Audiolab 9000N Wireless Streaming Audio Player and USB DAC

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, which allows 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.

The 9000N implements the same 4.3″ color screen, as found in the 9000A integrated Amplifier and 9000CDT CD Transport, the perfect window for presentation for your digital music files, including full-color album artwork!

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-color album artwork. 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 analog 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.

The Audiolab 9000N app offers immediate access to Qobuz and Tidal, with full access to hi-res and MQA content, as well as Spotify, TuneIn internet radio, UPnP music server systems, and digital audio files stored on USB HDD devices.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, app-in-app search, select, and compilation functions are easily accessible. Qobuz and Tidal users will be pleased to know that, unlike some other apps and platforms, the hi-res and Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) tracks can be easily identified with icons within the app itself, with no need to hop between the service and device apps to find such content.

Unlike comparable technology from other manufacturers, the 9000N o¿ers wireless playback over a Wi-Fi connection, not solely dependent on the, albeit sometimes preferable, wired /ethernet connection. Yet, it is also not limited to the Audiolab 9000N app; the 9000N also offers playback via Airplay II as well as Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect for those who prefer the proprietary streaming service app.

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, which will please audio purists.

To add to the impressive list of digital audio platform compatibility, the 9000N is Roon Ready. Roon Ready devices are network players with Roon’s own streaming technology built right in, connected over your ethernet or WiFi network. These devices make bit-perfect high-resolution audio simple because they require no configuration, they give you access to the best audio quality and they provide stable, reliable playback.