Advice: B&W CM8s + Audiolab

thinknothing

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Hi folks,

Coming here for a bit of friendly advice on a possible upcoming purchase.

Current set up:
- B&W CM8s (Airplay connected, which I use for 90% of my music listening)
- Rotel RA 1520
- Rotel RCD 1520
- Panasonic Viera VT65 (Apple TV connected)
- (Ancient!) Thorens TD160s Mk.4 turntable

Unfortunately, my RA1520 and RCD1520 have crapped out on me and I've been advised that they are beyond repair. In fact, I've already sold the RCD to someone for parts. I've got a budget of circa £1k (although I could be convinced to spend a little bit more) for a new amp and cd player. Currently, the top candidate are used Audiolab 8200CDQ + Audiolab 8200P. I've chosen those because (i) they are well reviewed by several who have paired with CM8s, (ii) (and this is important to me) I'm a fan of the minimalist design, (iii) the fit my budget.

Questions:
1. Are there any alternatives to the Audiolab 8200s I should be considering? Musically, I listen to a very varied set: classical, rock, pop, jazz, electronic, experimental etc.
2. What's the best configuration in terms of cabling/connecting what to what? (I'm no expert!) In particular, I'd be interested in how to get the best sound out of my TV and Airplay.

Cheers all
 
You will also need a phono stage for the Thorens if you intend on using that, the CDQ only has line level analogue inputs. These can be pretty small and can be hidden out of the way if needs be.

For the Apple TV and TV I would go optical into the CDQ if it has them, this then uses the dac in the CDQ which will be better than those in the Apple TV or the TV.
 
Last edited:
You will also need a phono stage for the Thorens if you intend on using that, the CDQ only has line level analogue inputs. These can be pretty small and can be hidden out of the way if needs be.

For the Apple TV and TV I would go optical into the CDQ if it has them, this then uses the dac in the CDQ which will be better than those in the Apple TV or the TV.
Thanks for the advice. I didn't know about the no phono stage cheers!
 

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