Aiyima T9

[ZolaIII]

Well if the tube is used just for stage coloring (working only on couple mW) than very little to almost none of distortion is added and don't worry you can still feal/hear it.
Point is you have perfect emulation of one of the best late 50's pasive tube stages (and 4 tubes to choose) with vocal PEQ and it will work with 64 bit FP precision for free. Why on earth would you like something else for that? By the way they still make (real physical) those and a price is rather big. I wouldn't really poop on over 50 years of audio engineering all together which tubes were. Yes today we have cleaner amplifiers but we wouldn't had them if there whosent those. Who likes it or love the sound they make will always be perfectly fine with me.

Edit: for reference to learn to appreciate it more the real units and pricing.

Classi PEQ 3U Studio Equalizer, 1.490,00 €

The new Classi PEQ is a passive filter equalizer based on the legendary EQP-1A The fine classic circuit and output transformer from Lun

www.don-audio.com

 

[kaopad999]

i'm being facetious about the 'hifi' thing... I think the Chinese are just adding "marketing' tubes to the output stage to add distortion to the sound... like many I am dubious about any tube equipment.

about the 3.5 mm - it looks like just a standard line out to do as you please... either as a subwoofer or a line out for a power amp

but again, the whole premise of this is dubious but its cheap enough that if you like the sound then good, but if you dont you havent risked a lot of money

I don't think there is any reason to be dubious about tube amps. As you said they add distortion which colors the sound in such a way that some people like and others may not.
I think these Chinese tube amps are a very good and affordable way to dip your toes in water with tube amplification to see if you like the sound or not. At these current prices it just simply would not have been possible 10 + years ago.

 

[kaopad999]

I actually just joined the forum today to ask about the T9, I know a couple people personally who own Aiyima T4s and they love them. They have swapped out the tubes and the op amp chips in them... they have nothing but great things to say. The T9 interests me because of the digital inputs (which the T4 doesnt have). I just dont know if it's equally as customizable with the chips.

I found out that you can not change the op amp chips.
Anyway, i have just ordered one for 76 USD. So i'll see how it sounds and compare it to my marantz Pm5005
If i don't like it i can just sell it on for a similar price, so not much to lose!

 

[jbourne84]

I found out that you can not change the op amp chips.
Anyway, i have just ordered one for 76 USD. So i'll see how it sounds and compare it to my marantz Pm5005
If i don't like it i can just sell it on for a similar price, so not much to lose!

damn where did you get one for 76$

 

[kaopad999]

Yes, I am well aware that the T9 is not a tube amp in the classic sense, but a cheap Class-D amp with tubes for the output buffer (even if it is advertised differently). And yes, probably only distortion is added.

damn where did you get one for 76$

I live in Thailand. So i bought from a website called Shopee. South East Asia's vesion of Amazon

It should arrive by the end of next week. I'm looking forward to testing it and see how it stacks up against my marantz Pm5005.
I have both Q acoustics 2020i's and a pair of Missin Lx2's that i recently bought. so it will be interesting to see how it sounds on both set of speakrs.
My guess is that it's probbaly going to be more suitable for the Q acoustics as they have a higher sensitivity rating, where as the Mission require more power at 86db sensitivity.
If i like the sound of the T9 i will keep. but if i find it to be underpowered, then what i may do is use it as a premap as it has an Aux out and then connect it too a cheap power amp. Maybe something like the A07? The amount of connectivity the T9 has is fantistic.

 

[jbourne84]

I live in Thailand. So i bought from a website called Shopee. South East Asia's vesion of Amazon

It should arrive by the end of next week. I'm looking forward to testing it and see how it stacks up against my marantz Pm5005.
I have both Q acoustics 2020i's and a pair of Missin Lx2's that i recently bought. so it will be interesting to see how it sounds on both set of speakrs.
My guess is that it's probbaly going to be more suitable for the Q acoustics as they have a higher sensitivity rating, where as the Mission require more power at 86db sensitivity.
If i like the sound of the T9 i will keep. but if i find it to be underpowered, then what i may do is use it as a premap as it has an Aux out and then connect it too a cheap power amp. Maybe something like the A07? The amount of connectivity the T9 has is fantistic.

Can't wait to hear what you think of it compared to you Pm5005, and yeah the connectivity is great and definitely why I chose it over the T4. The model line from Aiyima is interesting in that it doesn't really make sense to me, the T9 seems like it should be the same as the T4 but with the digital inputs (hence the higher price), yet it has a lower quality bluetooth codec and the op amps arent upgradable. It's a funny combination of added features and subtracted features.

My T9 will be arriving this week and I plan on opening it up to see just how "un-upgradable" it is, people are raving about the Sparkos Labs SS3601 and SS3602 discrete op amps sound improvement over IC op amps. I'd love to get them into the T9.

 

[kaopad999]

Can't wait to hear what you think of it compared to you Pm5005, and yeah the connectivity is great and definitely why I chose it over the T4. The model line from Aiyima is interesting in that it doesn't really make sense to me, the T9 seems like it should be the same as the T4 but with the digital inputs (hence the higher price), yet it has a lower quality bluetooth codec and the op amps arent upgradable. It's a funny combination of added features and subtracted features.

My T9 will be arriving this week and I plan on opening it up to see just how "un-upgradable" it is, people are raving about the Sparkos Labs SS3601 and SS3602 discrete op amps sound improvement over IC op amps. I'd love to get them into the T9.

Sounds great. keep us updated once you get to have a play around wit the T9. Do you have any other amps that you're going to comapre it with?
Regarding the op amps on the T9 , i'm sssuming they must be soldered onto the main board. So i guess if you plan to swap them over it would just be a case of desoldering the current ops amps and resoldering the new op amps? don;t quote me on that tho, but that's my guess!

 

[Snix]

Does anyone here own or have heard the Aiyima T9?

The T9 has some very good reviews and some of the sound demos i have heard on Youtube would make you believe it sounds as good as some more expensive amps on the market.

Is it really that great, or maybe just overhyped by Youtuber reviewers in order to make some cash from promotiong the product?

*wall of text alert*

Heya,

I think the unit is quite good for the price (especially if you can get it at 76$, with the power adapter).
That is, if you know what you are really buying.
It's a do-it-all-and-hey-look-I-have-2-cute-little-tubes-with-VU-meter-Chi-fi.
Its specs are weird, like why not using TPA3255 and +20$ ffs, a decade ago Bluetooth spec etc.
3.5mm output quality is not so good, so better use solely as a sub out.
The power adapter is "usable" but not the best spec for the unit.
Oh and also the VU meter is for the left channel only lol.

And yet, I like it, quite a lot actually.
Why? Because it gets the job done.

For more details, you can watch youtube vid;
"Is this Amazon Mini Amp for Audiophiles?" by Williston Audio Labs.
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.
He also teared it down and yes, every thing was soldered so no easy "UpGrAdInG" (aka, opamp rolling),
but oh well you can do the tube rolling for fun but consider the cost of the unit it's kinda in a weird spot unless you already have some tubes lying around. (and yeah, I happened to have a pair of 6Ж1П-ЕВ lying around.)

The overall sound is kinda bright, mid is ok and the bass is mediocre with my old Onkyo bookshelf & Bose 301.
I tried it with Focal Chora 816 floorstander just for the heck of it, and it turned out "okay-ish".
Things are kinda bland but enjoyable.
Though I don't feel like it's a "tubey" sounding amp, even for Chi-fi pre-stage/buffer only tube amp category.
(Please note that mine is still <30 hours so, things might get a liiittttleee bit better.)

Btw, you can use USB B->C cable and connect it directly to your android phone,
in case you can't live with the Bluetooth spec. (I don't know why they didn't mention this)

All in all, it's a cute, convenient, do-it-all small box that you can live with, say the second, third or whichever sub-system you are setting, like study/working desk, (dry) patio.
It's a fun purchase for me because I can play around with it for things like old speakers/tubes testing etc.

But if you feel like to dip your feet into tube thingy, I think you might better save the money and go with Reisong A10 or entry model of Cayin etc.

 

[kaopad999]

*wall of text alert*

Heya,

I think the unit is quite good for the price (especially if you can get it at 76$, with the power adapter).
That is, if you know what you are really buying.
It's a do-it-all-and-hey-look-I-have-2-cute-little-tubes-with-VU-meter-Chi-fi.
Its specs are weird, like why not using TPA3255 and +20$ ffs, a decade ago Bluetooth spec etc.
3.5mm output quality is not so good, so better use solely as a sub out.
The power adapter is "usable" but not the best spec for the unit.
Oh and also the VU meter is for the left channel only lol.

And yet, I like it, quite a lot actually.
Why? Because it gets the job done.

For more details, you can watch youtube vid;
"Is this Amazon Mini Amp for Audiophiles?" by Williston Audio Labs.
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.
He also teared it down and yes, every thing was soldered so no easy "UpGrAdInG" (aka, opamp rolling),
but oh well you can do the tube rolling for fun but consider the cost of the unit it's kinda in a weird spot unless you already have some tubes lying around. (and yeah, I happened to have a pair of 6Ж1П-ЕВ lying around.)

The overall sound is kinda bright, mid is ok and the bass is mediocre with my old Onkyo bookshelf & Bose 301.
I tried it with Focal Chora 816 floorstander just for the heck of it, and it turned out "okay-ish".
Things are kinda bland but enjoyable.
Though I don't feel like it's a "tubey" sounding amp, even for Chi-fi pre-stage/buffer only tube amp category.
(Please note that mine is still <30 hours so, things might get a liiittttleee bit better.)

Btw, you can use USB B->C cable and connect it directly to your android phone,
in case you can't live with the Bluetooth spec. (I don't know why they didn't mention this)

All in all, it's a cute, convenient, do-it-all small box that you can live with, say the second, third or whichever sub-system you are setting, like study/working desk, (dry) patio.
It's a fun purchase for me because I can play around with it for things like old speakers/tubes testing etc.

But if you feel like to dip your feet into tube thingy, I think you might better save the money and go with Reisong A10 or entry model of Cayin etc.

Thank for your detailed and honest review.

Anyway, it's too late becasue already ordered it. But it;s okay, i'll have a play around with it and see how i get on with it. If i feel that it;s not worth keeping, i will just go ahead and sell it and maybe buy something from SMSL such as the A09 or A300. Thinking about it now, maybe that would have been a more sensible purchase in the first place. But, with so many glowing reviews on the T9 it made me very curious as to what all the hype is about.

Judging from your impression of the T9, i'd assume that the amount of great reviews on the device have been a little blown out of proportion in tems of how good it really souunds?

 

[Snix]

Thank for your detailed and honest review.

Anyway, it's too late becasue already ordered it. But it;s okay, i'll have a play around with it and see how i get on with it. If i feel that it;s not worth keeping, i will just go ahead and sell it and maybe buy something from SMSL such as the A09 or A300. Thinking about it now, maybe that would have been a more sensible purchase in the first place. But, with so many glowing reviews on the T9 it made me very curious as to what all the hype is about.

Judging from your impression of the T9, i'd assume that the amount of great reviews on the device have been a little blown out of proportion in tems of how good it really souunds?

Hmmmm, few reviews might be a bit over the top imo.
But many of them also said "it sounds good for what it is/how much it costs".

Imagine it's like a fancy swiss knife, good value, does so many things decently enough.
But it's in no way a very good steak/sushi knife.

Also it's an expectation/perception vs reality kinda thing.
If your expectation is getting a fun <100$ Chi-fi gadget that looks subjectively cool, I guess you will be pleased with the purchase.
But if you expect a <100$ hi-fi holy grail, then prolly you will be disappointed.

 

[kaopad999]

Hmmmm, few reviews might be a bit over the top imo.
But many of them also said "it sounds good for what it is/how much it costs".

Imagine it's like a fancy swiss knife, good value, does so many things decently enough.
But it's not a very good steak/sushi knife.

Also it's a expectation/perception vs reality kinda thing.
If your expectation is getting a fun <100$ Chi-fi gadget that looks subjectively cool, I guess you will be pleased with the purchase.
But if you expect a <100$ hi-fi holy grail, then prolly you will be disappointed.

Good points. Out of interest , which other amps do you have a home that you've comapred it with?

 

[Snix]

Good points. Out of interest , which other amps do you have a home that you've comapred it with?

I use 2 amps mainly, one is Cayin CS-55A, the other is an antique Sony first gen digital amp/AV receiver (1400W RMS in which I prolly use about 7% of them)

I didn't use them to compare-compare like A/B test tho.

Edit: FWIW my DAC is Topping DX7Pro

 

[kaopad999]

Well, my Aiyima T9 arrived today and i've been playing music with it for the past 5 hours. I have to say that i'mquite impressed by how it sounds.

First of all i will say that i wasn't so keen with how it sounded with my Q Acoustics 2020i's as it sounded quite bright to my ears. the Q acoustics are quite bright sounding and the T9 accentuated those characteristics a little too much with the Q's . Maybe this brighter sound is just more typical with class D amps?

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 .

I them pulled out My Marantz Pm5005 and did some AB testing against the Aiyima. From what I can tell the Marantz sounds more rolled off in the upper frequencies, wth a more laid back sound, the Aiyima sounding a little more forward & brighter in the upper frequency range. As for the bass, i was suprised becasue the Aiyima provided a litle more punch and bass slam compared to the Marantz pm5005.

The Aiyima had no problem driving both pair of speakers to a more than adequate listening level from my seating position (6 feet from the speakers)

Quite honestly the Aiyima sounds just as good as the Marnatz in some areas but it really comes down to what speakers you are hooking up with it. I would personally avoid pairing the Aiyima with bright sounding speakers.

Al in all, for the price i paid 76USD shipped_+ power a supply, i think it's a great sounding amp for the price!

Oh, and i forgot to mention, i first tried the Aiyima with the built in USB input which sounded okay, but it sounded better when I hooked up an external DAC to the RCA inputs

 

[kaopad999]

The overall sound is kinda bright

Yes, this was my impression with it,. definitely bright sounding, which is why i'm not so keen on it with my Q acoustics. however it's a better match with my Misson Lx'2s. surprisingly, did find that it had better bass than my marantaz pm5005.
I'd say that it can be as good in some areas as some entry level Intigrated amps, but i highly doubt it;s a giant killer as some have stated. . Hopefully i can get my hands on some better amps to AB it with.

 

[Snix]

Hiya,
Glad you like it.

Though I bet it's gonna get "poor" measure results and peeps in the thread will (rightfully so due to the nature of the website) light it on fire, trash talk/shrug it off without even listening to it.
("This 90$ electric scooter is so bad cos it doesn't offer the smoothest ride and killer acceleration, and it can't even support 400lbs of weight! Can't even get on the highway! What a piece of trash!" sth sth...)
Heck, people can still find plenty of ways to bitch about some products that had almost perfect measurements... so there's that.

I mean, as said above I understand where they are coming from, but oh well it's also a miss opportunity for some others who are looking for something that would fit their "actual" usages (functions, size, price etc.), that doesn't have to be sublime on the test bench. But I guess it's easier to just go to other websites in that case lol.

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.
For me it's like a good Chi-fi and a step up from (more or less the same price range) soundbars.

My only gripe is that... why the heck they don't use a bit better chip like TPA3255, aren't they like a single digit $ difference in cost? (oh, and maybe no better option power brick offered at the shop. Of course you can find one yourself but kinda too hassle for me.)

 

[Snix]

I'd say that it can be as good in some areas as some entry level Intigrated amps, but i highly doubt it;s a giant killer as some have stated. .

Well, personally, if I have to choose between T9 and "Hifi" brand name entry level integrated say in 4-600$ price range, I prolly choose this T9 as my starting point.
That is, by no mean I think it's sonically better than those brand name amps (but as you mentioned, it might be as good in few areas), I just think it would be wiser to keep that price difference and save up toward game changing combos like Topping D90 + LA90.

 

[kaopad999]

Hiya,
Glad you like it.

Though I bet it's gonna get "poor" measure results and peeps in the thread will (rightfully so due to the nature of the website) light it on fire, trash talk/shrug it off without even listening to it.
("This 90$ electric scooter is so bad cos it doesn't offer the smoothest ride and killer acceleration, and it can't even support 400lbs of weight! Can't even get on the highway! What a piece of trash!" sth sth...)
Heck, people can still find plenty of ways to bitch about some products that had almost perfect measurements... so there's that.

I mean, as said above I understand where they are coming from, but oh well it's also a miss opportunity for some others who are looking for something that would fit their "actual" usages (functions, size, price etc.), that doesn't have to be sublime on the test bench. But I guess it's easier to just go to other websites in that case lol.

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.
For me it's like a good Chi-fi and a step up from (more or less the same price range) soundbars.

My only gripe is that... why the heck they don't use a bit better chip like TPA3255, aren't they like a single digit $ difference in cost? (oh, and maybe no better option power brick offered at the shop. Of course you can find one yourself but kinda too hassle for me.)

Yeah, there is no way i would buy an amplifer purely based on measurements.
What counts is our personal subjective listening experience IMO , as it's me/us thats listening to the gear on our specific set of speakers.
People thinking that they can just buy a set of good measuring speakers and an amp and think they;lre gona get the best listening exprience are missing out in my opinion. Some speakers just pair better with certain amps and so forth. there is no denying that, just as i found out last night when pairing the T9 with my Q acoustics ( too bright sounding)

I agree, they should have used the TPA3255 chip.it;s kinda odd with these Chinese amps, they just seem to throw a load of components together and hope for the best ,without really thinking what people might actually want?

have bought or played around with any other Chinese amps? I now quite curious how the AIYIMA a07 might sound with the TPA3255 chip

 

[ZolaIII]

Hiya,
Glad you like it.

Though I bet it's gonna get "poor" measure results and peeps in the thread will (rightfully so due to the nature of the website) light it on fire, trash talk/shrug it off without even listening to it.
("This 90$ electric scooter is so bad cos it doesn't offer the smoothest ride and killer acceleration, and it can't even support 400lbs of weight! Can't even get on the highway! What a piece of trash!" sth sth...)
Heck, people can still find plenty of ways to bitch about some products that had almost perfect measurements... so there's that.

I mean, as said above I understand where they are coming from, but oh well it's also a miss opportunity for some others who are looking for something that would fit their "actual" usages (functions, size, price etc.), that doesn't have to be sublime on the test bench. But I guess it's easier to just go to other websites in that case lol.

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.
For me it's like a good Chi-fi and a step up from (more or less the same price range) soundbars.

My only gripe is that... why the heck they don't use a bit better chip like TPA3255, aren't they like a single digit $ difference in cost? (oh, and maybe no better option power brick offered at the shop. Of course you can find one yourself but kinda too hassle for me.)

Review and Measurements of Schiit Saga Tube Pre-amp

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Schiit Saga passive/tube pre-amplifier. It is on kind loan from a member who has waiting literally months for his review! The Saga costs USD $349 from Schiit direct with stock tube plus shipping. The tube supplied with this unit was the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

If tube is used as pasive stage at about 1 mV and it's a good tube in a good solid state design or solo in a such pasive design (good design of course) you will be surprised. As there are such virtualised in digital domain (VST) and for free I really don't see the point other than childish playing around and decoration purpose.

 

[Snix]

have bought or played around with any other Chinese amps?

I had (actually still have but don't use it anymore, thus past tense) SMSL DA18. It's kinda meh, usable but a lot left to be desired.
Funnily/ironically that DA18 led me to this ASR forum, (and heck its measurements were SO bad .)
For me however there were flaws beyond measurements tho, like, weird connection problems, way too many functions trying to cramp into so tiny space (which actually looks good on paper but very hard to use irl) etc.
To be fair tho back then there weren't many OK looking all-in-one Chi-fi.

I now quite curious how the AIYIMA a07 might sound with the TPA3255 chip

A07 have tons of review I think?
Be careful of toy-shopping though. I think it's fun and all to experiment things around, buying this and that, upgrading here and there, but they add up VERY quickly
As I mentioned earlier, might be better saving up for a long term game changing system.
Say, Topping LA90 is a beast for that price (it's ONLY x8-10 cheapo Chi-fi toys if you know what I mean lol.)
Good power, very lean and clean sounding (too clinical/sterile for some, even).

 

[Jeromeof]

I think these amplifiers are great - they have allowed me to try and experiment with things - while leave my main system alone - and though I am going to sell my T9 (though I do like it) - I have an A07 which is fantastic paired with a reasonable DAC!!

And I recently got the Aiyima D03 which I am currently using in my converted garage / WFH space. So the D03 one its sort of the opposite of the T9 - while the T9 being a Tube amp is supposed to add 'character' to the sound, the D03 is all about staying digital as long as possible i.e. it is a 'full digital amplifier' - so I am currently seeing if I can setup cheaply a "full" digital pipeline with DSP:

Wiim Mini Streamer -> Optical output into a Optical to USB adapter -> into an RPI3 running CamillaDSP then via USB into D03 and finally out to some bookshelf speakers

Because its a converted garage the sound isn't great hence why I am using this setup to get into REW and Room correction. So while some feel these Chinese Amp's are toys I think this whole hobby is about playing with stuff and hopefully getting great sounding audio out at the end, so spending maybe Eur500 on the above 'experiment' (I had to buy the UMIK-1 microphone also) should teach me allot and hopefully be lots of fun