The CEN.GRAND 9I-90SA PRO is a versatile device as it functions as a DAC, headphone amplifier and preamplifier. It has good performance and integrates an ESS ES9038Po DAC chip running in parallel on two channels. For listening to headphones, four types of outputs are available, which allows you to select the required impedance level for different headphones. The headphone amplifier function is also its strong point, where the audio performance is very high quality.
Key Features :
- USB interface XMOS XU208 second generation and FPGAt, supporting PCM up to 32bit 384KHz and DSD up to DSD512.
- ESS ES9038Pro DAC chip, as well as CT5302 chip, operating in two channels and supporting PCM up to 24 bit 192 KHz and DoP (DSD64) for SPDIF signals in coaxial, optical and AES/EBU input.
- The headphone amplifier function has a single-ended 6.35mm Jack output and two balanced outputs; XLR 4 pins and Jack 4.4 mm. It also has 4 output operating modes: Normal, BTL, Active Ground and Parallel.
- On the preamp side, the circuitry consists of discrete components that handle RCA and XLR inputs, and can be operated with an infrared remote control.
- Power supply system with I/V converter.
Four output modes let you choose the one that best suits your listening preferences or the characteristics of your headphones. Normal mode is used for high sensitivity headphones and earbuds, while BTL mode is used for high impedance headphones. Parallel mode is effective for medium impedance headphones; it increases driving force but not gain. Finally, there is Active Ground mode, which provides a stronger sense of harmonics, so is suitable for listening to the human voice or string instruments. Active Ground mode provides smoother, warmer sound.
Equipped with a high-efficiency LPF (low pass filter), the OPA amplification circuit ensures clear audio signal. The volume control chip is PGA2311, controlled by MCU. The volume range is -70dB~0dB.
This DAC chip operates in 8 channels and is highly recognized in the market. In particular, it allows the 9I-90SA Pro to operate in 2-channel parallel mode and support high sampling rates.
Characteristics of Cen.Grand 9I-90SA PRO:
- Product Type: DAC/Headphone Amplifier/Preamplifier
- Inputs: 1* balanced stereo XLR/ 1* single-ended stereo RCA/ 1* AES/EBU/ 1* optical Toslink/ 1* coaxial/ 1* USB-B
- Outputs: 1* single-ended stereo RCA/ 1* balanced stereo XLR/ 1x balanced 4-pin XLR headphone out/ 1* single-ended Jack 6.35 mm headphone out/ 1* balanced Jack 4.4 mm headphone out.
- Supported sampling rates: SPDIF (coaxial, optical, AES/EBU): PCM up to 24-bit 192 kHz, DSD64 (DOP)/ USB-B: PCM up to 32-bit 384 kHz, Native DSD up to DSD512.
- Dynamic range: 115 dB
- SNR: 115 dB (A-weighted)
- Frequency response: ±0.4 dB (A-weighted, 20-20 KHz)
- THD+N: -102 dB (fs=96KHz / 10kHz, A-weighted)
- Preamp Gain: 4dB (Volume = 0dB)
- Output power: 1.5 W (distortion: 33 ohms 0.5%) / 0.5 W (distortion: 600 ohms 0.017%)
- Power supply: AC 220-230V 50/60Hz (fuse specification: 6.3A)
- Dimensions: 260x852x80 mm
- Color: silver
- Gross weight: 4.35 kg
