Please consider subscribing, as a beginner in the audio review world I purchase all of the equipment I review without any sponsors or influence, that small gesture would go a long ways in getting more equipment in for review! Thanks
Your review and several others convinced me to but the Audiolab 6000CDT and the 6000A. Loved this series, even though they are not broken in yet the sound is fabulous. I have two questions, when I set it for streaming the sound comes in very low and I have to increase the volume just to hear it and I’m assuming that maybe, I’m messing a step or is that normal ? My other question pertains to connecting an old B&O turntable as I am not sure if it will work and I didn’t want to do anything without consulting first. Any advice will be appreciated!
Great review, Matt. I bought the 6000a a few months ago and I'm happy with it. Very solid device with good features and a great sound. Since questions came up about the DAC-quality: I used to connect my Bluesound Node 130 with good analog cinch cable, nice sound. At some point I came up with the idea of going the digital way with Koax. Easy to hear, that the Audiolab DAC is simply better in terms of resolution with 3 filters to choose from on top. Very good quality from Audiolab for this price.
Great review. I purchased this amp recently. Works very well with my Roger’s LS7t speakers. BTW I like your Thorens. I have a 160tb mk2 with a series 3 SME tone arm.
Based on this review and others that come to similar conclusions I bought a 6000A last week and am very impressed with it driving my Harbeth/REL speaker system. My only negative is that the little port flaps at the optical TOSLINK inputs snapped off the first time I used them resulting in optical cables fitting too loosely now.
I am glad your enjoying the sound, it’s a great sounding unit. The optical port damage is a pain though, maybe you can get a replacement amp. The good news there is it’s all or nothing with that connection so if it’s working you shouldn’t lose any quality.
HI Matt great review!!! just one question.. you said its a waste to use as a power amp... to give more power to a Home theater AVR...L and R front channels..im wondering why that is? for im looking to do just that.. I just purchased a pair of Kef ls50 Meta's and i find that my yamaha A2a receiver is lacking to bring in the full potential of my new kefs...what do you suggest i do.. is there any other amps i can use that would do the trick for less? Also how easily could i switch on and off from using the audiolab with my kefs for stereo music listening and then switch back to the AVR using the audiolab as a power amp for my movie watching.. your response would be much appreciated.. thank you
Hey thanks for watching. When I said it's a waste I meant it as in the 6000a is just too good of a listen in 2 channel audio to tuck away in my AV rack for TV duties. If I were you I would look at something here: emotiva.com/collections/amps . They offer direct to consumer options that generally offer a value that is hard to beat. Some receivers offer a HT bypass feature that would essentially accomplish what your describing to sort of switch between, but I dont believe that will be an option with the A2a. If you were to purchase an amp such as one from the link you will be looking at wattage roughly 2-3x what the Audiolab can produce and it would certainly push the Meta's to their boundaries. The 6000a is a fantastic unit but I would likely look else where for a power amp home theatre solution.
Alway enjoys your honest review. I thinking to get this amp for background music . I like simplicity design but still class AB which worry me too much electricity. My Krell amp draw over 2000watt.😢. Did tried class D amps but “thin can”sounds doesn’t impress me enough.
Is there really no way to switch directly to another input? Do you have to cycle either up or down? I ask because the only thing stopping me from getting this amp is that it can't switch directly to another input using a Harmony Hub.
Hi Matt, your review clinched my decision and I have a 6000a and the cdt. I also stream using a Wiim mini. I have a question nobody else seems to want to answer! How much would I need to spend on a separate DAC to enhance my streaming experience? A chord mojo can be had for less than £200. Would value your insight
Glad to hear you went with the Audiolab units, great gear! The DAC question is difficult since it will take into consideration preference for particular sound characters. I think the DAC in the 6000a is very competent and performs well with almost all genres but I can’t deny you could improve aspects of your listening experience with an external DAC. If I were you I would move forward with the external but purchase from a vendor with a good return policy, see if there is a valuable return on investment in the change. Let me know the results too!
Hi John, i consider to buy the same setup. 6000a + CDT and Wiim mini. How is your experience with Wiim mini so far and can you recommend the setup? Thanks!
@@hagenbischoff5195 still using the Wiim via the audiolab DAC. The cdt sounds awesome via coaxial cable. I use the Wiim via optical. I use streaming mostly to discover new music and for that purpose the Wiim is more than adequate for me personally, though it doesn’t sound quite as full as the cdt. Hope this is helpful
@@MattCoykendall1 Hi Matt. Was there a considerable difference between the transport and normal cd player (if you ever used one) with this amp. I feel like I could be missing out but dont want to part with £400 or higher just to be dissipointed. Cheers
Hello nice review. I heard something about using a subwoofer with this amp but since it doesn't have a sub connection, i don't get how to use it. Can you help me? Thanks and... Subbed!
Hello, you can use the pre outs on the 6000a to connect to your sub. The other option would be to use high level inputs where you simply use speaker cable from the amp to the high level inputs on the sub, not all subs have high level inputs though so best bet is the pre amp outputs.
What do you make of this Amazon review? "The more I spend the more hogwash I discover. For the nth time I bought another equipment blindly based off of glowing online reviews (both written and video reviews) and am thoroughly disappointed and angered. This amplifier has rave reviews all over the internet starting from WhatHiFi to RU-vid and 'professional audio equipment reviewers' and I can't believe how underwhelming and underpowered this amplifier is in reality. The rave reviews praise the high quality toroidal power transformer and the astonishing 60000 micro Farad of capacitance inside this unit and I was expecting these to translate to great sound. I am shocked and surprised that that is nowhere the case with the Audiolab 6000 A. The sound is thin, unengaging, lacking in texture, body and presence. The mids, lower mids and base are thin and the highs are not smooth or pleasing. The sound is just flat and unenjoyable and the amplifier sounds very underpowered."
That is interesting, I would be curious what equipment that particular Amazon reviewer was comparing this against. As we all know audio is subjective but his statements are a reach and what I would describe as inaccurate. This amp was actually sent to me in error by Amazon, I was ordering the CD transport and this showed up instead. I was thinking well its here anyways I may as well check it out before returning it, end of the story is I didn't return it and instead ordered the cd transport again (which is also a nice product by Audiolab).
@@billbryant1288 I'm loving my audiolab 6000a paired with my JBL 580s but I can see it not pairing well with certain speakers - maybe that was the issue with that review. I find that the audiolab 6000a made my speakers sound refined and clear, good bass texture.
