Audiolab in low esteem here?
- Thread starter norliss
- Start date
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
My 8000A has worked well with my Spendor BC1s for many years.
As it was getting on a bit, I had it serviced and refurbished by Kevin Green of Bicester.
He certainly improved its performance and I see no reason to change it for anything else.
Over the years I tried certain, so called, ‘classic’ amplifiers.
The only thing classic about most of them were the high prices asked.
To the ‘It’s got be Naim’ camp, the Nait 3 was OK but I do find tone controls useful.
Reading through this thread, I get the impression that some people get on the ‘Let’s knock Audiolab’
bandwagon.
Like speakers, let people make up their minds.
We’re all different...
As it was getting on a bit, I had it serviced and refurbished by Kevin Green of Bicester.
He certainly improved its performance and I see no reason to change it for anything else.
Over the years I tried certain, so called, ‘classic’ amplifiers.
The only thing classic about most of them were the high prices asked.
To the ‘It’s got be Naim’ camp, the Nait 3 was OK but I do find tone controls useful.
Reading through this thread, I get the impression that some people get on the ‘Let’s knock Audiolab’
bandwagon.
Like speakers, let people make up their minds.
We’re all different...
well I use Audiolab gear but there is one product I would suggest stay away from - the 8200 dab/fm tuner. I have bought 2 of them over a period of 2 years and the dab unit has failed with both of them. They were of different generations, one with the lcd display the other woth the Oled. Nice sound when it worked but.....The Fm side stillwork with both, its just the dab unit. so avoid like the plague this product. I am waiting a to take a trip to get them mended but not sure it is worth the bother.
david ellwood
Kirabosi Kognoscente
Integrated Amplifiers that I think work well:
Naim Nait, Myst TMA, Exposure 10, Nytech/Ion Obelisk, Creek 4040, Rotel RA820, Linn Majik, Nad 3020, heck even a Denon PMA250 sounds ok compared to an Audiolab.
cjyosemite
pfm Member
Audiolab is a more affordable range than Quad in the group's range but supported by the same team. I have never owned an Audiolab amplifier but have had 5 years use to date from my Mdac+ with no problems.
If you want to consider a British built ampifier, then the Rega range is worth exploring.
If you want to consider a British built ampifier, then the Rega range is worth exploring.
notevenclose
pfm Member
The original Audiolab amp was launched with a fair bit of goodwill in the trade, principally because of the people behind it.
It was built to a higher standard of fit & finish than most equivalent UK products – but was hyped to a ludicrous degree by some of the UK press. It certainly wasn't a universally applicable world beater, but many dealers had lengthy waiting lists for the damn things.
Strike one.
I sold a lot of Meridian 101/103Ds to Audiolab owners who discovered it didn't actually sound that great in their systems.
Tag McLaren were an object lesson in how not to enter a market in which one has no experience, their attitude was basically 'you're all amateurs, now we're going to show you oiks how it should be done.'
Unfortunately the sound quality detoriated as the prices increased. Realising this wasn't quite as simple as they'd thought, they departed the hifi scene.
Strike two.
Next up, from China PLC, came IAG. Personal opinion of course, but a lot of people don't fancy the Chinese manufacture, or for that matter this specific Chinese manufacturer.
There are well-documented past issues with component quality etc.
So strike three, or, at least, strike two and a half.
Inevitable I suppose that a cross-section of forum members will have views which reflect one or more of the above.
re Tag Maclaren. I still have the base level PA10 60P pre+power and the sound is fine. One difference I note is that the sound is a bit darker than my 8000Q+8000Ms which by comparison could be called grey sounding, but you get used to that and soon find it sounds right. strange. So I think your evaluation is wrong, their products were just too expensive ( I bought my Pa10+60P 2nd hand/ex demo for less than £300 a piece - I think the orginal price was more like £800?) Too much money was spent on appearances. You should compare the boxes the original audiolab came in ( not much bigger than the product with polystyrene ends to stop it form moving around ) to the massive over padded glossy boxes of TagMaclaren with a fancy box inside a basic cardboard one ( My ex demo one came in one, had a hard job getting it home lol)
Audiolab is really a vocal and classical music amplifier sound. Not for rock music I think. I once heard a Naim system the owner of which I was selling a passive preamp to & I was shocked and my ears screamed please turn it off the sound was so violent. Audiolab works well with my Monitor Audio R852mds ( infinite baffle) and later Epos M5i & M12i
Audiolab is really a vocal and classical music amplifier sound. Not for rock music I think. I once heard a Naim system the owner of which I was selling a passive preamp to & I was shocked and my ears screamed please turn it off the sound was so violent. Audiolab works well with my Monitor Audio R852mds ( infinite baffle) and later Epos M5i & M12i
Rug Doc
pfm Member
The first amp I bought was an early 8000a and I still have it tucked away. You’d be amazed how good it sounded running a pair of NS1000Ms!
I remember a system of the big reference KEFs (Model ones) I think, running Audiolab monoblocks and it was quite fabulous, had a grin on the speakers and therefore bass that was quite fabulous.
I remember a system of the big reference KEFs (Model ones) I think, running Audiolab monoblocks and it was quite fabulous, had a grin on the speakers and therefore bass that was quite fabulous.
Heard one demo'd with Yamaha NS1000s when I was a student in the 80s. Made my ears bleed it sounded so harsh and piercing. (But back then I was probably more sensitive to high frequencies, hem hem.)
notevenclose
pfm Member
You're kind of proving my point. Tag Mclaren bumped the prices considerably, then announced they were ceasing production prior to undertaking a 'strategic review' of their involvement in the audio industry, effectively decimating the value of existing dealer inventory (not to mention s/h prices) because everyone knew what was coming next.
Review complete, they conceded 'we're out of here..' and dumped the remaining stock at knock-down prices.
That you got a bargain of equipment that few wanted at full price doesn't exactly sound like a ringing endorsement of the brand in terms of the bigger picture. Since Tag were effectively leaving the industry, they didn't really give a f*** about brand image or reputation management, so it's hardly surprising the brand became tainted for some people.
that wasnt my case. The PA 10 preamp was bought from a branch of Sevenoaks Hifi that was closing down for whatever reason so all the gear was reduced - I also picked up half price a Musical Fidelity XLP-S v3 phono stage that had sat in a glass case probably for ever & also an Audiolab 8000Q .The 60P power amp was bought from a toff up in north London who was going up market. I cant remember what was happening with T.M at the time so long ago now.
seethroughyou
pfm Member
IAG stuff, cheapest parts wrapped in fancy boxes and milking British Hifi heritage. Their stuff is notorious for using shi**y parts. Steer clear. Rega, Naim light years ahead in quality, reliability and servicing.
well my Chinese 8000Q and 8000Ms are still working fine. Thats 13 years ago. TheTag Mclaren gear are now 18 years old and last time I tried them were ok also. What makes you think that the original Audiolab were made with other than basic good parts?
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
Kevin Green, who worked on my Audiolab, said the quality of the later amplifiers’ components weren’t
as good as my earlier model.
He especially noted the potentiometers and switchgear as having gone down in quality.
seethroughyou
pfm Member
I never said the original was of low quality. I’m referring to the IAG stuff not the pre-IAG stuff.
furthermore, one story of a product failure or one story of “Ive had my gear for years” isn’t a meaningful sample size. It’s the recent drop in quality and use of cheap parts that is upsetting. I’d gladly buy the pre-IAG stuff.