Cambridge Audio Yoyo (L) ‘Home Audio Hub’ Vies For A Place In Your Living Room

Cambridge Audio is known for building high-performance, high-value electronics that sit comfortably in the sweet spot between mass-market junk and high-end esoterica. (I used a Cambridge integrated amp in my bedroom system for many years before selling it to my friend Chris, who is still enjoying it nearly a decade later.) Lately though, the brand has been pushing the boundaries of its comfort zone, expanding into new territory. As 2018 marks the company’s 50th anniversary, Cambridge has recently released its new high-end Edge series of electronics, with new Edge speakers expected to follow soon. These are the most expensive (and coolest-looking) pieces of gear that the brand has ever offered. At the same time, Cambridge has also reached downward into the world of affordable lifestyle audio products with its Yoyo series of bluetooth speakers. The small and medium versions of the Yoyo are portable, battery-powered devices meant to provide tunes wherever you might want them, from the bedroom to the backyard. The new $399 Yoyo (L) is something else entirely. Cambridge describes the Yoyo (L) as a “home audio hub,” intended to take up permanent residence on a TV stand, bookshelf, or sideboard. Functionally, it’s a hybrid between a wireless speaker and a three-channel sound bar, so it performs double duty as a music system and a home theater solution.

The Yoyo (L) has an unusual form factor that sets it apart from other all-in-one audio products, like the identically-priced Sonos Beam. Its square footprint and boxy shape provide space for both a full-range driver and subwoofer on each of three surfaces — the front, the left side, and the right side — for a total of six drivers, each with its own separate amplifier. According to Cambridge, this arrangement allows the Yoyo (L) to deliver precise imaging with “superior presence and staging” for music, and wide dispersion for “huge, room-filling, truly immersive sound” for home theater. The Yoyo (L) relies on a suite of digital signal processing tools called MaxxAudio, from the Grammy-winning DSP developer Waves Audio. These audio enhancement tools allow Cambridge to tweak the Yoyo’s in-room response, resulting in “unparalleled sound performance, with clearer highs, enhanced bass, and increased volume.” You can select from four EQ settings: Movie, Music, TV, and Voice. In each mode, an adjustable bass setting allows you to dial in the desired amount of low-end reinforcement.

In order to provide connectivity accommodations for the widest range of devices, Cambridge has included an optical Toslink input, a 3.5mm analog auxiliary input, and an HDMI input with ARC (audio return channel) for connecting the Yoyo (L) to a TV. The Yoyo (L) can also learn your TV remote’s volume commands, so you don’t have to fiddle with multiple remotes. Wireless connectivity includes built-in wifi and bluetooth with optional NFC (near-field communication) pairing. If your phone or tablet supports NFC, simply tap it against the NFC logo on the Yoyo’s top panel to pair the device with the speaker. Spotify Connect is built-in, as is Chromecast audio. The Chromecast feature should be especially appealing to anyone who has ever tried using a smartphone to stream music to a bluetooth speaker, only to have the music interrupted by text messages and phone calls. Using Chromecast, the Yoyo (L) can seamlessly play music from your favorite apps while you use your phone for other things. A built-in USB charger keeps your device’s battery topped up.

Like the other speakers in Cambridge’s Yoyo line, the Yoyo (L) is wrapped in a custom-made, acoustically-transparent combed wool fabric, which lends a classier look than the cheap materials used in most lifestyle audio products. Available in two shades of grey, the fabric is made by “world-renowned Yorkshire weavers” Marton Mills, and is finished with an application of a “NanoSphere” treatment, which repels water and dirt. One seamless piece of material covers the front, sides, and back of the speaker, helping it blend in with stylish rooms. The Yoyo (L) has a square 10.6” footprint, and sits about 5” tall. It’s an unusual shape, and that may make it a hard sell for sound-bar customers expecting a slim speaker to match their slim TVs. Unlike many of its “smarter” competitors, it doesn’t offer voice control. Built-in Chromecast allows for some multi-room audio capability, but it’s not as robust as solutions from Sonos, Apple, and others. Will the Yoyo (L) win over customers with its innovative design and unique “home audio hub” approach?

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