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Product of the Year, Best Music Streamer Over £2000 – 2024 – What Hi-Fi? Magazine
Best Buy Award - avsforums.com
Applause Award - stereonet.com
Outstanding Product Award - Hi-Fi? News Magazine
Five Stars - What Hi-Fi? Magazine
The Epitome of Affordable High-End Audio Streaming
The audiolab 9000N Wireless Streaming Audio Player is the perfect digital streaming companion for the flagship audiolab 9000 series. As the result of over three year’s development and innovation, the 9000N provides a critically stable, high-resolution wireless and wired digital music playback.
The design of the 9000N reflects the crisp elegance of the 9000A and matching CDT. Equipped with rotary controls and an absence of buttons, except for the power switch, the 9000N has the same vivid 4.3" color screen as the rest of the 9000 series.
Award-Winning Performance
The audiolab 9000n received a November 14, 2024 award from What Hi-Fi? magazine, recognizing it as Best Music Streamer Over £2000 for 2024. According to the review, "The 9000N is a terrific performer that delivers class-leading precision and insight…"
"The 9000N proves that Audiolab is capable of scaling its streaming expertise to more premium price points. This is a strong performer that ticks pretty much every box as far as sound quality is concerned… The established class champions need to worry."
Award-Winning Performance
The 9000N grabbed a Best Buy Award from avsforums.com. According to reviewer Ed Selley, "The 9000N is genuinely one of the most affordable devices I can think of that offers something approaching absolute transparency across any commercially available format and sample rate and deliver it from a device which is built like a lorry and a pleasure to use at the same time. The 9000N is a formidable bit of kit and one that has to be seen as a Best Buy."
It also won an Applause Award from stereonet.com, which observes, "Overall, this new product is a great argument for people to take up streaming if they haven't already. Many prospective purchasers considering this product will already have Audiolab separates, so it's a perfect machine for them—but it's also ideal for those seeking a high-quality standalone design. This new Audiolab really is rather special, and I would call it a game-changer at the price."
Outstanding Product Award
Hi-Fi? News magazine honored the 9000N with its Outstanding Product Award. "Audiolab has rounded out its premium 9000 series with a streamer/DAC of real charm. The modern-looking hardware design, plus excellent display and app, appeal from the off, and its performance is assured – music of any flavour is in its wheelhouse thanks to a clear, detailed and unfussy presentation," notes Mark Craven.
It earned a top rating of Five Stars from Five Stars from What Hi-Fi? magazine. "The 9000N proves that Audiolab is capable of scaling its streaming expertise to more premium price points. This is a strong performer that ticks pretty much every box as far as sound quality is concerned. We have a few issues with the lack of certain features, but beyond that there is little to complain about here. The established class champions need to worry."
Andrew Everard, in his Gramophone magazine review for January 3, 2023, notes, "Without a doubt, the Audiolab 9000N is a major achievement on many levels, from the fit and finish to the breathtaking sound on offer. And in an age where very expensive network hardware is becoming more common place, it might even be considered something of a bargain."
Impressively Informative Screen Display
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 an 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.
Additionally, the 9000N display presents details of format data, playback information, and full-color album artwork display. Album artwork is visible in the default playback screen but can also be expanded for an artwork-emphasized 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.
Stream like a Dream with the 9000N App
The audiolab 9000N app combines an incredibly capable and stable streaming platform with audiolab’s overall digital know-how. The 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, and 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.
"The Best Device in Audiolab’s Top Line to Date"
"Audiolab’s 9000N is a crisply-dressed flagship streaming DAC," notes darko.audio, November 14, 2024.
"Audiolab’s engineering team has also paid attention to the post-DAC analogue stage which is a balanced design that aims to take down noise and distortion before exiting via XLR sockets on the rear panel. Single-ended RCA outputs are also available and both sets of analogue outputs can be attenuated by the front panel volume control."
"With simple user guidance, ultra-solid workmanship, an informative and beautiful display and, of course, great, detailed sound, the latest addition to the 9000 family scores plenty of points and is, in my opinion, the best device in Audiolab’s top line to date," observes Frank Lechtenberg, fidelity-magazine.com.
Superb Wireless Performance
The 9000N offers wireless playback over a Wi-Fi connection and isn't solely dependent on the sometimes preferable wired /ethernet connection. The 9000N offers playback via Airplay II as well as Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect for those who prefer the proprietary streaming service app.
The 9000N is Roon Ready, too. Roon Ready devices are network players with Roon’s own streaming technology built right in. 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.
High Performance DAC Circuitry
The 9000N's 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.
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, which has 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.
Full MQA Decoding
The 9000N delivers full decoding of the hi-res MQA streaming technology. This means that the complete ‘three unfold’ decoding process is performed internally, as opposed to just the final unfold in the manner of an MQA ‘renderer’, making the 9000A an excellent amplifier for subscribers to Tidal’s ‘HiFi Plus’ tier where Tidal Masters (MQA) content can be found. It is officially Roon Tested, too, ensuring it works seamlessly in a Roon audio environment.
Versatile Connectivity
The 9000N incorporates state-of-the-art digital-to-analog signal conversion, offering connectivity via analog XLR or RCA outputs. As a standalone MQA full decoder, it can be used with any amplifier or secondary preamp system with analog 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.
Versatile Functionality Without a Hint of Compromise
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 analog sources, always musically engaging, yet also refined.
