Audiolab’s pre and power combination is the latest release as part of their range topping 9000 series.
An unusual sighting at this price point, pre/power combinations have become the preserve of more esoteric equipment, with this price bracket being the preserve of some rather fabulous integrated amplifiers. The question is there enough to differentiate this pre power combination from the integrated model and make the increase in price and number of box’s worth it?
So we will start with features and connectivity, and this is possibly the biggest let down in some ways if you are looking for an improvement over the 9000A integrated amplifier. The only additional connections on the 9000Q are a additional pair of pre out RCA’s and a pair of XLR pre-outs, necessary for its functionality as a pre-amplifier. However this is not to say that is lacking, for analogue sources there is a MM phono connection, three line RCA inputs, one of which has a AV direct function for use with an AV amplifier, and a pair of balanced XLR inputs.
For digital sources there is a pair of coax connections, a pair of optical connections, USB type B port for computers and Bluetooth 5.1, which supports aptX, aptX HD and LDAC codes. On the back of the 9000P you have a pair of RCA inputs and a balanced XLR input, which you can switch between depending on you chosen connection. There is also 2 trigger outputs on the on 9000Q and a trigger in on the 9000P, so when you switch the pre-amp on it turns on the power amplifier. Rather than simply dividing the 9000a into its constituent parts spread them over 2 boxes and call it a day, Audiolab has carefully gone through and made tweaks and improvements to push performance further.
With the 9000P they have improved the power supply section, gain the DC filtering system from Audiolabs’s own DC and DC-6 power filtering products and improved RFI/EMI filtering circuitry to make sure the amplification boards are receiving a nice clean incoming supply of power. They have tweaked the overall board layout of the amplifier to get that little bit more from the design. In terms of rated output the drive 9000P delivers 100 watts into a 8 ohm load and 160 watts into a 4 ohm load, the same as the 9000A. However there is a little switch on the back now labelled stereo/bridged, hit that and this transforms the 9000P into a mono block power amplifier, output delivery increase substantially to 300 watts into a 8 ohm load and 360 into a 4 ohm load. This allow for system growth in the future if you up grade your speakers and need more power than one 9000P can provide.
The 9000Q pre-amplifier has had more substantial upgrades, Audiolab has appears to have expanded the main PCB board, making full use of the extra space, to host the range of improvements they have made and refine the circuit design. The preamplifier has a substantial toroidal transformer to provide power, which is being fed through Audiolab’s DC filtering system and improved EMI/RFI filtering applied. Audiolab has improved the phono stage, which is already a really rather good design equipping the 9000a, moving to a single phase class A design . Audiolab have also given the internal DAC board a going over improving the architecture and power supply system, again from an already excellent design, an area Audiolab has certainly made a bit of a name for its self. However one of the biggest changes his a move to a fully balanced based circuit if you use either the internal DAC or the XLR inputs, and then connect the 9000P with XLR. This balance design also includes the volume control as well, normally when using short runs the use of balanced connection over a RCA is very debatable however in this scenario there is potentially a real benefit.
Coupled with the Audiolab 9000Q, The Audiolab 9000P is the perfect power amp for dynamic audio.
So the question becomes, do all these improvement justify the extra overlay over the standard 9000A? Price wise the 9000Q retails for £1499* and the 9000P £1099*, although at the time of writing you can save £100 buying the two together as a package £2499*, which is still £500 more than the 9000A. In a word yes… in two words… oh yes!
Firstly the phono stage, with the 9000Q everything takes a step forward from the 9000A. The back round is a little quieter, the treble a little more resolving the midrange more focussed, the bass a little more textured. Listening to Ben Howard’s Noonday Dream album, the guitar and vocals seem to have a better space to breath, allowing more of the emotion to spill forward from the music. Play something a little rawer and the crunch comes through the Mudhoney in visceral high energy wall of sound, I may or may have started to play a little loose with the volume.
That DAC board is a real show stopper, comparing it with a Oppo UDP 205, a superb piece of equipment in its day and is still considered one of the standout products of the last 10 years of AV and hifi, the USB input has a greater sense of depth to the sound. The background is cleaner allowing a significant jump in the dynamics, the bass has a cleanness and dynamic hit that is a little surprising on occasion.
Again using the Oppo, the difference between the RCA and that XLR direct function brings with a subtle improvement. Again it all seems to be about minimise noise in the system to allow the music to come through your speakers in a unadulterated the way the artist intended. I would also like to praise the headphone output as well, it is very talented and has no problems driving headphones of various impedance ratings
Now each of these individual improvements don’t justify the upgrade over the 9000A, but as a package the difference is just to big to ignore. Now will this amp suit you and your system, this is a really good question. This pairing is very much classic Audiolab, they have gone for a very balance sound trying to achieve something that is neutral although not harsh. Now this will not be for everyone, if you like a pairing to add some romanticism to your system, or bass or some sharpness then this is not going to be magical fix. However I think it also great pairing which you can build a system that would last you a very long time, and tune the sound you like with your sources and speakers.
I really enjoyed my time with the Audiolab 9000Q and 9000P, in fact I enjoyed it so much that I spent my own money and now have a set in my own system. I highly recommend you phone your local Richer Sounds store and have a conversation if you are looking for a set up which will last you a long time and which you can will be very happy to grow with you as you get better speakers and sources.
(*prices accurate at the time of publishing, Aug 25)
Author: Jonathan, Cardiff Store
