Being in the market for an amplifier upgrade I recently auditioned the Audiolab 8000s against the older Audiolab 8000a and the Cyrus3i (with power supply). I liked all three but decided that the extra sound quality of the 8000s was not enough to overcome the fact that the 8000a was £150.00 cheaper, has a good 'phono stage and sounded very good with components of the same quality as mine. The Cyrus had a clear, 'tube' like quality that I liked but lacked the Audiolabs' musical coherance and anylitcal penetration. However I then asked to hear an Exposure XV and it just blew my head. Whereas the Audiolab was for the head the Exposure may have been coloured but it produced music with a pronounced sense of rhythm and made you forget the equipment altogether. Now here I come to the important bit - I asked to hear the Exposure even though it was a)rather more than I wanted to pay for an integrated amp and b) did not have the same opportunities for following an upgrade path because it is the make recommendedc by the company that makes my speakers - Ruark. Is this an example of synergy rathjer than on make being 'better' than another? It left me wanting at least three different systems to visit as the fancy takes me; a)Quad with electrostatics b) Audiolab with maybe Castle, Monitor Audio or Mission speakers and c) Exposure with Ruarks. As I am just an impoverished college lecturer I guess I will have to win the lottery first! I would be interested in other peoples' reactions to the idea that some amp speaker partnerships overwhelm logical budgetry reasons and how do you explain to your wife/partner that the holiday abroad is cancelled, but you have a new amp? I rated the Exposure 5 star with Ruark Templars and Marantz 63KI Cd
With the above the Audiolabs both rated 4 stars and the Cyrus 2/3 stars but with different speakers I might change the ratings.

I have an 8000S and after lending it to a friend of mine for a few weeks he decided that he must have one too. It is an amplifier that makes fools out of people who think that, "amps aren't too important, just so long as they have lots of power." The 8000S is a serious upgrade for anysystem, but depending on the other components you may or may not like what you hear, the 8000S is really very revealing and has quite a dry character.I am planning to add an 8000P at a later stage because the 8000S doesn't pack quite enough grunt to push my Mission 753s to the volumes that I sometimes require. I had the (rather conservative) protection circuitry working (and was in fear for my tweeters!) just the other day whilst pumping out "Block Rockin' Beats"; not my usual musical fare but I would exactly recommend the 8000S to rave heads -it was not a pretty sound when the amp. finally gave up one channel and then the other.
The 8000S tends to run pretty hot, and I am thinking about rigging up a cooling fan before the next Queensland summer. Anyone living in a hot climate should be aware that the maximum recommended operating temperature is 35 C.
With good recordings the 8000S is incredibly clean and revealing. Anyone who demands the correct acoustic with the minimum of colouration will have difficulty finding a better amp at the price. I am pretty happy with mine, and given the its flexibility I am unlikely to be getting rid of it for some time to come.

I use Audiolab 8000S which I bought recently and partner it with Monitor Audio 700PMC speaker and Marantz CD63 K.I. Signiture CD player. After the proper running in, the Audiolab produce very detail and neutral sound. I never get bored and made me spin the CD again and again particularly when I played late night music. The bass is very tight and controlled thus does not penetrate the other area. With the set up the mid range sound very crisp. However this setup is not for those who prefer boom-boom bass. Anyway what we want to listen is the clarity of sound reproduction rather than loudness. This amp produces such a high quality sound without depriving your bank account.

I got a chance to home audition a 8000S before the demise of Audiolab. I'm currently an owner of the 8000A and the biggest difference that I noticed was that the 8000S was smoother and more than the 8000A. I thought the 8000S was fantastic until I heard the Bryston B60 though. More open, more bass slam and even sweeter, yet just as detailed. More money too though. The Bryston is my favorite integrated under $2,000 US.

As much as I liked the 8000S, I thought the 8000A was more versitile with the mc/mm phono stage, so I kept it.

Similar Products Used:

8000A
Bryston B60

pace rhythm and timing

Beware of tricky speaker loads and lean sounding partners.

Try the following combination:

Arcam CD player
Audiolab amplification
Ruark speakers

with Wireworld or AQ cabling to taste. It offers a very natural spacious and rhythmic rendition of most music. If the speakers are bi-wirable, I would strongly suggest, as with the other reviews, to adding an 8000P.

Neutrality, clarity, detail

Purchased secondhand recently for less than half price. The 8000S is an astounding amp with and immediate presence of clarity. Often people say that it is clinical but there really is a fine line between the word clinical and neutral. The amp portrays excellent mids, sweet highs and controlled bass. Improvement can be gained by upgrading the power cord which destroys most of the amps bass, thus the 'light bass' by most reviewers. With a good power cord, it really punches. Further improvement can be had with a power filter or power amp. The amazing thing about the 8000S is that it already has such a high level of performance that adding a power amp would have a drastic incremental performance compared to most amps. This, is what value for money really is. Exceptional.

Equipment used:
Rotel 991 Cdplayer
Mission 752 speakers
Van den Hul The Second interconnects
Kimber 4TC (treble)
Kimber 8TC (midbass)
Ear Science power cords
Wharfdale equipement rack mass loaded
DSE ferrite rings

Planning to purchase a power filter.

To tell you the truth, I am very satisfied with this amplifier. Bought in 97, with a pair of B&W cdm1 and a Marantz cd63-kis, the whole system works perfectly. Bass and treble responses are great and in my oppinion this amplifier is one of the best you can get for the money. Mostly tried with rock music that is said to be one of the hardest driven kind of music, it never dissapoints. One thing that I appreciate is that there is no excess of bass produced, instead pure and correct frequencies are only heard. A small problem only occurs but I can not explain. When played at 12 o'clock point for more than lets say 45mins, the amplifier turns to mute due to overheating. I do not know if it is my fault playing it so loud, but I am pretty sure that only prolonged listening to levels above 1 o'clock could do this.
Anyway this is a really great amp and I would encourage anyone wishing to spend a similar amount of money to go for it!Guaranteed!

An integrated amplifier that will blow your mind, not your pocket.
The First Impression

At first glance, this amplifier has a nice, clean, and typical neat British look. (That’s a compliment, in case some Americans do
not understand!:) Being a purist, I can’t help my preference to this neat and organised look over some receivers or integrated
amplifiers with millions of buttons and knobs that do not necessarily guarantee better sound quality. Anyway, at 15 pounds, this
amplifier is not neither too heavy nor too light - after all, we are talking about an integrated amplifier that supplies 60watts per
channel, right? (Also, who said heavy equipment is always better?) Overall, its appearance does not look “cheap.” It rather
makes me feel very comfortable.

Sound Quality

Overall sound quality is similar to the image and the impression I had from its appearance - very clean, neat, and quite
comfortable.
It reproduces a very clean and natural midrange. Unbelievably, especially considering its price (retail price: $1,000 in the USA
or 650 pounds in UK), natural and honest high-endish midrange, I have to admit.
Imaging is quite nice, especially when paired with nice pair of speakers. Timing and response is very quick, too.
Bass - now, some people may be expecting something like “Oh, the bass was bad. You know, what do you expect from
$1,000 or 650 pounds integrated amplifier, especially one from UK? British makes those 30w per channel amplifier, you
know?” Sorry. That’s not what I was going to say. Actually the bass was surprisingly quick and tight. Nice enough not to get
sued from neighbours. :)
With a pair of B&W 602, and with Marantz CD 63 Mk.II K.I.Signature, the Audiolab 8000S reproduced quite nice dynamics
while lacked a little imaging and details making it good choice for budget or beginner’s system or a system for Rock music.
With a pair of CDM1, and either of the CD players, I was very pleasantly surprised with the results. It was just about the best
sound I heard for its money. The system handled even some complicated and/or large scale music quite nicely although not
perfect.
With a pair of Castle Isis, it was also a very nice budget system although lacked more bass than the setup with the CDM1.
This setup would be quite appropriate for small room. With the Castle Isis, I preferred Cambridge Audio CD6 for more
complicated music. And this setup was not exactly the best setup for Rock or dynamic-oriented people.
With a pair of Martin Logan Aerius and the Cambridge Audio CD 6, the sound reproduced was not disappointing (as a matter
of fact, it was good), but the sound was not what I was too happy about. I have heard better matching amplifier for Aerius.
However, readers should note that none of the amplifiers that I was very happy with Martin Logan’s speakers was integrated
let alone the price of $1,000 or 650 pounds. I was happy with this setup, and I have to confess that this amplifier actually
drove Aerius quite nicely reproducing very clean and honest sound. Both CD players worked fine showing off their different
styles in this setup.

Final Verdict

The sound quality, the style, and especially the bass of the Audiolab 8000s was very different from those of the Adcom
amplifiers. If you like some boom-booms with right-in-your-face expression, then, this may not be the best value for your
$1,000 or 650 pounds. Yet, if someone is looking for very honest, neat, extremely clean high-end sound, while not getting
swept your back account, then this is the best value, affordable high-end amplifier. I will give a rare A+ for its clean sound,
quick and honest bass, and its value. I recommend this amplifier wholeheartedly to people who are looking for budget
integrated amplifier that will produce a high-end sound, who are so-called high-end newbie, and whoever wants to have a nice
sound. (I recommended it to my mother.)

Grade: A+

System tested
Amplifier: Audiolab 8000S (test subject)
Speakers 1: B&W 602
Speakers 2: B&W CDM1
Speakers 3: Castle Isis
Speakers 4: Martin Logan Aerius
CD Player 1: Marantz CD 63 Mk.II K.I.Signature
CD Player 2: Cambridge Audio CD 6
Speaker Cable: MITerminator 2
Interconnects 1: MITerminator 2
Interconnects 2: VDH Source HB
Interconnects 3: Cambridge Audio Studio Reference

Not really a review. I've been reading as much as possible on the 8000s and heard lotsa good things but still have q's in my mind. What of rhythm? Is the music involving when played on the 8000s and decent speakers? I currently have a set of Tannoy M20 Golds but am considering a set of B&W's, perhaps 601's or 602's. We all want clean, accurate, etc. sound but I also want musicality and rhythm is a big part of that, something that not all systems reproduce well. Any input appreciated BUT serious input only please. Thanks.(mahasam@netcom.ca)

Well, what can I add to all the (good) reviews here? I agree entirely withthat last review, from Jimin Sun.

Very good deep tight and *controlled* bass, yes, high-endish mid-range and
true and honest treble, no grain.

I specially like it's ability to "control" the music when playing loud.

Since I'm a freak for "detailed" sound but sometimes I'm in the mood for "loud and clear", I would recommend it.

And if you try it with the 8000P, then you have a real multi-purpose amp system,
capable of delivering detailed and sharp music for those who like it, and also
able to rock you to hell - always in control.

Please, try it before you buy anything else.

Against - it runs hot (very hot if you push for it) - although the protection circuit didn't fired up yet, maybe the 35C max operating temperature be a problem - in Portugal we have hot summers, and 30/35C are common. Just another reason to get the 8000P (as if you need one).

Tested with (brand new) Marantz 63KIsig and B&W CDM1 (not biwired, yet).