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

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Soldato
Joined
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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!
 
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.
 
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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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
 
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 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:
 
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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