Perspectives on the Ainol v9000HDA audio quality

htpconvert · **Joined:** Sun Feb 14, 2010 1:48 pm **Posts:** 82

As I count down the hours for my v9000HDA to be delivered - I wanted to get some impressions of audio quality from those that own this player. Both for music, and audio in movies.

I read it uses a cirrus logic chip. Are there any mainstream players that also use this chip as a comparison?

Would you call the audio quality for music warm? Analytical? natural? bassy?

And for movies - any problems here?

Thanks!!

chengdude · **Joined:** Sat Dec 08, 2007 6:24 pm **Posts:** 1065

Someone might correct me, but I'm pretty sure the Sochip has an onboard DAC...no Cirrus Logic, in other words.

nmark · **Joined:** Wed Dec 02, 2009 4:44 am **Posts:** 294

I did some audio tests on Ainol V9000HDA sample. The player has 9 preset EQ settings. Nature, DBB, Pop, Rock, Classic, Jazz, Vocal, Dance and Soft. Unfortunately four of the nine presets proved useless. Using these four presets sound was not just bad but very nasty. In the headphones could be heard crackling and wheezing noise. No, I did not listen to songs on the full volume. Headphones also are not torn or broken. I used MP3 320kbps and FLAC music file formats in V9000HDA audio quality test. My impressions are described below.

* Nature -- Yes, acceptable, good sound, 4.8 out of 5
* DBB -- NO, Dull, with pronounced bass and crackling sound. 0 out of 5
* Pop -- NO, crackling sound, 0 out of 5
* Rock -- Yes, acceptable, good sound, with the Hall effect. 4 out of 5
* Classic -- NO, crackling sound is noticeble but less then on DBB, Pop and Jazz, 1 out of 5
* Jazz -- NO, crackling sound, 0 out of 5
* Vocal -- Yes, acceptable, good sound, 4.5 out of 5
* Dance -- Yes, very good sound, as good as on Teclast T51 with "Normal" EQ settings. 5 out of 5.
* Soft -- Yes, very good sound, as good as Dance preset. 4.9 out of 5

I was very surprised when I heard the sound quality, with a "Dance" preset on the V9000HDA. It was very close to the "Normal" preset on the Teclast T51. The difference was felt only in a slightly narrower range compared to the T51. On the T51 sound is more extensive and complete. This means that the audio chip in the Ainol V9000HDA is not bad. The main challenge for Ainol developers is to properly utilize chipset features. This is good news for those who put their eyes on Ainol V9000HDx line.

But note that this is just my personal observation. Results may vary depending on your experience and musical abilities.

Mr. Dj M. · **Posted:** Sun May 16, 2010 8:53 pm

chengdude wrote:

Someone might correct me, but I'm pretty sure the Sochip has an onboard DAC...no Cirrus Logic, in other words.

Those where the first thoughts, but I thought someone proved the SC9800 has the Cirrus Logic DAC by opening up a player. The EQ setings seem to be formiliar also if you look at the settings with the AMlogisch chipset that defenately uses the CL DAC :wink:

htpconvert · **Joined:** Sun Feb 14, 2010 1:48 pm **Posts:** 82

I added my perspective on audio quality (and all other things) in this post

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=18033

chengdude · **Joined:** Sat Dec 08, 2007 6:24 pm **Posts:** 1065

Here's a post on imp3 from a fan imploring Ainol to add an independent DAC to the V9000HDA and V6000HDT:

Please, please Ainol

Perhaps surprisingly, the overwhelming response is: What's the point?

maderin1 · **Joined:** Sun Sep 30, 2007 2:50 pm **Posts:** 20650

adding hardware is one thing, making that hardware work for you and make a difference is another thing, most of the time its slapped in in its raw state and is often a waste of hardware and added for extra marketing appeal - maybe they should look to getting the new cube 4.3" with BBE audio instead, some software enhancements rather than hardware

Tutut · **Joined:** Thu Jul 30, 2009 6:13 am **Posts:** 425

Mr. Dj M. wrote:

Those where the first thoughts, but I thought someone proved the SC9800 has the Cirrus Logic DAC by opening up a player. The EQ setings seem to be formiliar also if you look at the settings with the AMlogisch chipset that defenately uses the CL DAC :wink:

Same settings than 8600 + "vocal" and "dance" and I keep using the "soft" setting with HDW, I prefer no EQ at all, but "nature" gives a sound I find too much flat, anonymous not neutral as I think it should be.

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