120 MACWORLD APRIL 2020
PLAYLIST REVIEW: ASTELL&KERN T9IEmost prominent feature. It’s eye-catching.
The braided litz design (go.macworld.com/
litz) reduces signal loss from the skin effect
(the tendency for alternating current to
flow mainly on the surface of the
conductor wire) and the proximity effect,
both of which increase resistance at
higher frequencies. The cable is made
with 4N pure silver, silver plated 7N OCC,
and 7N OCC. The cable terminates with a
4-pole balanced 2.5mm jack.
The T9iE’s 2.5mm jack is too large for
my taste. It’s obtrusive and impractical.
When I plugged in the cable to the
Astell&Kern Kann or SR15 (go.
macworld.com/sr15), I ended up
banging the jack inadvertently
several times. Putting the player into
any pocket with the 2.5mm jack
becomes impractical. I can see consumers
easily bending the tip or
breaking the input—or both.
Astell&Kern includes a
2.5mm-to-3.5mm right-angle
adapter. I recommend using
this adapter anytime you
want to take these
headphones on the go, and
reserve the 2.5mm jack for
stationary listening. I do wish
that Astell&Kern included a
2.5mm 90-degree connector
like they did with the 3.5mm
connector. Thankfully, the
T9iE’s cable is removable. It’s compatible
with any standard MMCX cable.
The cable has a flexible plastic-rubber
sheath that lets you shape the cable around
your outer ear. The sheath kept its shapeA detailed view of the T9iE’s flexible sheath.
The T9iE’s
headphone cable
is removable and
conforms to the
MMCX standard.