Author: Chenguang 　Audiovisu≤φ★al Frontline

"Selling big buns" origi♣&nated in the late Qing Dynasty ≥<and the early Republic£πδγ of China. In order to attract™ ↔ diners, Guangzhou's teah∑↔Ωδouses created a chicken ball big bun ✔≤™"with rich fillings, ✔→♠such as chicken, pork, bamboo shoots, e£≈tc., and the shape is na$$↓αturally much larger than ordinary ✔αbuns. , so it is called &qu α•ot;big bag". If yo®​↕u describe today's p≈♦★roducts, it means "po✔™←werful".

At the just-concluded G" uangzhou Headphone Show, th>•e author found that many manufactuσγrers have launched more than↕↕×≈ 10,000 earplugs, headphones, amps, d↕ ecoders and other products at a€₽¥ny time. Many friends who™‍<≤ want to get started are intimidated×™ by this amazing price. The author als★ o received requests from frien↓↕ ds around me, saying that I wβ ↔ant to combine a set Ω¶★αof speakers with a price of sever♠Ωγ¥al thousand yuan. It does not nλ →γeed to be too complicate≥₩♠d. I may listen to music through myα★ mobile phone and computer, or con☆φnect to the TV in the living roו om, and I will be alone at night.¶γ÷ You can also use headphones for watchi"≠ng movies. At this time☆✘>✔, a set of decoding amp preamp + ac↑§↕tive speaker system + headphones can ♦ meet their needs.

In fact, such a combination is exact&¶ly what many young people need, s∞∏o an all-in-one decoding preamp∑≈©≥lifier with reasonable p‌&γ♦rice and excellent quality is partic"'ularly important. Howe$≠ver, products with so many↔♣♣ functions are often concentra§"ted, either the price exceφ£$eds the budget, or the sound  ♥≥←is not guaranteed. In fact, λ♦÷πthe machine for this e♠♠"↔valuation has been in the audition r ♥oom of this magazine for ∞∑₩a while. I used it wh♥≤★→en I tested the Starke A7-2 du¶✔™al-channel power amplifier be>¥π↕fore. The author recently part₩€icipated in the Jinchi H​πi-Fi Carnival. When "≈matched with different combinati±♥ ons, this all-in-one compuπ÷ter entered our field of vision↑​ again. It's Century Gray's☆• 9i-90SA Lark.

The backbone of domestic brands

Speaking of CEN GRAND, many enth₹¶usiasts may already hαβα✘ave a certain understandin>≥‍g of it. CEN GRAND has been commit≈↕•ted to the research ♣♥and development of high-end digital₽" media equipment since its★‍§ establishment. It was fou≈>nded by domestic senior audio design××ers. Relying on stron↔✔• g research and developmen ↔←€t strength and technical accumulat₹§ion, it has integrated high-♦≠↓end audio technology with c♥<utting-edge video technol≤ε↓αogy to develop a series ofγ☆ high-performance products. D®∏igital audio and video products. In 2​®010, CEN GRAND launched the 5i series o♣±f Hi-Fi audio and video¥↑₽ players with the origiλ↕↔↕nal audio independent dual clock + h≈γ&∑ardware DSP architecture, which establi©♦shed CEN GRAND's mar✔‌σ™ket position with outstand‍™↔ing performance advan∞✔±<tages. Today's CEN GR ♠AND has many products, c←‍↕£overing traditional Hi-Fi an∞♥d cutting-edge video ±☆γ≠high-definition fields. At>↔₽ present, CEN GRAND's pr<ε<oduct line includes high-end audio deco∏≥↕'der series, Hi-Fi digital player ser&©ies, Hi-Fi Blu-ray player™ε series , Hi-Fi amplifier series, etcβ¶. Relying on profound technical ±↑background and rigorou↕α™∏s and meticulous product conce‍∑≈↔pt, CEN GRAND has gradually ↔&‌grown into the backbone of the industry₹★ and a well-known brand in a ver$÷y short period of time.

Home Video Center

The volume of the CEN GRAND 9i-$β→90SA decoding and amp preamplifier is♠ ≤  not large, only half the size of th≤÷£€e standard chassis, which is ✔↑ >very suitable for placement on desδ£ ktops, TV cabinets and other places. ​§✘¶The left side of the front panel is a ©Ωmedium-sized blue LED‌< screen, and the bottom is a row ofβσ≈π buttons. The functions of power switch±π♥≤, input selection, setting, mode se∞∏ lection, mute and other functions areγ©± all set through this row♠≥ of buttons. The middle is 6.35​≠₽mm and balanced headphone jack.←ו is the volume knob. ∑ ☆ The interface on the back ¶£₹is also quite rich, providing a≈↑  set of optical, coaxial, AES/EBU♠€→ and USB inputs, while the analog♥ →↓ input provides a set of RCA and XLR, a₽♣¶nd the output provides a set of RCA an∏≥→d XLR, so the lark can It can easily c¶>πonnect various digital and analog aud§♦Ωio sources, and can also easily con ✘&↔nect back-end devices £λ‍such as active speakers an‍±>d headphones to become the control  ↕¶center of home audio and video.

Unique circuit design‌πε€

The basic structure of t✔™•≤he 9i-90SA decoding headphone amplifieλπ r is WM8805 + dual AK4495SEQ + dis∏✔crete device analog output circuit. T䙧he receiver chip of the digital part i↕Ωs WM8805, and the lowest DIR of ji§♣✘tter is less than 50ps, which is qui∏÷÷®te excellent. The decoding chip is du$✔ al AK4495SEQ, and the dual mo✘£α₹no channels work indepen•★dently. The highest supported for↑•mat is DSD128 and PCM384. It provides"&₩≥ four filter modes and prov→♣>↑ides standard fully balan÷♦≠$ced output. The USB AUDIO part adopts↔ ₩€ the second generation ₩♦εXU208 of XMOS, which doubles the perforα♣mance of the previous gen¶σ₩eration.

The clock is also quite attentive, an©♠$d a low-jitter clock ₹↕system is independently£¶γ designed. In addition, an aut≥βΩ>onomous algorithm, low ↑π jitter CPLD (additive RMS♦‌$• jitter is an order o∑< f magnitude lower than<©  FPGA) is used to ma∑∑nage the local audio clock system,  ε✘and advanced source synchronizat∞✔ion technology and de-j ×™itter shaping technology are used to re™'₹shape the XMOS outpu♥←αt waveform. , which can fu'αδrther eliminate the additive jitter"↓ caused by the XMOS pπ×ins.

The analog part uses discrete dev≥≤ice output, and the volume ♠↔€control uses a potent™♠☆∑iometer to control the h♠≤×€igh-performance electronic volλ''ume PGA4311 chip, so the dam₹©¶ping feel of the volume knob is very g↕α☆πood, and there is no general •₹digital volume that requires a few tur↓>↓•ns to adjust the volumΩ e, and the accuracy of the PGA4311 chε'™αip is higher than that of using fo$®¥ur. The precision of the ✘δbalanced amplifier circu ↓it controlled by the potentiβ¥'ometer is 1000 times higher.βγ±✘ The headphone amp is a f≤✔$ully balanced struct←∑ure, with 6.35 unbalance<☆d and 4-pin XLR balan→≤ced output interfaces, and there ar±★e four connection methods: standard, b±✔§alanced, virtual ground, and pa↓€♥&rallel. The four conσφεnection methods provide a wγ'↔ider range of headphone adaptatio£€πn. Whether it is high resπ‌istance or low resistance, the 9i-90SA ♦♦₹can do it.

In addition, because th×♠ e USB input of 9i-90SA a&≈dopts the latest XMOS solΩ§ution, it needs to downl¥ ​oad the latest driver from the official∞€ website to install, and nΩ><eeds to clean up some old driv₽±ers in the system to successfully i£₩$↑nstall, so players need to pay spe €$cial attention. In additiφ♣on, the official downl★↑γ®oad link also attache×φs the installation fil'  ≈e and DSD plug-in of the latest versionσ± of the foobar player, π β≤and attaches a manual for the use anγ >‌d setting, which is very careful.

Sound performance far beyond its wort↓₹h

The author first connected the Se☆∑ nnheiser HD800 to the balanced headp <σhone output interface and  ₽used the Nano Platinum Star headpho♣↔★ne cable from the cable ‌‌world. When the symphonπ♦•‌y is played in the BTL balanced form, →₩≠γthe sound is full and heavy, a &★✘nd the scene is grand, which ref★☆σ®lects the strength of Senha∞$i headphones. At this time, the high fr÷"₩equency is delicate and notδ₽σ÷ sharp, and it looks comfortable; when♥α playing the human voice, it looks v↔​≈βery comfortable, there is no sens€↑e of oppression, and the tail ‍♥αsound of the human voice is almoδ←st No glitches are heard, the tail is♠₽ short and round, and the §≠sound is well imaged, detailed ±βand balanced, and there is no lac <₩βk of realism. Immediately after switc←$hing to the Active G virtual ±✔ground output, when playing symphony, tεβ he sound is full, the low fr≠©equency is mixed, the overall b‍$®¥alance is acceptable, th♠✘e overtone is stronger, and the vocal ±"♣‌performance is also very good. Switchα♦ing to Parallel output, for HD8λ♦≠¶00, 9i-90SA will be a bit difficu✘Ω<∞lt, replaced Beyerdynam↓§®₩ic DT990, Parallel parallel output £ ≤ and Normal output, all can pus∞₩h DT990 well.

The author summarizes the ÷≠matching methods of the follow'‌φ♠ing methods. The BTL parallel met•'✔hod can have a strong drivi∏₽π ng force, and it will have a &→€good driving force for ≠÷→high-impedance headphones÷≈σ©; while the Active G virtual grouε'πnd output, the overtone is quit<φ"±e obvious, and it will be g¥♣ood to listen to human voices. Performa ✔nce; Parallel output is quite good Ω•αfor medium impedance headphone₹€£↓s, and the sound field is also ver"‍♥y stable; while Normal ouγ₹★tput is the method of choice forλ​γ• low-impedance headphones ↓$and earplugs. It should be noted that↑> the above four methods can only§"∞& be implemented when th↔ £e digital input and balanced input arΩ₹e used, while the BTL method and A​φ♣ctive G cannot be used'☆♥ when the analog RCA input ‍↔"is used. When the headphone end is ♠&↑unbalanced, BTL and Ac∑ tive G cannot be used, in f§‌←★act, it is the normal connection.

Then connect to the active mo♣♣←₽nitor speaker system of similar p§δ ©rice to 9i-90SA for tri✘σ→al listening. When replaying★$   vocals, the sound is round, ful'× &l and natural, the deta<®≈ils are clear, and the vocal performanc⩶e is full of charm. ®≠The connection between the ≠&φφhigh, middle and low bass •&♣≥is very smooth, especiall¥•≥y the audition clip of the piano solo, ✘♥‍which I especially like.↕∑¥© Listening to the cello and pi✔↑ano sonatas, the low freΩβ$"quencies of the two instruments ↕≠‌are very deep, and t♣βhe 9i-90SA can still☆→" easily deconstruct the musical line≤©s and low frequency extensions of$‍≠ the two different instr♠§uments in the bass region,≥↑→ and faithfully reproduce the music i£" n this piece. Due to the sens σγφe of scale and the stable ←→ππand wide bottom structure, it presents δ"the shape of a piano and a cello. Ob€★÷$viously, whether it is striσ→ ₽ngs or pianos, the 9i-90SA can sho§αw a very clear image of the outline>® and the graininess of the ke∏±•≠ys. In terms of sound quality, €≤it can take into account t✘∑he extremely dense an<¶δ¶d smooth texture and the balance♦®d three frequency bands of high, ♥∞≠©medium and low. Dist¶↑∑™ribution.

In the end, the author specially lγ"∞$istened to the USB input,≤•♥₩ and played the 24bit/384kHz and ​✔≈DSD128 high-format file÷ε‍≈s purchased by the a ≠¥¶uthor through the Foobar♠∑™±2000 of the Windows system. No matt∑ε↕er the resolution, detail, density a₹π∑'nd dynamics, the music of 16γ‌§bit/44.1kHz has a general l↕™×eap in quality. , the amount  ‌σ♠of information is even more abunda >nt to blow your face! At this time, •≠±the author switches by selecting 4 dif♦↑♦ferent digital filters. Slow roll-off÷γσ' will have more high-frequency a®←≈✔ttenuation, so the s‌γ€÷ound is more warm, while fast roll-of'©←≥f high frequency is rela  Ω tively sharp, suitable for details and "™∞analysis. Powerful friend choice.

It should be noted that when δ€φthe 9i-90SA is used as ≥♣∞a preamp, when the XLR iα←nput is used, both the XLR output and δ★the RCA output have signal output, w♠≈hile the RCA input only has the RCA sig¥&✘→nal output, and the ✔±∞≈XLR output has no signal output. Whe®∑ ☆n the 9i-90SA is use‌$<'d as a preamp or decode>€‌r output, it is recommen↓‌♦≥ded to disconnect the headphones on thφ‍♥≈e front panel to ensurε↑ εe the best performance of the sound.

Summarize

This machine can be said to be the cen↑πter of living room and de‌∏β≤sktop entertainment. It integrate✘ φ×s preamp, decoding, and₩↑" amp. It is very rich in func↑ tions, and there are quite aφ'$® few options for users to choo∏¥λ✘se from in terms of se♦♦₹εttings. The author found this pr®γoduct online, the price is quite attrac≤σ←‌tive, you can have a &qu×"ot;big bag" product for more than φ✔÷3,000 yuan, and the quality is₩®σ quite guaranteed. When th"∞'✘e author listened to the 9i↔β∞-90SA, I compared a domestic preα♦-production product with a level of 10≈≈ ,000 yuan on the spot, and the 9✘β✘i-90SA actually won. Its sound®≥✔₹ performance is very val‌₽™Ωuable! Such "big bag" productβ✘←¥s, friends who need to buy entry-l₹₽§evel audio or headphone systems, how ♣★★can they miss it?