Cambridge Audio Azur 540-D Brochure

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Azur 540D progressive scan/DVD-Audio player

Cambridge Audio introduced its first multi-channel music and movie source components – the

critically acclaimed 50 Series – in 2003. Now we see the launch of Cambridge Audio’s latest

generation DVD player. Part of the company’s dazzling new flagship Azur range it is the enhanced

540D progressive scan/DVD-Audio player and incorporates all the engineering lessons learnt

during the design of the 50 Series.

Cambridge Audio’s engineers have worked closely with a leading chipset manufacturer, and have

been able to use the very latest, highly integrated solutions, to create a wonderful performance

that belies its competitive pricing.

A proprietary, acoustically damped transport combines with Crystal’s CS4360 six channel DAC,

meaning the player is capable of playing conventional compact discs (16bit/44.1kHz) as well as

24bit/96kHz stereo from standard DVDs. The 540D can also implement Meridian Lossless

Packing to deliver 24bit/96kHz multi-channel DVD-Audio and 24bit/192kHz stereo DVD-Audio.

Just as impressive is the video playback. This is taken care of by no less than six 54MHz/12bit

video DACs, which support both NTSC and PAL progressive scan, offering a considerable leap in

picture quality from the already impressive standards set by conventional DVD-Video.

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There’s also a completely new output stage on the 540D, which incorporates Cambridge Audio’s

proprietary six-way split grounding audio buffer circuitry. This has been developed to reduce

distortion artefacts to the very minimum and allows the 540D to drive a variety of different loads

without sound quality being affected. The buffer stage fulfils all of this while still providing the

necessary EMC compliance required to control the high-speed digital spuriae inherent to cutting

edge DVD players.

As with all Cambridge Audio Azur products many hours have been spent developing the audio

stage power supply to minimise the ESR and yet maximise the power supply damping ability right

through the audio frequency range. Combining this with discrete capacitive multipliers and passive

filtering, give the best possible sound quality. At Cambridge Audio only the highest quality

components are used. The audio buffer stage uses polypropylene signal bypass capacitors, while

the video decoupling circuit also uses bypass capacitors.

All this proprietary engineering sits on a specially designed low resonance, acoustically damped

chassis, while a newly styled outer casing, which is available in black or silver, takes in a thick

anodised aluminium front panel.

Completing the package is a slimline, elegant remote handset, and a full a complement of

connections. Component, composite, Scart RGB, S-Video outputs, two-channel stereo and a 5.1

channel output are all present, with high quality gold plated sockets used to provide a low contact

resistance, extended lifetime connection.