Intro
Contents
Today we have the sleek-looking Audiolab 9000N visiting us. A streamer/dac/preamplifier from Audiolab’s premium range that takes on the big boys in the field.
Disclaimer. Years ago, this author began his hi-fi adventure with an integrated amplifier and CD player from British Audiolab’s illustrious 8200 series. Back then, the cool looks and impressive specs were the deciding factors. Combined with a pair of enthusiastic Acoustic Energy 301 monitors, this resulted in a very detailed, but rather analytical playback that could get tiresome after a while. Hopefully this 9000N will allow long listening sessions, though. Let’s check it out!
Construction and appearance of the Audiolab 9000N
You recognise an Audiolab unit from miles away, and mainly because of their limited height (9 cm). This, combined with clean corners and edges, creates a minimalist look. New is the LCD screen located on the left side of the device. On it, the artwork, artist and track playing appear as standard. You can also make some VU meters appear and you can even turn the screen off completely. But why buy a streamer with screen if you’re going to turn it off?
Next to the screen, we see two large rotary buttons, Select and Volume, and on the far right the Standby button. Sleek and uncluttered. The Select button selects inputs or dives into the menu to change filters, inputs and screen options, among others. The Volume button just controls the volume, something you can also do with the large remote control. This remote is the same for the amplifier and the CD transport. Quite a button party i have to say.
Press Play
We didn’t need the remote, though. But we did use the new app, developed in collaboration with Lumin. It is a lot more user-friendly than the DTS Play-Fi app Audiolab worked with before. UPnP, Airplay 2, Tuneln, Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect are provided and the Audiolab 9000N is now Roon Ready. Nice. Chromecast and Bluetooth, on the other hand, are missing.
At the back, we see RCA and XLR out, coaxial and optical out, Ethernet in and USB in. No coaxial or optical inputs. You’ll find those on the 9000A. Furthermore, a port for updates, a trigger link, a reset button and a USB port to connect a USB stick. Under the hood is a powerful AMR processor that has also been further developed in collaboration with Lumin. The dual mono dac is based on an eight-channel ESS 9038 Pro 32-bit Sabre chip and can process just about any possible PCM and DSD file. Those Sabre dacs, meanwhile, sound very different from those in the aforementioned 8200 series. Let that be clear.
Ik heb deze speler kort na de introductie gekocht en ben er heel gelukkig mee. Wat me wel van het hart moet, is dat Audiolab geen erg stevige RCA-aansluitingen monteert. In vergelijking tot andere spelers is hier nog wel wat te winnen. T.a.v. de prijs, ik heb deze speler in december 2023 al voor minder dan 2000 euro als retourdeal kunnen kopen…er zijn dus mogelijkheden