I have been using Audiolab 8000S for about a month. My music styles are classicals, vocals and old time rock like Simon and Grafungel. I personally find this amp a bit underpowered when driving Magnepan MMG. Eventhough the sound is clear with no audible distortion but you have to crank the volume up almost half way (around 11:00) in order to get a good detail of the music. I'm quite sure that this amp is definitely can drive any small monitor speakers with a whiz. I like the way it present the soundstage, quite realistic. As it is trying to emulate the real size of the performance but sometimes it is impossible to fit the whole music hall into a small room but the feeling is in there. However I'm not sure if any other amps at this price or lower can do the same thing. The sound is perfectly neutral without any coloration. The remote function is limited for selecting the source but cannnot turn the main power on (not so convenient.) The amp runs quite hot thus make it quite risky to use in the hot climate.
Overall, the build quality is decent but not superb at this price range. The sound quality is somewhat above average from my standpoint (from my understandings, the amp itself doesn't tell the whole story, loudspeakers have a little bit more infuence in the sound quality.) I would prefer to give this Audiolab three and a half stars not quite four yet.

'Clean' sound

Light bass
No attack or bite
Doesnt sound powerful/low perceived loudness

I bought this amp to complement Marantz CD-63KI signature CD player and Mission 752 freedom speakers.

Upgraded from £250 sony amp, now i keep the audiolab in the garage, waiting to be sold.

For rock/pop/dance - anything requiring scale, drama and punch - this amp is hopeless. Principally because it just doesnt deliver deep bass - replacing it with the sony restored the full sound, a full drum-kit and hearing bass notes which disappeared with the audiolab.

The audiolab also lacks bite and attack - electric guitar sounds stale and dry, cymbols shut-in : the sony delivers a much more realisti cound.

At low volumes, the audiolab is very disappointing as no bass means music has no foundation and curtailed treble means detail and energy is missing.

Of course, the audiolab has greater clarity, soundstaging and midrange than the sony, but lacks life and makes for an unenjoyable listen. Anyone wanting punch, AVOID !

Similar Products Used:

Sony £250 amp

Detailed, good pace and rhythm, good peak current ability, upgrade potential good.

None at the price

I have done a review previously and have decided to add some tips I have learned recently. Hopefully this can help other 8000S owners to further enjoy this great amp.

The 8000S has incredible potential but in order to optimise its performance I have found the intergration with other components to be critical.

It seems to me that the 8000S is very sensitive to the general condition of the power supplied to the amp. I have found the use of a power supply conditioner to greatly benefit the amp and its performance. I also found that using a proper supply cable improved the performance drastically.

Also important was to ensure that all the different components are connected to the power supply correctly. That is all neutral connections must be the same as well as all live connections. One can test this by disconnecting all interconnects. Leave the power supply cables connected to all components and then measure the ground potential between all components. The measurement sould be very small. If for example between the CD player and the amp the ground potential is big, swop the nuetral and live wires on the CD player supply cable. This should degrease the earth potential between the amp and the CD player.

I have also found that bi-wire greatly improve performance. I also disconnected any TV and video equipment as well as tuners. Sounds wierd but without these possible interference the performance increase even further.

The 8000S is an incredable amp and at the going prices second hand I still say it is a bargain of a life time. One will have to spend big dollars to improve.

Similar Products Used:

AudioLab 8000A, 8000P combination. Also tested it against the Marantz PM17

Bass, detail, flexibility

That hidden "something" only available in tube amps.

This was my "starter" integrated amp. I recently upgraded the amps to Manley 50 watt monoblocks and now operate the Audiolab in pre mode. The fact that you get this kind of flexibility is really great for building systems from the ground up. I've become a devotee to the tube sound, and I will upgrade to a tube pre-amp, but the Audiolab lets you upgrade when you want to.

With the Audiolab, you get a neutral amp that doesn't add colorations to the sound. The bass is tight (contrary to an earlier poster) and blows away any sub $1000 dollar Japanese built stereo. Audition any bass heavy Fugees, Erykah Badu, etc. to see what I mean. Power? I've pushed the volume control to 12 o'clock, and the entire house starts to shake. The speaker posts are top notch -- no spring loaded plastic here. The remote is not as "pretty" as you'll find with Japanese electronics, but is functional nonetheless.

The only other downside I can remotely think of is the lack of a phono stage. If you aren't planning to go with a turntable and you can find this second-hand, it can become the basis for a fantastic mid-level hi-fi system. Pair this with a good used digital source (Rotel, Rega, etc.) and you can get a killer system for under a thousand.

System:
Pre-Amp: Audiolab 8000S
Amplification: Manley Labs 50 Watt monoblocks
Source: Rega Planet
Interconnect: Nordost Blue Heaven
Speaker Cables: Nordost Blue Heaven