CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — Audiolab 9000CDT

The 9000CDT is a CD transport from the British brand Audiolab, built as the disc-playing partner for the 9000A integrated amplifier in the 9000 Series. Both went on sale in mid-November 2022 in silver or black, the transport at GBP 999 and the amplifier at GBP 1,999, and Audiolab said at the time that a 9000N network streamer would follow in the first quarter of 2023. There is no DAC inside, so the unit has to feed an external converter or an amplifier or preamplifier fitted with a digital input.

Key specs that matter

Digital outputs are one coaxial RCA socket, delivering 500 mV peak-to-peak (plus or minus 50 mV) at 75 ohm, and one optical Toslink port. Audiolab quotes frequency response within 0.01 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz referenced to 1 kHz and total harmonic distortion below 0.002 %. The output runs at 44.1 kHz, and 48 kHz files are resampled to that rate. A rear USB Type-A socket plays MP3, WMA, AAC and WAV files from drives formatted as FAT12, FAT16 or FAT32. The case measures 444 mm wide, 89 mm high and 342 mm deep and weighs 5.74 kg net or 7.6 kg boxed. Mains versions cover 220-240 V or 100-120 V at 50/60 Hz, and standby draw is under 0.5 W.

Engineering and use context

The mechanism pairs a high-precision optical system with a high-spin-velocity motor and a low-friction loading tray, and the laser and servo decoder circuitry were upgraded for this model. A read-ahead electronic buffer holds data before it leaves the drive, which cuts reading failures and lets the player cope with scratched or damaged discs. The drive sits inside an electromagnetically shielded enclosure with its own dedicated supply, fed from an uprated transformer. A temperature-compensated crystal oscillator runs the master clock to hold jitter low, while the RCA digital output is buffered by a differential line driver. Top and side panels are non-magnetic aluminium over a steel base. The 4.3-inch colour IPS screen shows format, folder, elapsed and remaining time and a settings menu covering auto-standby, language, 12 V trigger activation and dimming, and it can be switched off entirely. Front controls are a single rotary knob and a separate tray button, and the remote handset browses USB folders.

Pairing

Its signal can go to any DAC, amplifier or preamplifier fitted with coaxial or Toslink sockets. Within the brand, the 9000A was the intended match, and the later 9000Q preamplifier has four S/PDIF inputs, split evenly between RCA and Toslink, ahead of an ES9038PRO converter.

Alternatives

The Audiolab 7000CDT is a lower-priced CD transport announced in February 2023 together with the 7000A integrated amplifier.