Audiolab 6000A vs 8300A?

Can anyone opine on the respective merits of these integrated amps? It seems that the "street" price of the 6000A is a little higher than that of the 8300A (which would seem to be backwards, given that the 8000 line seems to be a step up from the 6000 line). One difference is that only the 6000A has Bluetooth/DAC functionality, while the 8300A has more power. Trying to get a handle on how they might compare in terms of sonics, including phono stage.

 

Where are you located? I've been looking into Audiolab stuff lately myself. The 6000a is about $400 less here in the US. $1399 vs. $999. No DAC in the 8300a you're right, although it has a pair of balanced inputs. I think the extra power is probably the difference in cost. The Yamaha AS-801 is a tough one to beat as well.

 

I’ve been curious about Audiolab sine it relaunched a few years back. It seems to get a lot of good press. I have an 8000S from the original company purchased around 1998 or 1999. Still love that amp.

For those unaware, around the time I bought my 8000S, Audiolab was purchased by Tag McLaren who continued selling essentially the same gear rebadged. I don’t believe Tag McLaren was distributed in the US, though. A few years after that, Tag McLaren exited the high end market and that was that until the Audiolab brand was reborn as part of the International Audio Group.

Curiously, the new gear looks essentially the same as the original gear last I looked. I would also add that the new company was able to replace the dead remote control on my original unit a couple of years ago, so perhaps the gear hasn’t changed much at all despite this convoluted history.

 

The Audiolab 6000CDT transport has my interest too, seems to get great views as well.

 

Hi all, first post to the forums multi-year lurker, but this is the topic that finally drove me to create an account. I do not own either of these integrateds, nor have heard either one, but interest me they do. As of the date of this posting, April 11, Hifi Heaven has the 6000A listed at $899 and the 8300A at $749. From forum searches, one of the members has positive things to say about the 8300A...I think he is currently running a Yamaha AS-2100 now.

Anywho, like others have previously stated, the differences come down to slightly more power vs features. Myself, I'm more interested in how they compare in sound quality. I have only heard positive reports on both of these models. Maybe they wouldn't be too far apart at these price points?

I have the Audiolab 6000CDT (for about 5 months) and can't speak highly enough of it. It is my first digital source outside of my old trusty Denon micro system and the design, build, and sound quality are fantastic. I am running it into a Schiit Modi 3 and even through this modest $99 dac, it is an absolute pleasure of a listen. For what it is worth, I land firmly in the 'simple joy of listening to music' camp. Perhaps other dacs and transports up the hifi chain would sound better and bring more enjoyment, and someday I will probably try other dacs for the fun of it, but for the time being I dont feel like I'm missing out in any way. As soon as the tunes start flowing, the thoughts of upgrading this or that, or chasing the next better thing melt away.

Andy

 

I recently demoed an Audiolab 6000a and 6000cdt after having tried a Musical Fidelity M3si and M3sCD which costed considerably more. Whilst the Musical Fidelity was slightly more revealing I actually preferred the fuller sound of the Audiolab and found that it did a better job of making poor recording bearable. One thing I did find was I had to turn the 6000a up a long way to reach the same sort of volume as what I was listening to the M3si at however, at no point did I feel like it couldn't deliver. I've been blown away by the Audiolab and to my ears I think it's unbeatable at it's price point. I'm now in the same boat where I also want to compare it against the 8300a with 8300cd to see if the additional wattage and peak current adds much to the sound. I understand the phonostage is superior on the 8300a but I also consider that the 8300 series is slightly older than the 6000 series - which may have included a few improvements since the 8300 series.

Has anyone been able to compare them side by side yet? I'm also interested to know the difference in quality between the 8300cd and 8300cdq as the latter includes a headphone amp, which would be useful since they've chosen not to include one in the 8300a.

One final thing, it's interesting to hear that there's vastly different pricing going on with these products in other countries. In the UK currently, the 6000a retails at £599 whereas the 8300a retails at £895.

 

Is 8300A an AB class amplifier? It's not mentioned anywhere and we know how D class can be hidden within some cunning wording.

What I like about the 8300A is the pre-main amp separation, something you don't see at this price point. Good for inserting an equalizer or tube buffer.

What I don't like is the lack of recording output, which makes the phono preamp unusable (at least not comfortably) for vinyl ripping.

Also no headamp, which opens the trouble of not being able to use the potential eqalizer/tube buffer with headphones in case you get external headamp.

 

I can't comment on the 8300a, as I've never heard it, but I'm a committed fan of the 6000a, which does a great job of driving my KEF R500s. I have the 6000CDT as well.

 

I’ve had the 8200 and 8300 integrated. 8200 has pronounced mids. Din like it at all. Wasted my money. 8300 is better but still has a mild focus on the mids. Not heard the 6000 series yet but best you audition it.

However, there are good Class D amps now. They sound slightly warm, no longer sterile. Example is the Parasound NewClassic 200 integrated. I prefer it to the 8300a. It’s not that pricey at all and the onboard DAC is no slouch. Something to consider.

8300 is a Class A/B, too heavy to be a Class D unless they hide some lead in it.

 

Any experience with their power amp 8300XP?