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When I listen to orchestral pieces like Bartok's "Concerto for Orchestra", I like to hear good instrument separation. I think that this class D amp with vacuum tubes does that better than my good Sony AVR TV room driving vintage Bang and Olufsen front speakers. (Polk Surround) speakers. This difference in sound may be just a matter of taste. While I agree there are usually much better dedicated DACS out there I would want some good improvements to the T9 pro in exchange for the sacrifice of a built-in DAC. I'm convinced that these audiophile "experts", could care less about listening to music (which at one point involved simply hitting a play button), they just like plugging electrical things in, then giving their opinions on it, which are moot, because you aren't in the room with them when they're reviewing "said" amp/preamp/etc. So, let me get this straight.... The audiophile expert opinion on the cheap chinese product #500 floating around the internet is that "The T9 sounds great, but has X number of problems, and desperately needs a new "PS" (power supply I'm assuming) to get the most out of it. However, the T9 Pro has fixed the majority of "said" issues the T9 has, but no one knows if the power supply needs replaced. If it does need replaced, then, short of buying a variable power supply (SMPS...whatever that means), which costs more than the amp itself, no one knows which one, or where, to get it. And, if you do decide to get this "SMPS"....."thing", then you can just get a "good but cheap one" (again, whatever that means), then the T9 is great (but only if you use it as a preamp, in this case).
The amp also comes with a remote which is a nice touch. I unfortunately haven't tested it since I don't have AAA batteries, but it's nice they included it. I connected USB to laptop, without tubes or even power connection, and Windows 10 detected it right away. Seems like DAC section is operation even with USB power. Where is the Factory The factory (in Guangming, 光明) is operated by Mr Liu’s friend, about an hour away in SZ from the headquarter. Mr Liu forwarded a few pics of the factory, but I hope to visit it personally soon.Then i hooked the Aiyima T9 up to my Mission LX-2's which are warmer sounding than the Q acoustics, and found that they were a much better match with the Aiyima . Revised 10/6/22: some more design process, including meters, added. Even if you have read it, you may want to re-read. I got the feeling that this configuration sounds a bit like a tube system (including the feeling of being slighty slower), and I am a tube man! I was satisfied. I am now completely satisfied with the Aiyima in my modified System 1 and am streaming with a smile. Everything is good and that little bit of tube sheen is highly desirable. I shall conclude Part I. In Part II I shall likely be using the T9 as Preamp in my Living Room System 2 (which is why I bought the T9 in the first place). For that I shall restore my original System 1, which would be a real test. The last A in ABA is always more important than the AB. Now for some tidying up: In terms of soundstaging, its performance isn't on a par with the other two amps, in the sense that the stage is geometrically correct, but a bit small in size. Moreover it appears more focused and located in between the speakers. Again, I'm quite sure the cheap tubes play a significant role here.
Personally I had been "playing" with it quite a lot. I put it in my car (love it), tube-rolling it, put it in my living and hook it up with DIY speakers so I don't have to power up my main system just to watch youtube etc.
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The Loxjie A30 is an integrated 2.1 stereo amplifier and a headphone amp (100mW max) with a built-in DAC (an ESS "Sabre" ES9023) which delivers hi-res audio. The unit cannot be turned off completely, but it needs only 0.5W in standby. Not a big issue.
While I was in HK, I had 2 locations. The "older location" was where my reference was. The "newer location" was where I spent most of my time from late 2012 to late 2018 (Last revised Nov 15, 2019). The max output level of the optical output connector is –18 dBm and and the max impedance Wave length: 660 nm. Though I don't feel like it's a "tubey" sounding amp, even for Chi-fi pre-stage/buffer only tube amp category. The Supporting Players Now, this is important. What I have here in China are very humble (by my standards), based on a set of more than 15 years old Chinese Sansui AV system (yes, the Japanese sold the name to the Chinese company, which is now a home appliance company) which I parceled out for 2 systems (main one, System 1, in my study, where I write for you; and the much less used auxiliary System 2 in the LR) There are a few extras that I had brought over from HK long ago, the most important being Revox and Sony. The stuff I use are detailed in my previous articles (Current iteration here, with links to earlier config). After some work they sounded pretty good. After listening to the systems for years I thought I knew them well, but what happened told me it was not quite so.
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A Completely Different Business ModelWhy is the same product sold under many different names? Mr Liu’s friend’s factory OEM’s for a lot of people. Perhaps, and I’m not sure, some of them have small design changes, but...More importantly, from what I understand, these brands, Aiyima, Suca, Douk, Nobosound etc, compete as well as cooperate. Some would re-brand something without hesitation (same factory) and use their own sales base. This is pretty unthinkable in the West. Grant you, the products are similar (a testament to the very high level achieved with cheap digitals now) and, if you ask me, there is not much room for breakthrough. The design of the unit itself is sleek and modern. On the front you get the multi-colour IPS display, the headphone output and one single knob that controls not only the volume but all the menu options, too. With multiple digital audio inputs: Bluetooth 5.1/MM input / Stereo RCA, compatible with most audio device such as phones, computers, tablets, TVs, TV, CD players etc.
It seems related to a high output level limitation as it hasn't happened on most optical feeds. An xbox 360 optical played smoothly without any "skips" Overall I love the retro look of the device (especially in a dark room) the tubes 'glow' and VU meter is great (though the meter isn't very sensitive - you have to play loud to see it moving). Source As I'm a classical fan I mainly use my low-end Chromebook to stream Naxos Music Library (courtesy of NYPL; described here). Here in China, especially with Jazz and Pop, I augment with Kuwo ( here) and sometimes Spotify (which requires VPN), streamed using my HP laptop running Windows (now 11). I never use my smartphones to stream. Let me remind you that I mostly stream now, but I do have some good CDs and a very good CDP (Sony), but that will not feature in Part I. All the settings will be saved if you put the Loxjie in Standby, and you can set the volume for the speakers and the headphones separately! THIS is a BIG JUMP. I used the exact same 3.5mm to RCA adaptor and MIT cable I use for my Meridian Explorer, through T9's AUX OUT. Of course, I removed the loudspeaker cables from T9's binding posts.
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He measured it with the included adapter (24V 4.5A) and it reaches about 50W at 4 Ohms, which is half of what it claims (50% is standard for Chi-fi in my book though) still quite impressive tbh. In For One to Love, Cecile McClorin .Salvant sings an absolutely ravishing Le Mal de Vivre (original Barbara). She gives a completely new dimension to the song. The subtle use of inflections in her perfect French tests microdynamics. Just like A07, speaker connectors are small but I had no issues in connecting 4 mm banana plugs. I am using 12 AWG cables, might be difficult to put in bare wires!
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