Audiolab 8200p power amp

pavs

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Has anyone tried this amp? I'm thinking of getting the Audiolab 8200CDQ and combining it with the 8200p amp...

Any thought/advice on this combination?

Please help!!!
 
i haven't tried the power amp yet, but i got the CDQ recently and love it. (i'm using it with a Linn power amp at the moment, but i'm saving up for some 8200MB's)
the cdq works great with my Linn, and i tried it at the weekend on some other kit, including a £4.5k Leben valve power amp (as a pre and cd player) and an Airtight integrated (just as a cd player). it sounded fantastic with all the kit i tried, though i think the Leben shaded it. the pre worked really well, and compared favourably to a couple of £2k deidcated preamps with a turntable as source.
can you demo it? if you can, then have a listen with a couple of different amps and see what you think. i don't think you'll be dissapointed.
 
Great combination in my opinion. We use this exact set-up on a regular basis for demos as well as the CDQ and a couple of 8200M's on occasion. I would certainly give it a listen if you can but it's definitely worth the little extra cost over an A and CD. What speakers will you be driving with it?
 
The speaker I have a t the moment are a pair of old Tanoy Revolution bookshelf types...these will most probably need to be upgraded to get the best of the Audiolab system. Any thoughts on speakers?
 
Try some b&w's they seem to go well together. My aim is for the pm1's with the 8200mb's
 
The 8200P sounds great as long as you can put up with the hum from the power supply. (hum from the actual amp, not through the speakers).

Butuz
 
We're enjoying that combo--clearly increased detail in the midrange compared to the 8200A. (We got a good price on some second-hand speakers of decent quality and were looking to upgrade amp to match, and have the DAC capability for computer music.) At first I was feeling, as some say online, that it's on the dry/analytic side, but after a spell, I was drawn in by the straight-forward realism, and started to become more sensitive to the moondust that made others sound warmer and more magical.... I still wish I had a better soundstage but I'm still playing with placement etc. anyway. Where I bought it, they use it as their standard for demoing too (as John Anderson says above).
 
I have a different question about this combo. I had a budget Arcam amp for 12 years or so before upgrading to this combo recently. The following question may be stupid, and if so, I apologize. But I'm eager to learn, so if you can explain my stupidity... ;-)

On every amp I know, one ends up playing the music at 25%-50% volume, more or less. Maybe 60% to drown out all other thought. The digital volume control for the CDQ goes from -80db to +3. We end up playing it routinely at -20 to -10, and sometimes wish for a bit more volume, but have been trained for our 40+ years on the planet not to put an amp at maximum volume. -10 on a scale of -80 to +3 makes us nervous already.

Is this normal...?
 
Good question.

Have a look at this graph:

0127.gif


The 8200cdq digital preamp is linear, the blue line.

Your arcam amp probably would have had An antilog volume pot! The pink line.

Butuz
 

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