Cambridge Audio spent 58 years building amplifiers, CD players, streamers, and turntables before it ever made an active speaker. When it finally did, it skipped the easy route. The L/R S — the entry model in the company's new L/R family, alongside the streaming L/R M and flagship L/R X — is a genuinely active stereo pair, not the usual "one powered speaker driving a dumb partner" design you get at this price. Each driver gets its own 25W amplifier, a DSP crossover does the splitting, and the whole thing is wrapped in a cabinet small enough for a crowded desk.
It costs $549 per pair in the U.S., which puts it in a strange, interesting place: cheaper than premium streamers like the KEF LSX II, pricier than value champs from Edifier, and aimed directly at the Ruark MR1 Mk3's throat. I've spent time with the full run of hands-on coverage from reviewers who lived with these for weeks, and I want to tell you exactly where this pair excels, where it annoys, and who should buy it — because the answer is not everyone.
Key Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Active 2-way bookshelf pair (four Class-D amps, DSP crossover) |
| Total power | 100W (4 × 25W, one amp per driver) |
| Drivers | 21mm aluminium dome tweeter w/ waveguide + phase cap, 76mm long-throw woofer |
| Frequency response | 55Hz – 24kHz ±3dB (manufacturer claim) |
| Enclosure | Bass-reflex (rear slot port) |
| Bluetooth | SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD |
| Inputs | RCA line-in, USB-C audio, optical TOSLINK, Bluetooth |
| Outputs | RCA subwoofer pre-out |
| DSP | 24-bit/48kHz internal; accepts 24-bit/96kHz via optical/USB; DynamEQ; Normal/Movie/Voice presets |
| Placement controls | Desk mode, near-wall mode, L/R assignment switches |
| Dimensions (W×H×D) | 134 × 226 × 180 mm (5.3 × 8.9 × 7.1 in) each |
| Weight | 3.0 kg primary / 2.6 kg secondary (12.3 lb per pair) |
| Finishes | Black, White, Blue, Orange, Green, Walnut (premium) |
| Extras | Bluetooth LE remote, 2m inter-speaker link cable |
Design and Build
There's no grille on the L/R S, and you won't miss it. The front baffle is two drivers, period: a copper-orange 21mm dome tweeter set into a waveguide (which doubles as finger protection — the phase cap sits flush enough that poking at it is hard), over a 76mm woofer. The look is minimal in the way the company's packaging promises: clean edges, a matte lacquer that feels better than it has any right to at this price, and a small etched Cambridge logo on top of each cabinet. Six finishes are offered — black, white, blue, orange, and green lacquers plus a real walnut veneer that costs $50 more. The U.S. store currently lists black and white directly; the brighter colors still show up at retailers like Best Buy and Sweetwater, so shop around if you want something loud.
Each cabinet measures 134 × 226 × 180 mm and the primary weighs 3.0 kg against the secondary's 2.6 kg. They're small enough for a desk, big enough to look serious on stands. The construction quality is the surprise of the category: reviewers consistently describe crisp edges, a solid feel, and a recessed plinth with rubber feet that makes the cabinets appear to float. This is a $549 product that doesn't feel like it cut corners anywhere.
The layout is unusual in a way that matters. All electronics live in the primary speaker. A bespoke 4-conductor cable links it to the secondary, carrying power and digital audio, with screw-lock connectors on both ends that feel properly engineered. The supplied cable is 2 meters — fine for a desk, short for shelf placement across a room, and the 5m replacement is a paid accessory. That cable is also the whole reason the system can be genuinely active rather than powered: the secondary speaker isn't receiving a pre-amplified signal, it's receiving PWM audio and doing its own amplification.
Sound Quality
The one-sentence summary: the L/R S sounds bigger than its physical size, and every review I've read lands on the same image — a soundstage that extends well past the cabinets with stereo focus that embarrasses most soundbars and even some much larger speakers. That's the headline talent. The details beneath it matter more, because reviewers disagree in ways worth untangling.
Bass. This is the contested ground. The European reviewers who spent the most time on critical listening describe the bottom end as slightly too confident — a mild bloom in the deepest octave that makes bass a touch prominent, a touch separated from the mids. One put it bluntly: the speaker is "too pleased" with its own low-frequency output. The lab-minded review from a German outlet told the opposite story: astonishingly rich, contoured bass for the size, with a dynamic groove on electric and double basses that "sets it apart from practically all competitors in this size class" — even the KEF LSX II. Other reviewers heard it differently: taut, nimble basslines with less weight than the Ruark MR1 Mk3's, but not overpowering.
My read, reconciling all of this: the L/R S has genuinely excellent bass extension for a 76mm driver — the 55Hz claim holds up better than you'd believe — and the tuning leans a little warm at the very bottom. Whether that reads as "impressive for the size" or "slightly overplayed" depends on your room, your placement, and your taste. What's not in dispute: the bass is well-controlled, doesn't blur into the mids, and can fill a small room without a subwoofer. Hip-hop and action-movie listeners will still want the subwoofer output used, though.
Midrange. Voices are the strength. The active crossover keeps the woofer from doubling as a vocal driver, and the result is a clean, articulate midrange with a solid phantom center — vocals lock in the middle of the soundstage with natural body. There are two separate complaints in the reviews, and they're worth separating. One reviewer found the lower mids a touch polite, missing "oomph" on energetic tracks. Another heard a slight veil over the mids compared with the Ruark — a bit less texture and insight on layered vocals. Neither reviewer called the midrange bad; both called it reserved next to class leaders. For spoken word, podcasts, and most music, this is a non-issue. For hard-hitting rock or intimate acoustic detail at the extreme, the Ruark does more.
Treble. Universal agreement here: clean, extended, and fatigue-free. The waveguide spreads the tweeter's output so the top end stays smooth off-axis, and no reviewer reported harshness or sibilance even at length. At the top of the volume range it can get shouty — more on that below — but at normal listening levels the treble is a model of politeness.
Soundstage and imaging. The party trick. Reviewers describe a "large and well-defined soundstage," precise instrument placement, and the sense that the sound is coming from a much bigger system. One called the stereo imaging "utterly excellent" and noted the speakers "get the best from your tunes" if you listen to music mastered for stereo. This is where the L/R S beats its direct competition — the Ruark is the better all-rounder, but the Cambridge images with more space and focus.
Volume. The pair goes louder than you'd expect from the size — loud enough that one reviewer's phone volume limit wasn't the speaker's limit; the remote had more to give. The flip side is unanimous: push to truly antisocial levels and composure collapses. The stage flattens, the presentation gets crowded and two-dimensional, the treble turns shouty, and bass output starts to fade. A lab-style review found the same — bass rolls off and midrange clarity slips slightly under extreme load. Keep it at "loud living room" and it's fine; this is not a speaker for parties.
Placement. The rear-panel toggles aren't marketing filler. Desk mode delays the tweeter and notches the mids around 700Hz to kill desk reflections; near-wall mode cuts the ~100Hz region to tame boundary boom. They work, and reviewers recommend experimenting. One reviewer preferred the fuller "free space / desk off" combination; another found the near-field image "a touch too direct" at a computer and preferred a larger listening triangle of about 2 meters. The optional angled desk stands are worth budgeting for — they aim the tweeters at your ears and tighten the image, and without them, off-axis listening noticeably shifts the balance.
Inputs and Connectivity
The L/R S covers the practical bases: a pair of RCA line inputs, USB-C audio, one optical TOSLINK, Bluetooth with aptX HD, and a subwoofer pre-out. That last one matters — it's rare at this price, and it means you can fix the "not enough deep bass for hip-hop" complaint with any powered sub you already own.
What's missing is just as important. No HDMI ARC, so TV connection is optical-only and your TV remote can't control the speakers' volume. No network of any kind — no Wi-Fi, no Ethernet, no Spotify Connect, no AirPlay, no app. This is a Bluetooth + cables system in an era when the L/R M ($1,599) and L/R X ($2,399) up the range do full StreamMagic streaming. And there's no phono stage, so a turntable needs a preamp. Those omissions are deliberate — Cambridge is protecting the family hierarchy — but they're real limits at $549, and the Onkyo GX-30ARC undercuts this pair by $200 while adding HDMI ARC and a phono stage.
Two more practical notes. You get no input cables at all — no USB-C, no RCA, no optical — so budget for those. And every incoming signal, even 24-bit/96kHz over optical or USB, gets resampled to 24-bit/48kHz in the DSP. You can't hear that difference on most music, but if you're feeding it hi-res files, don't expect bit-perfect output.
Features and Controls
Control of the L/R S lives almost entirely on the supplied Bluetooth LE remote: volume, input selection, power, play/pause, and three EQ presets — Normal, Movie, and Voice. The presets are subtle enough that most reviewers left it on Normal; Voice genuinely helps podcasts, and Movie adds bass and treble heft without mangling dialogue. DynamEQ, the volume-based tone compensation, works quietly in the background and keeps the balance intact as you turn down for the evening — it's one of those features you only notice when it's missing.
The catches are real. There are no volume controls on the speakers themselves — just a rear button that powers the unit on and cycles inputs — so misplace the remote and you're stuck. The remote itself is small, hard plastic, and unlit, though the Bluetooth link means it doesn't need line of sight. Bluetooth volume is decoupled from the speaker volume, which means the classic dance: crank the phone to full, then use the remote for real volume control. There's a small status LED under the primary that shows the selected input by color; it can be dimmed or switched off entirely from the remote, a detail most brands get wrong. One reviewer's setup complaint stands out: because the input LED is the only feedback, precise volume adjustment is guesswork in Bluetooth mode.
Who This Is For, and Who Should Skip It
Buy the L/R S if: you want a desktop system that sounds like a much bigger hi-fi; you listen to stereo music and care about imaging; you need something small enough for a crowded desk but good enough that you'll never feel the need to "upgrade" the speakers themselves; you already own a subwoofer and want to add it; or you want one clean-looking pair that handles computer, TV (via optical), and phone without a receiver or amplifier.
Skip it if: you're on a strict budget — the Onkyo GX-30ARC and Edifier's $200–$450 pairs cover the basics for less; you want Wi-Fi streaming or voice control (look at the L/R M, or any Sonos); you want one-cable TV setup with HDMI eARC (it's not here); you have a turntable without a phono preamp; you're a basshead who won't add a sub; or you habitually listen at genuinely loud volumes, where the composure falls apart.
Competitive Comparison
| Model | Price (2026) | Type | Bluetooth | HDMI ARC | Phono | Sub out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Audio L/R S | $549 | Active, 100W, DSP crossover | aptX HD | No | No | Yes |
| Ruark MR1 Mk3 | $579 | Powered, 2×25W Class D | aptX HD | No | Yes (MM) | Yes |
| Onkyo GX-30ARC | $349 | Powered, 50W Class D | SBC only | Yes | Yes (MM) | Yes |
| Edifier S880DB MKII | $449 | Powered, 88W | LDAC | No | No | Yes |
The Ruark MR1 Mk3 is the spiritual rival: similar money, smaller cabinets, more rhythmic drive and midrange insight, plus a phono stage — though it's a powered design, not active, and it doesn't image with the Cambridge's space. The Onkyo GX-30ARC is the value play — $200 less, HDMI ARC, a phono stage, and a sub out of its own, with Bluetooth limited to SBC and less bass authority than the Cambridge. The Edifier S880DB MKII undercuts the Cambridge by $100 with LDAC Bluetooth and a sub out, but it's a conventional powered two-way, so you give up the genuinely active amplification and the imaging focus. Against all three, the L/R S is the most technically ambitious and the best imager — it just asks you to live without HDMI, phono, and streaming. And if you'd rather spend similar money on a bigger three-way design with HDMI eARC and less imaging finesse, my Edifier R2750DB MKII review covers that trade in detail.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Genuinely active design: four amplifiers and a DSP crossover — engineering you don't see at this price
- Outstanding soundstage width and stereo imaging for the size
- Clean, fatigue-free treble and articulate, natural vocals
- Surprising bass weight for a 76mm driver; subwoofer pre-out included
- Superb build and finish quality in six colors
- Placement toggles (desk / near-wall / L-R) actually work
- Small footprint, remote with dimmable status LED, Bluetooth LE (no line-of-sight needed)
Cons
- No Wi-Fi, no app, no Spotify Connect or AirPlay — Bluetooth and cables only
- No HDMI ARC (TV is optical-only) and no phono stage
- No volume controls on the speakers — lose the remote and you're stuck
- No input cables of any kind in the box
- Bass tuning leans warm at the bottom; deep-bass lovers will want the sub
- Loses composure at very high volumes
- Optional desk stands and 5m link cable cost extra
Verdict
The Cambridge Audio L/R S is the most interesting small speaker pair of the year, and I don't say that lightly. It's a genuinely active system with four amplifiers and a DSP crossover — the kind of engineering you expect from a company that's spent six decades in hi-fi — wrapped in a cabinet small enough to sit next to your monitor. The soundstage is startling, the build is premium, and at $549 it undercuts the direct competition while out-imaging most of it.
The honest caveats are real: no Wi-Fi streaming, no HDMI ARC, no phono stage, no on-speaker volume, no cables in the box. And the bass tuning is a coin flip — some reviewers call it class-leading for the size, others hear a bloom they'd trim. If your music lives on a phone, a computer, or a CD player, and you value imaging over everything else, this is the pair to beat under $600. If you need streaming, TV eARC simplicity, or a turntable without extra boxes, spend your money elsewhere — the Onkyo GX-30ARC does more for $200 less, and the L/R M upstairs in the lineup is the one with the network smarts. For the desktop purist with a phone full of music, the L/R S is simply the best-sounding thing in its class, and the only real question is whether its deliberate simplicity fits how you listen.
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