cartridge wil invariably benefitsignificantly from a high-quality ofboard phono stage. Rather than cover both bases to a m erely adequate degree, Audiolab decided to focus solely on m aking an excelent M M phono stage – for users of this cartridge type,thisisalthe phono stage they wil need. Headphone listenersare equalywelserved bythe 9000A’s dedicated headphone am plifier.W ith its curent-feedback design and high slew rate, a dynam icand detailed perform ance with alm anner of headphones is as ured – a far cry from the elem entaryheadphone outputsofm ostintegrated amps. Pre and poweroperationalm odes As is traditionalwith Audiolab’s integrated am ps, the 9000A ofersthree distinctoperationalm odes, reflecting its discrete internal architecture and enabling it to adapt as its user’s requirem ents evolve. The prim ary m ode is ‘Integrated’– this com bines the pre and poweram p stages,forthe connection ofdigitaland analogue sourcesto the am p’sinputs and apairofspeakersto itsbinding posts. ‘Pre-PowerM ode’disconnectsthe pre and power am p stages. The alows the 9000A to be used solelyasapoweram p –forexam ple,connected to an AV proces orin a hom e cinem a system .Italso enablesadditionalsignalproces ing to be added, by connecting the 9000A’s‘pream p out’socketto an external procesor, then returning the proces or’s output to the am p’s ‘power am p in’ socket. Finaly,‘Pre M ode’disablesthe poweram p stage, turning the 9000A into astandalone DAC/pream p. This enables externalpower am plification to be added,thusproviding apos ibleupgradepath. High-end audio that shoots for the stars but doesn’tcostthe earth The 9000A is the epitom e ofafordable high-end audio – build quality to be proud of, versatile functionality withouta hintofcom prom ise,and a
perform ance thatdeliverseverydetailofthe m usic and brings itto life in captivating style.Itdelivers rem arkable sonic consistency acros al m annerof digital and analogue sources, always m usicaly engaging yetalso refined. The soundstage it produces is broad and deep, with crisply defined detail revealing the ful character of voices and instrum ents. Im pres ive dynam ic range conveys naturalim pact,while the am p’s transient abilty keeps feet tapping with rhythmic music. Deep, fleet-footed bas; expres ive and expansive m idrange; treble that singswith sweetprecision – the 9000A deliversan adroitly balanced perform ance with al kinds of m usic,from rock and electronica to clas icaland jaz .In short,itdelivers an open window on the m usic being played, as al great hi-fi should, engaging thelistenerwithnatural,unforced energy thatisfulyreflective ofthe source m aterial.
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Specif ication sum m ary Cable inputs
• 1xUSB Type B digital(768kHz)
• 4xS/PDIF digital(192kHz)
• 1xstereo XLR balanced analogue
• 4xstereo RCA analogue (3xline;1xM M phono)
• 1xstereo RCA poweram p in
• 1xUSB Type A forfirm ware updates
• 1x12V trigger
Cable outputs
• Gold-pated speakerbinding posts
• 1x6.3m m headphone out
• 1xstereo RCA pream p out
• 1x12V trigger
30 MUSICATHOME+
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