Audiolab 8000S - opinions, please

[trane]

as above. I never have had the chance to give a thorough listen to this amp, neither the younger A bro, and am truly intrigued to hear what people in the know say. to give a clue, I love the sonics of the AI Alto or that of the Ion/Heed range, the much dearer valve amps (e.g. AI S500 MkI) notwithstanding, of course, thus am eager to learn from those mainly who are familiar with the above amps. your inputs will much be appreciated :)

[southall-1998]

Why downgrade? You already own good amps!

[kenworthy100]

All I can add is that the Ion Obelisk 3x/xpak1 is one of the best integrated amps I ever owned, Richard Hay the designer of Ion systems IMHO got it spot on. I did compare to Audiolab at the time and to me the Ion was far better

[trane]

Why downgrade? You already own good amps!

you're right, Shane, but I am curious ;)

[trane]

All I can add is that the Ion Obelisk 3x/xpak1 is one of the best integrated amps I ever owned, Richard Hay the designer of Ion systems IMHO got it spot on. I did compare to Audiolab at the time and to me the Ion was far better

dunno Ken. honestly, I have owned two Obelisk 3 versions and one 3X/X-PAK1 combo, but for me and in my system the 1st Obelisk 3 was the most musical. in comparison, the 3X/X-PAK1 sounded somewhat monotonous with much less colour - more sterile, or perhaps neutral to the extreme, if you wish...

[Rick E]

Plenty of drive, power etc. But I have always found Audiolab a bit sterile and boring. Some people like that I suppose. Not me.

Given the choice of 8000 or Pioneer a400, I would go with the latter.

[WAD62]

as above. I never have had the chance to give a thorough listen to this amp, neither the younger A bro, and am truly intrigued to hear what people in the know say. to give a clue, I love the sonics of the AI Alto or that of the Ion/Heed range, the much dearer valve amps (e.g. AI S500 MkI) notwithstanding, of course, thus am eager to learn from those mainly who are familiar with the above amps. your inputs will much be appreciated :)

After many years of good service my 8000S packed in last year, I'd been using it in a bi-amp (with an 8000SX) setup until 2 years ago. Subsequently it was retired to my bedroom system, and replaced by an 8000P (my M-DAC is now a the pre-amp).

On the plus side it's a very flexible amp, can operate as pre, pre/power...etc. on the down side watch out for second hand ones, they are prone to overheating, and don't like being left on...my main PCB has eventually burned out again, after being re-soldered once previously.

As for sound I'd say they are fairly neutral, as to how it would compare to your current amp I can't comment...:eyebrows:

[trane]

many thanks for the replies, lads. it seems, info gathered from here, and from other forums, as well, that the Audiolab way is not my road to take

[Alex_UK]

Lived with one as my main amp for over a decade, and was very happy with it, but the Rega Brio-R I have now is better, and the 8000S suffered if left on (on mine all of the plastic around the inputs went brittle and crumbled.)