Audiolab 9000N Flagship Streaming DAC – Quick Look

All Image Credit: Audiolab

The arrival of the new 9000 flagship series was announced earlier this year by Audiolab with the release of the 9000A integrated amplifier and 9000CDT CD transport. The series has now been expanded with the addition of the companion 9000N flagship streaming DAC that is also just as at home being integrated into your own audiophile hardware.

The 9000N Linux based streaming hardware runs on an ARM Cortex A53 1.8GHz processor. It is Roon Ready and has native support for Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, MQA, Qobuz, AirPlay 2 and TuneIn Radio, as well as supporting its own UPnP based app from the Apple App or Google Play stores. The app offers; “intelligent search functionality and full access to, control of and even the creation of user-defined playlists, folders and album grouping functions. File information, track detail and app-in-app search, select, and compilation functions are easily accessible”. It also uses easily identified icons to show MQA encoded tracks.

A Wi-Fi antenna and Ethernet port handle network connectivity and USB-B and USB-A ports permit asynchronous PC/Mac connection and USB storage input respectively. The 9000N can therefore perform as a USB DAC as well as a network streamer.

The internal DAC is built around the ESS flagship 9038PRO chip with its eight decoder channels split four per side. Hi-Res support extends to 32bit/768kHz for PCM and DSD512 for DSD with options for 352.8KHz or 384KHz up-sampling and five selectable DAC filters (2x linear phase, 2x minimum phase, 1x hybrid). Virtually all file formats are supported, from compressed MP3 to Hi-Res FLAC, Apple Lossless (ALAC), WAV and AIFF, alongside native DSD in DSF and DIFF form, as well as DoP (DSD over PCM). A certified full MQA decoder (three unfold) is also available via streaming and PC USB.

According to Audiolab, getting the ultimate performance out of the Saber DAC chip can present a challenge. To that end Audilab has taken great care with its circuit design and layout, developing; new Class A circuitry, post-DAC filters and the use of multiple, discrete, ultra-low-noise regulators for each channel. Additional attention was also paid to the post-DAC balanced analogue stage to reduce noise and distortion before exiting via XLR sockets and single-ended RCA outputs, whose levels maybe adjusted from the front panel volume control. The 9000N also features a 50VA, analog, toroidal power supply, to deliver low noise power to all the sensitive parts of the digital and analogue stages.

Local front panel control and setup is available using the uncluttered select and volume controls and single standby button, which are augmented by the 4.3″ color IPS LCD full-color screen that can also display album artwork. The screen provides access to the 9000N’s extensive menu system and options, including the digital upsampling and filter settings, fixed or variable analogue output, left/right channel balance, time to standby, volume on powerup and Wi-Fi diagnostic data. The front display can even be set to show a VU-style meter or real-time decibel levels for the left and right channels.

Rear panel wired connectivity includes; stereo balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA line level outputs (both fixed/variable), S/PDIF optical and coaxial outputs, USB types A & B, RJ45 Ethernet and trigger I/O.

Specifications:

• Design Philosophy And Core Technology:
  • ESS Sabre ES9038Pro 32bit DAC
  • Quad Arm® Cortex®-A53 core,1.8GHz per CoreAudiolab 9000N Streaming technology (IEEE 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac,2.4/5GHz)
  • UPnP AV protocol with audio streaming extension (Open Home)
  • Built-in Certified MQA Full decoder (via streaming & PC USB)
  • Native support for Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, MQA, Qobuz and TuneIn Radio
  • Roon Ready
  • Gapless Playback
  • High-resolution album artwork display
  • USB storage / flash drive / USB hard disk (Single-partition FAT32, exFAT and NTFS) playback
  • 4.3″ (800 x 480px) IPS LCD screen
  • iOS (11.0 or later) / Android (Android 4.0 or later) required for App control
• The Audiolab 9000N App Features:
  • Native support for TIDAL, MQA, Qobuz and TuneIn Radio
  • Tidal MQA icons to easily identify high-res music
  • Qobuz high-res icons to identify high-res music
  • Volume control
  • High-resolution album artwork display
  • Artwork caching
  • Intelligent search functionality
  • Multiple Playlist complications & functionality
  • Multiple tag handling
  • Composer tag support
  • Album-grouping in playlist
  • Automatic internet links to artists / album / songs
  • Saving and restoring of playlists (including Tidal and Qobuz)
• Inputs:
  • 1 x Network Streaming
  • 1 x PC USB (USB Type-B)
  • 1 x Ethernet 10/100 / 1000 Base-T Ethernet1 x 12V Trigger
• Outputs:
  • 1 x RCA (pair)
  • 1 x XLR (pair)
  • 1 x Optical
  • 1 x Coaxial
  • 1 x 12V Trigger (Link)
• Supported File Formats:
  • DSD Lossless: DSF (DSD), DIFF (DSD), DoP (DSD)
  • PCM Lossless: FLAC, Apple Lossless (ALAC), WAV, AIFF
  • Compressed (lossy) Audio: MP3 MQ
• Sampling Frequency:
  • PCM: 44.1kHz-768kHz (705.6kHz / 768kHz Fixed-point supported via Audiolab 9000N App streaming)
    DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256, DSD512 (Native)
• Digital Section:
  • Frequency Response: 0.01dB (20Hz – 20kHz, ref.1kHz)
  • Max. Sampling Frequency: 192kHz / 24bit
• D to A Converter:
  • Frequency Response+/-0.5dB:  (20Hz – 20kHz, ref.1kHz)
  • Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.001% (1kHz @ 2.05Vrms)
  • Max. Sampling Frequency: 768kHz / 32bit
  • Signal-to-noise ratio (A-weighted): >116dB(RCA), >120dB(XLR)

MSRP (black or silver):

• US: $3,499.00
• UK: £2,499.00
• EU: €2,799.00

For more information visit the UK Audiolab web site:
Related posts:

• Audiolab 7000 Series – Quick Look
• Audiolab Flagship 9000 Series – First Look