AUDIOLAB: Worth getting an 8000P to go with my 8000S?

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Soldato
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Hi there,

Firstly a little about my setup...

I'm currently running an AudioLab 8000S (Old one), a Marantz CD63, and a pair of JMLab 816S speakers.

Since I purchased, I have had the CD63 heavily upgraded, and had a superclock added (Amongst many, many more improvements), and had the AudioLab serviced (Which made huge improvements to the sound). I am quite happy with the sound, but it is perhaps still a touch 'flat' and 'sterile', which I assume is down to the Audiolab more than anything.

How would an old 8000P sit amongst my existing setup? Am I likely hear a significant difference in sound quality? The 816 is quite an efficient speaker anyway, so I can't imagine it is really putting the 8000S under much of a strain. Would a powerful amp like the S benefit from the P alongside it in my system?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks!
 
The S was always very sterile/flat sounding.

It was one of the amps I auditioned before settling on my long serving Musical Fidelity A220.. which isn't flat/sterile but is an amp that can be listened to for long periods and usually gets good comments from people.
 
All audiolab amps share a certain " Family " sound. However the older Audiolab A, and P's are slightly more forgiving than the S, MX, and PX's. The difference is likely to be quite slight though.

Personally I like the audiolab sound, but Im running Mission 753 Freedoms which have a very smooth and musical presentation. They have enough character of their own that when driven by audiolabs, they still give a very enjoyable result. Not really surprising as Mission speakers used to be designed to partner Cyrus electronics, and Cyrus and Audiolab have some common traits in their sound.
 
Sterile just about perfectly describes Audiolab amps. If you've decided that you want something more in your music, then look at another manufacturer.
 
Well I've picked up the 8000P for £110 (It's an F- serial number too). In need of some repair, but shouldn't be too much to get it running!

I have only paid £310 for both my 8000S and 8000P in total now, so will easily get this back at auction.... Will re-asses the situation when the 8000P is in the mix :)

I am after just a bit 'more' sound (Richness, depth) which it seems like the 8000P may help with a bit.... Time will tell.
 
You should find that it will add clarity as the P will add more current handling capacity to the mix.

You may find that the bass appears less. However it's because it's handling is more agile. The result is you should hear more detail through it.
 
Don't through good money after bad, ditch the audiolab if you find it sterile. The original 8000a was ... and I left it on the shelf.... Try another brand.
 
As I said, I can shift my Audiolab gear at a profit, so am going to go ahead with the 8000P and then see what I think.

Question.... Obviously I want to try and get any future amps at bargain S/H prices, but how can I actually audtion all this stuff?

-Hi Fi shops don't tend to carry a great range of S/H amps
-Sellers on forums/ auctions are all over the country, so I can't exactly just turn up with my massive speakers and CDP and try it out (Or expect them to post their amp half way across the country to me!)

I'd hate to do it blindly and end up with something worse than my original setup!

I guess the best approach is to try and demo each brand to get an idea of the 'house sound', and then research around/ look to buy S/H from their older ranges?
 
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I'm in a similar boat to yourself. I have an 8000s (old F serial) coupled with an 8000a modded by Kevin Green to act as a power amp. These drive a pair of Monitor Audio RS6s with a Shek d2 and Beresford tc7510 doing dac duties. I've listened to loads of stuff on this setup now and really really enjoy the sound. I think all the components blend together nicely.

I have still found myself looking to upgrade however, and have taken every opportunity to listen to different kit. Sure, there are numerous ways to 'improve' but to be honest, I've actually started trying to buck the upgrade nag and enjoy what I've got.

So, for the moment I'm very content - the Audiolab kit is superb for the price I paid (just over £200 for the pair) and I thoroughly enjoy the sound. So if you're happy then save your cash and stick with what you've got - until you do this you'll always be thinking the grass is greener and that's a sure fire way to an empty bank account!
 
Okies, just two more things:

I have no power cable for it.... Will a 10p kettle lead do the job or should I spend a bit on one of these 'special hi-fi' power cables? can anyone actually tell me it has REALLY made a difference?

My 8000S is currently linked to my speakers using Chord Rumour. I am going to be moving the furniture around in my Hi Fi room soon, and intend to get a new (read proper) Hi Fi stand, and will be measuring up some new cables etc. So for now, am I OK with mixing the cables and using some spare Chord Oddesy (or something like that) on the P until I sort out 4 runs of proper cabling? (I am going to go down the copper route here, as I think the Chord cables are just too bright for my system!)

Thanks
 
The only real way to get a feel for how your Audiolab matches up really is to go compare it against other kit, either with some friendly dealers, or by getting to know some people with half decent systems.
 
Ok just picked up the 8000P, and just letting it play through a CD to warm up before I pass judgment.

At the moment, I have it in a 'linear' mode where the poweramp duties are taken away from the 8000S, and the speakers are being driven through the 8000P on a single run of cable.

Listening at low volumes for now, but there is clearly more detail and clarity at the bottom end, and everything just sounds a little 'cleaner'.

As I said, going to give it an hour or so before I crank it up a bit more, and have a real listen.

Am also going to try Bi-Amping with the 8000S to see if there are improvements there as well (Was advised to try both, as sometimes not Bi-Amping produces better results apparently).

Will report back later :)

Also going to be taking my speakers down to my local Hi-Fi shop soon, as one of them is buzzing at certain frequencies (Don't think it is anything major, but the sound appears to be coming out of the back somewhere), so will ask if they can hook them up to a few other amps, so I can get a feel for how the 8000S & P compares to other amps out there.
 
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Ok so after listening to a few albums in the setup in the above post, I switched back to the 8000S on its own to see if there was a noticeable difference...
And there is! the setup definitely sounds cleaner & clearer, with a more 'attacking edge', and a stronger sense of tempo about the music.

The bass in particular is less muddy and clearer, but the whole sound spectrum is definitely improved with the P in there.

I am now bi- amping it, with the P feeding the bass, and the S feeding the midrange/ treble... Not sure if there is an improvement over the previous setup (Where the P is in line with the S), but I'll give it some more time.
 
I went from S, to S/P combo, to S in Pre driving a pair of P's, and found there were improvements at every stage.

Finally I swapped out the S for a Tag AV32R so I could have surround sound without using the Yam E800 processor I had at the time. The Tag sounds better than the S as a music preamp, and is great for AV, even if it doesnt support HD/HDMI.

Finally upgraded the P's for M's and was rewarded with further improvement.

Never found the 8000's to be sterile sounding, but perhaps thats because the Mission 753's I have are warm and musical themselves.

With the right speakers Audiolab kit works nicely, but I certainly wouldnt want to drive "naturally bright" speakers from the audiolab amps.

If you "Like" the overall family sound of audiolab, then each progression though the range brings obvious improvements. On the other hand if you cant stand the basic audiolabs, the odds are that even the monoblocks will be of no interest. Personally I find the best sound is from the 8000M, the later MX range were designed by engineers, and there was a lot less "listening" in their design. The Tags didnt really improve on the 8000M either, although I do still like the AV32R.
 
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I do like the AudioLab sound, but just wondering what else out there I would like even more, as it's not perfect (but very good :) )

Just got back from my local Hi Fi Dealer... As I said earlier, one of my speakers has a slight fault, so they hooked them up to their £60,000 Naim system to try and recreate the issue... Man it sounded good :cool:
 
Cyrus amps have a similar presentation to Audiolab, but are available as "Current" models. I dont have a great opinion of the "new" made in asia Audiolab "IAG" models.
 
Actually I am much happier with the Audiolab sound since I added the 8000P.... Deffo £100 well spent there!! I urge anyone with the 8000S/P to keep an eye out for one.

It really seems to have added 'something' to the sound- perhaps it is the extra clarity and cleanliness- it just seems more musical and enjoyable now... Now if only some cheap M's were to appear on the 'bay.... :cool:
 
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Glad you like the 8000p. I must get around to replacing my power-amped 8000a with an 8000p to partner my 8000s.
 
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