this means each speaker is unique with no two units alike. Describing Evo One as “a visual treat”, it’s clear that the British brand has taken real care in designing its latest product and intends for its new speaker to complement and fit naturally into peoples’ homes.
On the face of the speaker you’ll find a bright 6.8-inch color screen that marries an old, timeless aesthetic with a more modern one. This customizable display allows users choose between various options including a clock, album artwork that updates with each song, or a pair of virtual VU meters that hark back to the early days of home audio. Surrounding this screen is the above mentioned mesh, or, as Cambridge Audio puts it, “acoustically transparent fabric that allows music to fill the room unimpeded.” The almost-black dark grey material compliments the earthy brown of the walnut found on the top of the Evo One, a simple color combination that doesn’t distract from the main event – the music.
Speaking of music, Evo One features advanced digital signal processing that Cambridge Audio describes as delivering “breathtaking clarity and deep controlled bass that defies the limits of the one-box form factor.” That said, if the brand’s tuning isn’t to ones liking, users can make adjustments to the sound profile with the built-in seven-band EQ, controllable via the included remote control or by the accompanying StreamMagic app available for both iOS (here) and Android (here). Evo One is also fully capable of streaming uncompressed high-resolution audio, something that users can also access via the StreamMagic app, as well having more standard connectivity options that include Bluetooth, AirPlay 2 and Google Cast.
It wouldn’t be a Cambridge Audio product if it didn’t cater to audiophiles and the brand has ensured there are multiple wired options on the Evo One for those who scoff at the thought of going wireless (God forbid). These include HDMI eARC (for TV and home cinema set-ups), optical digital input and aux-in, as well as an ethernet port for a wired internet connection and USB. You’re in luck if you’re a vinyl lover, too, as the Evo One features a built-in moving-magnet phono stage for hooking up turntables – even those without built-in preamps, like the Technics 1200 series.
Cambridge Audio Evo One is available now via the brand’s website and select retailers priced at £1299 GBP / €1499 EUR / $1499 USD.