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.