TheRetroArcade
Veteran
Posts: 1,967
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
An entertaining set of desktop speakers with a boatload of style, good inputs and more to boot.
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Cambridge Audio might not be the first brand that comes to mind for desktop speakers, not least when the space has been dominated in the past by the likes of KEF, Ruark and FiiO in recent years.
However, the brand's L/R S were shown off to me at an event in December at its London HQ, and I've been itching to get my hands on them since. After months of waiting, I've finally been able to get my hands on them to judge how they sound and how easy they are to live with as a set of $549/£399 desktop speakers.
I'm a particularly big fan of the way that the L/R S looks, with a stylish and minimalistic finish to it. My sample came in a modern white colourway, although it's possible to get them in black, dark green, dark blue, bright orange, or, for an extra fee, a walnut veneer. My pick based on the models I've seen would be the white or orange, I must admit.
These are on the larger side for desktop speakers, I'd wager, being taller and deeper than competing options from Ruark and FiiO, although they aren't so big that I found them unwieldy on my desk or sideboard. I like the 'floating stand' these speakers come on too, as the chassis tapers off towards the base to give the illusion they're floating—neat.
Frequency: 55—24,000 HzDrivers: 21 mm hard-dome tweeter with waveguide and phase cap, 76 mm mid/bass driverWeight: 5.6 kgConnectivity: USB-C, 3.5 mm, Optical, RCA line-in, Bluetooth with aptX HDLighting: Status LED for connectivity, no addressable RGBPrice: $549/£399
The front of the L/R S confidently boasts the two drivers, with no option for grilles, be it magnetic or from the factory. Personally, I've always been a big fan of the exposed driver look for added style and intrigue, although I can see why you might prefer a grille.
As is typical with a lot of other active speakers, Cambridge has opted for the 'slave and master' combo, with one speaker handling all of the ports and smarts, with the other connected to it by a pleasant, locking braided cable.
On the one with all the ports and such, you get a pleasant array of inputs with standard RCA line-in, an optical out and a USB-C. The optical out and USB-C inputs support resolutions of up to 24-bit/96 KHz PCM, which is why my SACD rip of Genesis' Abacab wouldn't play… There's even room for a subwoofer via a dedicated port for when you need more thump. You also get two toggle switches so you can 'tell' the speaker where it is, be it near or further away from a wall, or whether it's on a desk or not.
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Wireless connectivity is limited to aptX HD Bluetooth, which is switchable with the dedicated 'source' button on the rear, and pairing to my Honor Magic V3 worked decently well. You don't get any streaming smarts, unlike some slightly dearer active speakers, if you wanted some Wifi powers for Tidal, Spotify or otherwise—for that, you'll need to look further up the range.
That's not to say the L/R S isn't happy to take inputs from a streamer for added flexibility. If you chuck a WiiM Mini or a FiiO SR11 with these, you've got a very competent desktop hifi system with streaming smarts and minimal fuss for under £500/$750. For my testing, I not only used these speakers with my main Windows gaming PC and a MacBook over optical and USB-C, respectively, but also with my WiiM Ultra desktop streamer for a more 'typical' use case.
As these cans are bereft of a companion app or similar means of phone-based control, Cambridge provides a small Bluetooth remote to use with these speakers. It provides an easier way of choosing inputs than dealing with the guesswork of using the input switch on the spe...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
PC Gamer's got your back
Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.
Cambridge Audio might not be the first brand that comes to mind for desktop speakers, not least when the space has been dominated in the past by the likes of KEF, Ruark and FiiO in recent years.
However, the brand's L/R S were shown off to me at an event in December at its London HQ, and I've been itching to get my hands on them since. After months of waiting, I've finally been able to get my hands on them to judge how they sound and how easy they are to live with as a set of $549/£399 desktop speakers.
I'm a particularly big fan of the way that the L/R S looks, with a stylish and minimalistic finish to it. My sample came in a modern white colourway, although it's possible to get them in black, dark green, dark blue, bright orange, or, for an extra fee, a walnut veneer. My pick based on the models I've seen would be the white or orange, I must admit.
These are on the larger side for desktop speakers, I'd wager, being taller and deeper than competing options from Ruark and FiiO, although they aren't so big that I found them unwieldy on my desk or sideboard. I like the 'floating stand' these speakers come on too, as the chassis tapers off towards the base to give the illusion they're floating—neat.
Frequency: 55—24,000 HzDrivers: 21 mm hard-dome tweeter with waveguide and phase cap, 76 mm mid/bass driverWeight: 5.6 kgConnectivity: USB-C, 3.5 mm, Optical, RCA line-in, Bluetooth with aptX HDLighting: Status LED for connectivity, no addressable RGBPrice: $549/£399
The front of the L/R S confidently boasts the two drivers, with no option for grilles, be it magnetic or from the factory. Personally, I've always been a big fan of the exposed driver look for added style and intrigue, although I can see why you might prefer a grille.
As is typical with a lot of other active speakers, Cambridge has opted for the 'slave and master' combo, with one speaker handling all of the ports and smarts, with the other connected to it by a pleasant, locking braided cable.
On the one with all the ports and such, you get a pleasant array of inputs with standard RCA line-in, an optical out and a USB-C. The optical out and USB-C inputs support resolutions of up to 24-bit/96 KHz PCM, which is why my SACD rip of Genesis' Abacab wouldn't play… There's even room for a subwoofer via a dedicated port for when you need more thump. You also get two toggle switches so you can 'tell' the speaker where it is, be it near or further away from a wall, or whether it's on a desk or not.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Wireless connectivity is limited to aptX HD Bluetooth, which is switchable with the dedicated 'source' button on the rear, and pairing to my Honor Magic V3 worked decently well. You don't get any streaming smarts, unlike some slightly dearer active speakers, if you wanted some Wifi powers for Tidal, Spotify or otherwise—for that, you'll need to look further up the range.
That's not to say the L/R S isn't happy to take inputs from a streamer for added flexibility. If you chuck a WiiM Mini or a FiiO SR11 with these, you've got a very competent desktop hifi system with streaming smarts and minimal fuss for under £500/$750. For my testing, I not only used these speakers with my main Windows gaming PC and a MacBook over optical and USB-C, respectively, but also with my WiiM Ultra desktop streamer for a more 'typical' use case.
As these cans are bereft of a companion app or similar means of phone-based control, Cambridge provides a small Bluetooth remote to use with these speakers. It provides an easier way of choosing inputs than dealing with the guesswork of using the input switch on the spe...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?