Audiolab 9000N streamer
Audiolab has carved itself a firm niche in the market with affordable, value for money equipment, by designing in the UK and manufacturing in China. However, the 9000N is not a beer-budget model sitting, as it does, at the top end of their price range.
The Audiolab engineers have lots of experience of ESS DACs, with a pretty good track record, and plenty of plaudits. In the 9000N they’ve gone the whole hog by specifying a top of the range ESS Sabre ES9038Pro 32-bit, 8 channel DAC, employing four channels per channel, to minimise noise and distortion, with processing based on a Quad Arm Cortex-A53 core MCU with 1.8 GHz per core for speed and stability, in addition to careful attention with clocking, power supplies and layout to optimise performance and sound quality.
The internal DAC can play files directly from a computer memory, via USB sticks, or from file storage on the local network. While, it doesn’t accept either optical or coaxial SPDIF, or AES, as it does have a USB-B input for computer sources, so it is a DAC in the standalone sense but only for one source type. Analogue outputs are provided by both unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR sockets.
Streaming is carried out using Audiolab’s adaption of Lumin’s tried and tested control app, either through an ethernet connection or wi-fi. Also available is Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Airplay 2 and Tunein. They’ve just recently added Qobuz connect (which allows streaming via the Qobuz app) and the 9000N is Roon ready. It also includes a built-in volume control, so can connect directly to a power amplifier (and may be switched to fixed line-level output). In addition to the front panel controls, the 9000N is controllable remotely with the app or the remote handset, all of which is made a pleasure due to the bright, clear 4.3 inch colour screen.
Sound quality
My overall impression of the 9000N is of a transparent, detailed and essentially neutral sonic delivery. For instance, I started listening by streaming (over ethernet) from Qobuz via the Audiolab app by playing Lang Lang’s rendition of Chopin’s Scherzo No 1 in B Minor Op 20 (24bit/96kHz) from his album Lang Lang in Paris, his piano, was full bodied and crystal clear, fluid and with a fine sense of ambience.
With Sibelius’ Symphony No 5 in E flat Major Op 82 conductor Paavo Jarvi with the Orchestra De Paris (RCA Red Seal 24bit/96kHz) one could clearly hear the sound of jagged staccato strings, most likely highlighted by closely placed microphones. The Audiolab dug deep into the micro details, bringing out the more subtle bowing sounds. This is quite a bright recording, which benefited from the linear phase slow-roll-off filter. By contrast, Sakari Oramo’s recording of the same symphony by the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on Erato, despite being 44.1kHz /16 bit file, sounded smoother overall and more natural in balance and musically more lyrical. The 9000N really is very transparent to each and every recording’s qualities.
It was a pattern repeated when playing Rimski Korsakov’s The Dance of the Tumblers, (Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, Reference Recordings, 16 bit /44.1kHz) this time streaming via Qobuz Connect. This piece was dynamically rendered, with beautifully brassy horns, articulate pizzicato and smooth bowed strings. The overall portrayal of the orchestra was most impressive, dramatic and exciting, with deep powerful drums, and no holding back, just as it should be. Although dramatic and detailed, it was not harsh in any way. Changing musical genres, streaming George Benson’s Give Me the Night, in linear phase fast roll-off, was similarly revealing, with oh-so-clear lead and backing vocals, along with tight driving bass lines.
It was hard to detect any noticeable difference in sound quality comparing the same files via the Audiolab app and Qobuz Connect. However, it was a treat to use the latter, as it gave full access to Qobuz’ facilities, such as selecting and saving favourites. Fortunately, switching between the two via the Audiolab app’s interface on my iPhone was easy to set up and connect with the streamer seamless and trouble free, which was great, as the Audiolab app was also good to use for either streaming, or playing files from my USB drive. From first plug in, it took very little time to make all my based files available for listening, complete with artwork, metadata, etc. The Audiolab’s processor was doings its job quickly, although some of its cover artwork choices were a bit random, in one or two cases within the same album.
Audiolab provides a good range of five filter options: linear phase fast roll of, linear phase slow roll off, minimum phase fast roll off, minimum phase slow roll off and hybrid (a combination of minimum and linear phase). These options are disabled when paying MQA, or when PCM upsampling, when linear phase slow roll off becomes the default. My review sample had previously been set to linear phase fast roll off, without upsampling. Therefore, I inadvertently started on this setting, which I judged to be the liveliest, leanest and most detailed of them all. Nonetheless, the sound was not over bright, just very clear and open – maybe just a touch on the lean side of neutral. Linear phase slow roll of produced a softer tone and richer balance. Fast and slow roll off in minimum phase showed similar differences but marginally thinner tonally, while the hybrid filter produced a more pleasing balance than the latter two, more like the minimum phase slow roll off.
Upsampling (with default linear phase slow roll off), generally provided a touch more depth and body to CD based 44.1/16 bit files, also with greater fluidity and a more analogue like presentation, which I liked. This mode suited music with natural acoustics, which were rendered more audible, and more believable, particularly in the classical pieces, and Kraftwerk’s live recording, whereas the non-upsampled sound seemed a trifle flatter and less convincing, though still very good.
Of the non upsampled options, I tended to prefer the default minimum phase slow roll off and hybrid filters, but others may prefer the greater immediacy and clarity of the fast roll off options, depending on taste, system, and recording characteristics.
USB library
I was intrigued to hear how well the USB input could deliver music from my SSD drive, which contains mostly standard definition files ripped from CD. Fortunately, the 9000N has sufficient current delivery (1A) to drive most SSDs apart from the most power hungry (for which an external power supply may be required).
I played Joni Mitchell’s All I want and Little Green, from her heart-on-sleeve album Blue (44.1k/16 bit), in which her guitar has a lively bright metallic tone. Appparently, Joni wanted this to sound raw, but it has a brittleness which can be emphasised by some DACs. Streaming from my drive, even in linear phase fast roll off, showed no such emphasis, only clarity, while her vocals were as sensitive and intimate as one could wish for in these introspective tracks. Upsampling brightened the balance, but probably sounded closer to that of the recording. Better than CD? Well, without a coax input I could not confirm that, of course, but from memory I felt it may well have been.
Kraftwerk’s Man Machine from their live album Maximum Minimum was vibrant, lively and atmospheric as it should be, and the sound of the audience’s enthusiastic responses sounded convincingly realistic in the open-air venue on the 9000N. Not only that, the bass was powerful, throbbing and seemingly subterranean. I compared this to the same track, same bit rate via Qobuz Connect. This sounded slightly less open, less immediate and tonally a little thinner. It was still a good sound, but the local file was definitely better, more relaxed, more open, more atmospheric. Actually, I was not surprised, as I’ve noticed this before with many other models of streamers. I guess there’s a lot more noise pick up when streaming data packets over the telephone network.
Elton John’s classic album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (a 24bit/96kHz download), was also very impressively delivered. For instance the powerful synth intro sounded creamy and highly textured, clearly revealing its multi-layered mix. Whereas, this track can sound brash and overpowering, sometimes quite bright, this was most definitely not the case via the 9000N, even with the linear phase fast-roll-off filter. In Candle in the Wind, the ambient reverb around the vocals was very apparent and his piano was delightfully resonant. The 9000N allowed one to hear deep into the mix, in every detail, but without tipping the detail over the top.
So, the sound quality of the streamer and DAC is clearly excellent and that made me wish even more strongly that the 9000N had been provided with an SPDIF input for my CD player (not to mention an HDMI ARC socket for the TV).
Conclusion
The Audiolab 9000N is pretty darn good, and definitely a significant step up in sound quality from entry-level models. Indeed, I reckon it punches above its weight and price point, delivering a performance that could just as easily have come from a higher-end brand. It is characteristically transparent and essentially neutral, with subtle changes according to which filter was applied.
Auditioned using the linear phase fast roll off filter, it exhibited the crispest balance. The linear phase slow-roll-off and hybrid filters, provided warmer balances and yet retained the 9000N’s detailed and dynamic qualities across a wide range of musical genres. Upsampling unleashed layers of subtlety and atmosphere from CD quality material. It’s hard to see what’s not to like, Audiolab have a winner on their hands.