AUDIOLAB 9000N Streamer

The screen displays a variety of information in a more visually appealing way than most other streaming devices, many of which have traditionally relied upon the accompanying app for operational feedback and user control and interface. The 9000N’s display offers full menu controls, an array of options, and user settings, including multi-language selection and general display options.

Most impressively, the 9000N display presents details of format data, playback information and, as mentioned above, full-colour album artwork display. Album artwork is visible in the default playback screen but can also be expanded for an artwork-emphasised playback screen. The display can even be set to display a VU meter in ‘analogue’ or ‘digital’ form, showing real-time decibel levels for the left and right channels – a satisfying graphical representation of the music as it plays. For a more minimalistic option, the display can be dimmed or turned off completely, as the user prefers.

Digital Circuitry
The hardware is based upon a Quad Arm® Cortex®-A53 core MCU with 1.8 GHz per Core. This powerful ‘brain’ behind the system ensures seamless, rock-steady operation and additional benefits such as album artwork caching; for faster loading of the accompanying artwork files, thus enhancing the user experience and visual aesthetic.

Ever since the much-admired M-DAC launched more than a decade ago, Audiolab has been famed for the performance of its DAC circuitry. The 9000N incorporates the ES9038PRO – an eight-channel DAC chip representing the pinnacle of ESS Technology’s current Sabre range. This is accompanied by proprietary circuitry to make the most of the chip’s HyperStream II architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator technology for unprecedented dynamic range and ultra-low distortion.

No company knows more about making the most of Sabre DAC technology than Audiolab, having worked with it for years through several product generations. Although consistently technically excellent, these DAC chips are also challenging to implement to maximum effect and must be integrated into a product’s circuit design with care to extract their full sonic potential. The post-DAC active filter is a critical element, and Audiolab has developed a new circuit that is perfectly tailored to make the most of the ES9038PRO.

Versatile Connectivity
As any audiolab fan would expect, the 9000N incorporates state-of-the-art digital-to-analogue signal conversion. The 9000N offers connectivity via analogue XLR or RCA outputs. As a standalone MQA full decoder, it can be used with any amplifier or secondary pre-amp system that offers analogue connections. Further magic is employed through the digital output and option ‘MQA Pass through functionality’. For users who may employ an equally powerful DAC (9000A owners, for instance), the 9000N can stream and throughput an untouched MQA signal (from Tidal or Qobuz, for example) which that secondary DAC can then decode. This offers further functionality and versatility, not to mention a totally unadulterated signal flow – a benefit for the purists.

High-end Audio that Shoots for the Stars but Doesn’t Cost the Earth
The 9000 series enters the streaming realms with a view of bringing the epitome of affordable high-end audio – build quality to be proud of, versatile functionality without a hint of compromise, and a performance that delivers every detail of the music and brings it to life in captivating style. It provides remarkable sonic consistency across all manner of digital and analogue sources, always musically engaging yet also refined.