Cambridge Audio Alva Duo

The Duo seems to exude an air of accomplishment. It’s a solid, lightweight piece of tech that just looks plain good... A rich and rewarding listening experience I just can’t tear myself away from... Few other options out there can match this kind of listening experience, which to put it mildly, is pretty amazing.

Whether you’re dusting off your record collection or embracing analogue through the vinyl revival, there’s a unique experience to be had from the moment you drop the needle on your favourite album. To preserve the unique warmth of the vinyl sound, the Duo phono preamplifier has been carefully designed with a state-of-the-art switch mode power supply and a new surface mounted circuit board layout to reduce unwanted noise.

Due to the low-level signals created by a turntable, not all hi-fi amplifiers will let you connect directly to a record player. The phono preamplifier boosts this signal to something a power amplifier can work with. The challenge at this stage though is that noise can easily be added.

This is why we’ve designed the Duo around exceptional components that deliver the warm and detailed sound that’s synonymous with vinyl, all without distorting the signal from your moving magnet cartridge turntable. The switch mode power supply improves performance by switching outside of audible frequency to drastically reduce hum and new circuit board layout uses surface-mount components to reduce noise.

Enjoy the warmth of vinyl privately thanks to Duo’s integrated headphone output. Uniquely, we integrated a 6.35mm headphone jack directly into the phono stage, so you can still enjoy your records when there’s no option to play out loud.

The integrated headphone output also means no need to turn on your amplifier just to power your headphones, resulting in a more eco-friendly listening experience.

If some records in your collection are a little worse for wear, the subsonic filter will help to eliminate low frequency rumbles that can be caused by imperfections within your vinyl. Combine this with the balance control for handling potential cartridge imbalances in your record player (that can cause a difference between the left and right channels) and the result is a detailed experience with accurate soundstage.

The Duo phono preamplifier is green at heart with less than half a watt standby power consumption and auto power down feature if the unit isn’t used after a 20 minute period. This in turn gives the unit the same worldwide voltage for compatibility wherever you are in the world.

Specifications:

• MAX POWER CONSUMPTION: 10W
• CARTRIDGE SUPPORT: Moving Magnet | Moving Coil
• GAIN @ 1KHZ: MM: 39dB | MC: 60dB
• NOMINAL OUTPUT: 300mV
• SENSITIVITY FOR NOMINAL OUTPUT: MM: 3.35mV | MC: 305uV
• EQUIVALENT INPUT NOISE (A-WEIGHTED): MM: ~0.09uV | MC: ~0.08uV
• RIAA CURVE ACCURACY: +/- 0.3dB 30Hz-50Hz
• SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO GROUNDED INPUTS REF. 1V OUTPUT (20HZ-20KHZ BW): MM: >90dB | MC: >70dB
• THD+N 1KHZ (20-20KHZ BW): MM: <0.0025% | MC: <0.20%
• INPUT IMPEDANCE: MM: 47k Ohms | MC: 100 Ohms
• INPUT CAPACITANCE: 100pF
• OVERLOAD MARGIN: >30dB
• CROSSTALK @ 10KHZ: MM: >85dB | MC: 75dB
• DIMENSIONS (H X W X D): 48 x 215 x 159 mm (1.9 x 8.5 x 6.2")
• WEIGHT: 0.95kg (2.1lbs)