Looks, clean power, excellent controls

binding posts (not a real weakness)

This unit looks great and is nice and solid. I have the black version. Its layout is simple, intuitive, and has the great big volume control, Everything feels good to the touch and visually the little pinpoint 'azur' indicator lights are totally cool and tasteful. The binding posts were probably the least satisfying part. They are not super solid; realistically though, you attach your wires and leave them alone so how solid do they need to be? The remote is very stylish and will switch inputs. It'll run other Cambridge components. The 540A has bass and treble defeat, balance, a/b speaker, and direct bypass. Again all the controls look and feel good. Oh, and a headphone jack I haven't tried yet. I have this in an office. 50wpc is more than enough power for me. I listen to Jazz, Alternative, and Classical in that order although I’m very critical with my classical listening. The Azur has a nice sound. I haven’t been able to A/B compare with other units, but I would characterize the sound as slightly warm but with good detail, comfortable and confident. I usually listen with tone bypass on. The Azur seems confident without being pushy, perfect for the office. I couldn't justify a more expensive component. The price was right for me. The Azur provides more quality than a similar priced receiver. It looks real nice in the office. The power range is perfect. I think it was a good buy.

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