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Audiolab love or hate?

mercalia said:
One mistake it seems the old 125 watt 8000m/8200m now discontinued into the 8300 series? only the monster 250 watt things available? who needs them? ( I have seen quite a few for sale on EBay maybe that says sometning?) The 8000P is now the 140watt 8300XP
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The audiolab kit must be still desirable....I've seen 8200p's going for around £400 recently...I've got a pair and a 8200Q so I have thought of selling them and buying a rega elexr or something similar? Thoughts anyone?
 
Galty said:
you sound like you'e
Happy with audiolab kit.Can I ask why the upgrades and was there a big improvement? What speakers do you use?
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Very happy...

With regard to the upgrades, the MDAC was upgraded a couple of years ago, via John Westlake's pfm epic thread, this was before the upgrade 'project' got out of control IMHO...large improvement over the standard DAC

With regard to the amps, I've been able to get restored and upgraded (better caps etc.) via a chap who used advertise himself as the 'Audiocellar', all my kit is late '89 'F' reg. These were already upgraded when I bought them so I can't attest as to what improvement the upgrade provided, if any, but the system sounds excellent to my ears.

I'm using a pair of IPL acoustic S5TL Mk2s, the designer suggested them as a good match for 8000Ms, and also my room (13' x 27')...the SQ is excellent

http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/S5tl Kevlar 2.htm
 
The original Audiolab gear was very technologically advanced when it came out (still is now really) and as an engineer it brought a smile to my face to see something British which was technically up to the gear from Japan, rather than being yet another re-hash of crude old circuitry as used by most UK companies at the time.
 
Arkless Electronics said:
The original Audiolab gear was very technologically advanced when it came out (still is now really) and as an engineer it brought a smile to my face to see something British which was technically up to the gear from Japan, rather than being yet another re-hash of crude old circuitry as used by most UK companies at the time.
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If you rate it it really cannot be that bad! Do you get people sending 8200 power amps to you for upgrades etc...can they be improved?
 
I had an 8000lx back in the day, and it was very dull. I still haven't got the time to see if it was knobbled with a fault. A primare a20 was 10googolplex better.
 
I've had an 8000A which I loved, a pair of 8000Ps, an 8000C and a pair of 8000Ms which I still own.

Apart from some disastrous speakers pairings (bi-amping some cheap Tannoys with the 8000Ps and trying to drive some B & W 800s with the 8000A!) they have been superb.

All were serviced by Audiocellar and will probably last another 30 years. The 8000Ms are sitting around doing nothing so I might do an A/B with my Bryston for the hell of it.

But what do I spend the proceeds of the January sale of the loser on?
 
I had an 8000S and 8000T. The amp went dead on one channel & after an abortive attempt to get a local place to repair it I stuck it on Ebay for spares/repair & Audiocellar bought it at a decent price :)
The tuner is wonderful and still gives service several times a week.
 
Arkless Electronics said:
The original Audiolab gear was very technologically advanced when it came out (still is now really) and as an engineer it brought a smile to my face to see something British which was technically up to the gear from Japan, rather than being yet another re-hash of crude old circuitry as used by most UK companies at the time.
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Very true. Look inside an 8000Q and, if you have just a modest knowledge of audio electronics, that it is clearly the product of an original thinker. The variable gain, achieved by relay switching of resistors in a f/b loop, is a great feature and all too rare.

Sounds good too, as do the 8000CDM and 8000T.

The 8000A is a bit on the laid back back side, but still enjoyable. The 8000C and 8000P vary quite dramatically with vintage; the former got better with time, the 8000P regressed, unfortunately. The later ones might be neater in layout, but the old grey ones are more entertaining.

Overall, though, the CST built products were a credit to their creators.
 
Way back when I was first taking an intrest in hi-fi, Audiolab had, so far as I could tell, something of a reputation. I knew someone who had a full system, heard it many times, loved it, and I coveted it. Years later I got an 8000A, and I was so disappointed. Didn't keep it very long, and I think I replaced it with a cheaper Cambridge Audio that I much preferred.

A couple of years ago I had a loaner, I think an 8200P, while my power amp was in for repair, and without wishing to be at all ungrateful for the loan, it didn't sound good to my ear, though possibly it just suffered in comparison to my usual amp, which is from a different price bracket. I suppose that's the issue: we're (hopefully) always moving onwards and upwards, so revisiting old kit --even old favourites -- is often likely to disappoint.

Don't know about the impact of the TAG involvement: I had a bit of their kit too, and liked it.
 
rdf said:
Way back when I was first taking an intrest in hi-fi, Audiolab had, so far as I could tell, something of a reputation. I knew someone who had a full system, heard it many times, loved it, and I coveted it. Years later I got an 8000A, and I was so disappointed. Didn't keep it very long, and I think I replaced it with a cheaper Cambridge Audio that I much preferred.

A couple of years ago I had a loaner, I think an 8200P, while my power amp was in for repair, and without wishing to be at all ungrateful for the loan, it didn't sound good to my ear, though possibly it just suffered in comparison to my usual amp, which is from a different price bracket. I suppose that's the issue: we're (hopefully) always moving onwards and upwards, so revisiting old kit --even old favourites -- is often likely to disappoint.

Don't know about the impact of the TAG involvement: I had a bit of their kit too, and liked it.
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well you get used to how things sound. I once listened to a guys Naim set up ( I was selling him a passive preamp) and I was shocked at its agressiveness, made me wince. Also I think there maybe a compatability issue - I oncce tried a Musical Fidelity preamp with my then 8000p and it sounded off, not right.
 
RustyB said:
Very true. Look inside an 8000Q and, if you have just a modest knowledge of audio electronics, that it is clearly the product of an original thinker. The variable gain, achieved by relay switching of resistors in a f/b loop, is a great feature and all too rare.

Sounds good too, as do the 8000CDM and 8000T.

The 8000A is a bit on the laid back back side, but still enjoyable. The 8000C and 8000P vary quite dramatically with vintage; the former got better with time, the 8000P regressed, unfortunately. The later ones might be neater in layout, but the old grey ones are more entertaining.

Overall, though, the CST built products were a credit to their creators.
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cant say I liked the gain control as it did change the tonal quality. As for technology, using a motor driven system to change the volume etc seems quaint in some eyes ( but it works )
 
Had a UK 8000P for a while which was rather dull to be honest.

A fair description. Tried to perk mine up with some Evox Rifa's and wiring changes, with limited success.

It would be interesting to know what Audiocellar does (did?) to upgrade the 8000 series amps.
 
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