Cambridge Audio Evo One Is The Stylish Alternative To Naim Muso

Back in September 2019, classic British hi-fi brand Naim launched its groundbreaking Muso speaker. At the time, it was revolutionary; this large wireless music streamer came packed with multiple speakers and massive amounts of amplification. The Muso looked set to change the wireless speaker market and influence countless lookalikes. Then Covid hit and development of many new audio products ground to a halt and supply chains were disrupted.

Since the launch of the Muso, Naim has updated with a second and improved version but few other audio brands seem to have been inspired by the size and look of the Muso… until now, that is. Almost five years since the Muso’s launch, British brand Cambridge Audio has unveiled Evo One, a stunning wireless speaker with a similar size as the Muso and the same kind of room-filling sound that consumers love.

The Cambridge Audio Evo One is a gorgeous-looking piece of kit designed by Red Dot Award-winner Ged Martin. The Evo One oozes the same classy vibes that Bang & Olufsen perfected way back in the 1970s. The real walnut veneer on this behemoth echoes the look of Cambridge Audio’s Evo 75 and Evo 150 streamers.

With 14 separate speakers ranged all around its perimeter, Evo One’s perfectly tuned drivers are powered by a massive 700W of Class D amplification, making it an ideal speaker for larger rooms or open-plan living spaces. The wraparound speaker grille protects the 14 drivers with acoustically transparent fabric that enables sound to flow unimpeded.

At the front of Evo One is a splendidly large 6.8-inch color display that can show a choice of album artwork, time, track info and an option of virtual VU meters. It’s easy to cycle through the display options using the remote and the large album artwork option is pure genius. For those who don’t want to be distracted by the screen, it can be dimmed or turned off altogether using the remote.

Evo One has been designed with sustainability in mind and many of its plastic parts are made with a minimum of 50% recycled material. The walnut veneer cabinet is made from FSC-certified wood and the unit’s power consumption has been optimized. Finally, Cambridge Audio is also a Founding Donor of the eco-music charity EarthPercent, which was co-founded by Brian Eno.

Powering the Evo One is Cambridge Audio’s excellent StreamMagic platform. In my opinion, this system has evolved into one of the most user-friendly streaming systems on the market and it makes selecting music easy from a wide range of sources while controlling multi-room audio setups.

The Evo One’s 14 drivers consist of four one-inch silk dome tweeters, four 2.25-inch midrange drivers, with aluminum cones, plus half a dozen 2.75-inch long-throw woofers for the bass. The speakers are spaced around the Evo One’s front, side and rear, projecting 360-degree sound with a super-wide dispersion that creates a convincing soundstage.

Because of the wide sweep of the speakers, there’s no need to stay in a sonic sweet spot to experience the best sound. This is a speaker system that lets the listener move around and still experience the full soundstage with instruments and vocals all in their proper place.

The 700W of Class D amplification is split at 50W (RMS) per driver for fine control of the soundstage. Meanwhile, the Evo One’s Digital Signal Processing has been tuned to yield Cambridge Audio’s signature sound. The classic British hi-fi tone was perfected at the company’s London HQ and the team is particularly proud of the bass response produced by the system.

The StreamMagic smartphone app enables all of Evo One’s audio options to be personalized. For example, there is a seven-band EQ for manual tweaking the sound, plus there are plenty of presets for storing favorite radio stations, playlists and even TV-watching scenarios. Cambridge Audio has also included a room-optimization function in the app that enables the sound to be tuned to match the acoustics of a room.

This is the fourth generation of the StreamMagic platform and it now includes direct streaming from Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Deezer, Qobuz, Roon Ready, UPnP and thousands of Internet Radio. There is also support for playing audio files up to 192kHz 32-bit resolution over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. And because Cambridge Audio owns and develops the StreamMagic platform, it’s always getting new features, services and refinements.

Evo One enables streaming via Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Cast, so the unit can slot into an existing multi-room audio system that uses any of those protocols. One thing that isn’t built in is direct voice control for Alexa or Google Assistant. It seems that the gatekeepers of these systems can take an age to approve products and the cost can be prohibitive. However, Cambridge Audio says it’s still possible to control the Evo One with voice commands using any other device on the system that supports the protocol.

Alongside the wireless options, the Evo One also has plenty of wired inputs. There’s an HDMI eARC input for using the Evo One as a TV soundbar. A moving-magnet (MM) phono stage makes it easy to connect a hi-fi turntable for playing vinyl records, while an RCA line input enables the connection of analog sources such as an FM tuner or cassette deck. Finally, an optical digital input and USB-A media port provide further digital options such as adding CD player or streaming audio from a computer.

All Evo One’s inputs and sources can be accessed and controlled using the StreamMagic app. The HDMI eARC connection can also be controlled with a TV remote or the dedicated infrared remote that ships with Evo One. All the basic functions can be accessed and there are even three presets on the remote for quick access to favorite channels.

No matter how well a product is designed, it’s no good if it doesn’t sound great. I’ve spent the past three weeks auditioning the Evo One every day, testing its functions out and trying to gauge just how good this stunning wireless speaker is. In all honesty, it sounds amazing and certainly gives the Naim Muso a good run for its money. Perhaps the StreamMagic platform should be renamed DreamMagic because it’s such a joy to use. The sound is truly room-filling and produces a 3D soundstage that’s natural and enjoyable even if you are moving around. The tone out of the box is sublime and I didn’t feel the need to tweak other than running the room optimization feature.

In terms of bass response, the Evo One has plenty of bottom end although the bass never strays out of its lane or sounds thick and lumpen. The various frequencies are well defined to provide a cohesive presentation where every frequency is working in sync.

The volume control is perfectly stepped, making it easy to set just the right sound level. A lot of work has gone into tuning Evo One and it shows. This is a well-thought-out streamer that will please even the fussiest of audiophiles. It has everything except a CD player, but you can easily add one of those if you want.

Verdict: The Cambridge Audio Evo One is probably the classiest-looking wireless speaker/streamer on the market. And considering it has 14 speakers and a massive 700W of Class D amplification—plus a superb color screen—it’s an absolute bargain. As the centerpiece of a multi-room audio system, the Evo One is hard to beat and it has all the inputs you need. However, even the best audio products will have a few weak points, but with the Evo One, the only minus points I could identify were a lack of native support for Alexa and, possibly, no preamp output for using the system with a PA or power amp. If you’re looking for a wireless speaker/streamer that looks as stylish as the Naim Muso and sounds as good or better, the Cambridge Audio Evo One is a real winner. Highly Recommended.

Pricing & Availability: The Cambridge Audio Evo One is available now from cambridgeaudio.com and approved retailers. The price is $1499 / £1,299/ €1499.

Tech Specs:

• Drivers: 14 (4 x 1″ silk dome tweeters, 4 x 2.25″ aluminum cone midrange, and 6 x 2.75″ long-throw woofers).
• Amplification: 700W Class D (50W RMS per driver).
• Display: 6.8″ 1,280 x 480 IPS TFT color screen with a choice of VU meters, album artwork or clock display.
• OS: StreamMagic Gen 4 module with support for TIDAL Connect, Spotify Connect, Qobuz, Deezer, Roon Ready, UPnP and Internet Radio.
• Finish: FSC-certified walnut wood veneer and MDF cabinet.
• Supported audio formats: WAV, FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, DSD (DSF and DFF), WMA, MP3 (CBR and VBR), AAC, HE-AAC and AAC+ (CBR and VBR), OGG Vorbis.
• Resolution: Up to 32-bit/192kHz audio resolution.
• EQ: 7-band EQ adjustment with custom EQ save option plus presets.
• Room optimization: Yes.
• Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1 A2DP, AirPlay 2, Google Cast.
• Wired connectivity: HDMI eARC, Ethernet, RCA line in, MM phono, digital optical, USB-A media.
• Remote control: Yes.
• Dimensions: 675 x 129 x 290mm.
• Weight: 14.5kg.