Step on to the Red Carpet.

Read about the outstanding new 752BD player which replaces this model.

Let us introduce you to our new screen sensation - the multi-talented Cambridge Audio Azur 751 Blu-ray player.

This may well be the last silver disc player you ever consider buying - there is that much that it can do to a very high standard and it incorporates an almost bewildering array of upgradable paths for both audio and video media of every description and standard. The earlier Cambridge Blu-ray player - the well proven Azur 650 BD - was highly capable. But the 751 works on another level again. No doubt reviews will follow, but it's immediately obvious that with any movie disc - DVD or Blu-ray - you'll enjoy the best cinema can offer. Vivid picture, crystal clear sound.

The complexity of a machine like the 751 is nicely balanced by the thought Cambridge Audio have put into making it easy to use - even if we disregard all the video playback abilities, it's a fantastic music player - dealing with CD, SACD, HDCD, DVD Audio and as many other formats as you’d care to bring up. The sound is pleasingly lush and full of detail - at least as good as the Cambridge 740CD which cost almost as much and was CD only!

But it's as the heart of your home cinema system that the new Azur model will really rock your socks. Even if you consider 3D a feature you may never use, what you should know is that the processing grunt that goes into allowing for this also means every other aspect of video performance is enhanced - you'll see a whole lot of stuff that was previously blurred, and motion is the best we've yet encountered. Again, it deals with just about every video format known - disc and network.

Then there is the 7.1 sound; we're talking absolute precision here - with 5 Wolfson DACs on the DAC board, and upsampling to 192/24bit. Just imagine a full room soundscape with detail to burn and everything from the most delicate nuance to shattering bass effects. This is the immersive experience home cinema is supposed to be about, but unless you have a machine like this to put it into your system, you'll never get the return on all the expense and effort you have put into the choice of screen, amp and speakers.

Simply put, Cambridge bring their considerable heritage of both value for money and serious audio performance to the game to give you a player that far outperforms cheaper mass market brands, yet remains affordable. It’s also worth noting that the Azur 751 is very much Cambridges own work - as they explain:

"We had many similar queries about the 650BD and similarities to the Oppo models last year. As with our previous models the forthcoming Cambridge Audio 751BD is based on a Mediatek chipset. In this case its the very latest MTK8530 solution which supports dual HDMI, 3D TV output and other new features. Cambridge Audio of course have had a long relationship with Mediatek having based all of our previous 650BD BluRay, DVD89, DVD99, DV30, 540D V1 and V2 DVD players on various different Mediatek platforms. As you would expect we are not the only brand to be using Mediatek development kits and application software, Oppo continue to use them, as are various new big league adoptors.

Generally brands like us prefer to use platforms that are also used by other customers as it means that when/if issues with discs and playback formats are found everyone is feeding back into a common knowledge pool (Mediatek in this case) and all brands benefit in terms of the reliability and robustness of the chipset and core software. In terms of what Mediatek offer each customer they give us all schematics, software and PCB layouts for example versions of their solution. The processor code includes an OSD generator and tools for defining setup menus and the like. In fact Mediatek supply application code that gives an excellent framework for this. This does mean that any machine based on the chipset is very likely to have a similar look and feel to the On-Screen Display. For the hardware, each manufacturer then edits or regenerates these to greater or lesser extent to add their own flavour of sockets, DACs, power supplies etc. as they see fit.

Our model is thus our own and in this case we designed from the ground up a new audio stage with both a dedicated stereo analogue output, and 7.1 analogue multi channel output. In addition, all analogue audio outputs (both Stereo and 7.1) are processed for jitter suppression and up-sampling to 24-bit/192kHz by Anagram Technologies Q5 up-sampling running in our 32bit SHARC DSP. We use various components (particular brands and types of capacitors for instance) and circuits developed and chosen by us from many hours of measurement and listening tests.This design and its attendant technology is completely proprietary to Cambridge Audio is derived from developments first used in the multiple award winning Azur 840C CD player and DacMagic. Click here to see everything that goes into the 751

We also offer a choice of digital filters – linear phase/minimum phase/steep filter, as featured in the DacMagic. Various other tweaks have also been done and the transport is indeed a new very high quality item, its one of various ones MTK support/recommend and being freely available on the market others may well choose to use it. We don’t actually have an inside track on what the other Mediatek licensees may choose to use. In short Cambridge Audio and Oppo or others actually have no relation. We are merely connected by our relationship with the chipset supplier, Mediatek and the fact that the core of our designs stem from there. It's a bit like saying all PCs are the same because they use Intel processors and run windows, that is the root but clearly the products deviate greatly from that starting point. We seek to maximise the performance of our units for the type of customer we cater for, and in particular we are passionate about the musical ability of our products so a lot of 'special sauce' goes into that."

Yet more detail! And even a short video presentation.

It's a tribute to Cambridge Audio that they are so open about their designs and we really appreciate that. No to mention that they are just as good as they say in terms of support and making software upgrades readily available, because if there is one thing we know in the world of video and surround sound formats - change is inevitable. To better demonstrate the capabilities of the 751 with music Cambridge have developed very special 192kHz 24-bit DVD-Audio sampler disc in conjunction with Claudio Records. You’ll find your personal copy of this amazing 24-bit DVD-Audio disc when you unpack your 751BD.

No other universal disc player out there combines all these attributes - up to the minute technology, serious build quality backed by a real 2 year warranty, stable distribution with fair pricing and above all else, a real commitment to great sound. As we say, it's highly likely you’ll never have to buy another disc player so why not make it a goodie!

Cambridge Audio Azur 751 BD disk player NZ$1,695 including delivery, 192/24 sampler disc, restore disc.

Just in - the new Cambridge Audio Azur 651 BD disk player NZ$1,195 and 551R Receiver at $1595 compliment the 751BD. While the 751 is still the first choice for music replay in any format, the 651BD offers near identical video and surround sound performance and is ideal for more cost conscious systems. Likewise the new 551R receiver is a more compact but still highly capable alternative to Cambridge's flagship model - the 650R. Call us for more info and package deals.

Help NZ’s Hector Dolphin

We may not be the only people to sell Cambridge Audio in New Zealand, but we are the only ones who’ll give a worthwhile donation to the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Hectors Dolphin program when you buy your Cambridge from us. And to say thank you you’ll get a WWF gift from us.

Drop us an e mail or call if you'd get your hands on a new 751 player. Or have any questions you want answered. And if you can, why not call into the shop to see and hear just how good the new Cambridge model is for yourself.

Direct Contact

John Ransley and Carolyn Guytonbeck are the principals behind Totally Wired. It’s our own business and we take pride in building something worthwhile.

If you want to contact us directly per mail:

• John Ransley
• Carolyn Guytonbeck

Related links

• Cambridge main page
• Cambridge 651BD Player