Стримеры — Audiolab 6000N Play

The 6000N Play is a wireless streaming player in the 6000 Series of British maker Audiolab, built around the DTS Play-Fi platform. It pulls music from phones, tablets, computers and NAS drives on a home network and passes it to an amplifier either as an analogue signal or as a digital feed. At launch it was priced at GBP 450 or USD 590. Black and silver versions were made.

Key specs that matter

The ESS Sabre ES9018K2M chip carries out conversion, and the maximum resolution is 24 bit at 192 kHz, which also applies to the coaxial and optical S/PDIF outputs. The analogue section runs 20 Hz to 20 kHz within 0.5 dB, with signal-to-noise above 115 dB (A-weighted) and THD below 0.003 percent at 1 kHz and 0 dBFS. The stereo RCA output reaches up to 2.1 V at an output impedance of 100 ohms. Both digital outputs deliver 500 mVpp, plus or minus 50 mVpp, at 75 ohms, and the unit weighs 4.9 kg.

Engineering and use context

Networking relies on dual-band Wi-Fi with two antennas, with 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz supported, plus an Ethernet port for a wired link. The Play-Fi app runs on iOS, Android, Windows and Fire OS and reaches Spotify, Deezer, Napster, KKBox, SiriusXM and Pandora in some regions, along with internet radio stations and podcasts. Spotify Connect is supported directly, and playback is gapless. The 6000N Play links wirelessly with other Play-Fi equipped products to form a synchronised multi-room system. Six preset buttons on the front store internet radio stations. Its analogue output works either at a fixed maximum level or at a variable level set from the app, and it leaves the factory in variable mode. The rear USB socket is reserved for loading firmware and does not accept music files. Standby draw stays below 0.5 W. A switch on the underside of the case selects 115 V or 230 V mains, and wireless setup works either through WPS on the router or through a standard mode in which the app passes on the Wi-Fi password. The box includes a USB B data cable.

Pairing

A separate USB control interface links to the Audiolab 6000A amplifier with a USB B cable, so the Play-Fi app then adjusts the amplifier volume. Two 12 V trigger sockets, an input and a link output for daisy-chaining, let the player be switched remotely by a connected amplifier or source, and the digital outputs let it act as a network transport into an outboard DAC.

Alternatives

Within the same streamer range Audiolab offers the 7000N Play, which uses an ES9038Q2M converter and adds Apple AirPlay 2.