Audiolab 6000a with Allo Digione

matazooma

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Hello FMs,

Can anyone share their experiences with Audiolab 6000a? Is it advisable to purchase? Is it a significant upgrade over budget amplifiers like marantz pm6006 and denon pma 600ne? Also adding Allo digione will greatly improve the sound?

Pairing speakers are Castle knight 2 for stereo and Pioneer fs52 for HT as power amp for marantz nr1509. Is 6000a dac better than schit modi 3?

Thanks.
 
Hello FMs,

Can anyone share their experiences with Audiolab 6000a? Is it advisable to purchase? Is it a significant upgrade over budget amplifiers like marantz pm6006 and denon pma 600ne? Also adding Allo digione will greatly improve the sound?

Pairing speakers are Castle knight 2 for stereo and Pioneer fs52 for HT as power amp for marantz nr1509. Is 6000a dac better than schit modi 3?

Thanks.
I had Audiolab 6000A for a while paired with Wharfedale Diamond 225 in a bedroom setup. The amp is a significant step above Marantz PM600x/500x in all ways. It's more neutral and refined, has better detail, control over lower frequencies and high frequency extension. While I have not heard Castle speakers but it should be good pairing based on what I gather about these speakers. ESS9018 is also a better DAC than the Cirrus Logic one in Marantz. I don't know whether it would be better than Modi 3 but it would be different/leaner/cleaner for sure. I did use this AMP with Allo Digione and it works very well. I beleive you are on the right track with this Amp. Only thing is that I feel it is overpriced right now compared to its US pricing and does not offer the best value.
 
Just confused by this statement - are you looking to add 6000a as a power amp to the receiver?
This is possible. AL6000A is quite versatile. It can be used in 3 modes - integrated, pre-amp only and power amp only. You can use Marantz receiver as a preamp with AL6000A as power amp or vice versa.
 
I have a audiolab 6000a which I am currently using as a pre amp and dac .. it’s a great amplifier and does a great job as pre dac also ..the dac in it is quite good as well ..
 
I heard the AL 6000a a couple of times and it's a brilliant amp for the money. No clue how the built in DAC performs because it does not take USB digital input but with an inexpensive Chi-Fi DAC feeding it, it sounded superb!
 
I had Audiolab 6000A for a while paired with Wharfedale Diamond 225 in a bedroom setup. The amp is a significant step above Marantz PM600x/500x in all ways. It's more neutral and refined, has better detail, control over lower frequencies and high frequency extension. While I have not heard Castle speakers but it should be good pairing based on what I gather about these speakers. ESS9018 is also a better DAC than the Cirrus Logic one in Marantz. I don't know whether it would be better than Modi 3 but it would be different/leaner/cleaner for sure. I did use this AMP with Allo Digione and it works very well. I beleive you are on the right track with this Amp. Only thing is that I feel it is overpriced right now compared to its US pricing and does not offer the best value.
Thank you very much for updates. Did you used any other speakers other than Wharfedale? Asking because, does the change in brand makes significant change in detailing of sound?
 
Just confused by this statement - are you looking to add 6000a as a power amp to the receiver?
No. The main usage is for stereo to drive castle knight 2. As nr1509 has little power so thought of also using as power amp for HT duties as well.
 
This is possible. AL6000A is quite versatile. It can be used in 3 modes - integrated, pre-amp only and power amp only. You can use Marantz receiver as a preamp with AL6000A as power amp or vice versa.
Thanks @shyamv - I understand that, I have a 6000a and I have used in multiple configurations - PA in HT, as stereo Integrated, as a preamp, with and without DAC, with multiple speakers. For me it is currently driving a pair of Quad S1s as an Integrated. However, I was asking that - as if the only use of this amp will be to be used as a power amp, there are better options in the same price range and more powerful too. So in my humble opinion it maybe a complete waste as power amp only.
Thank you very much for updates. Did you used any other speakers other than Wharfedale? Asking because, does the change in brand makes significant change in detailing of sound?
To answer here - the amp is not neutral and is slightly warm, the signature of the Amp is audible in all configurations but it doesn't colour the speaker sound much, only adds it's own characters slightly. It works with almost anything I have tried, but it does make very warm speakers quite dark. It has a resolution in loads though, and that is apparent when you connect it to a capable speaker.
 
I had Audiolab 6000A for a while paired with Wharfedale Diamond 225 in a bedroom setup. The amp is a significant step above Marantz PM600x/500x in all ways. It's more neutral and refined, has better detail, control over lower frequencies and high frequency extension. While I have not heard Castle speakers but it should be good pairing based on what I gather about these speakers. ESS9018 is also a better DAC than the Cirrus Logic one in Marantz. I don't know whether it would be better than Modi 3 but it would be different/leaner/cleaner for sure. I did use this AMP with Allo Digione and it works very well. I beleive you are on the right track with this Amp. Only thing is that I feel it is overpriced right now compared to its US pricing and does not offer the best value.
Thank you. This is feedback I was expecting.
 
Pairing speakers are Castle knight 2 for stereo
While I have not heard Castle speakers but it should be good pairing based on what I gather about these speakers.
I am a happy Castle Knight 2 user for 3-4 years now and I drive it with Audiolab 8200A. Sonically and power-wise it’s almost a perfect combination. Audiolab’s neutrality and resolution goes well with Castle’s warmth. They create an unfatiguing, yet musical combination. I have tried my Knight 2s with higher amps - Cambridge 851a and an older Primare - while they controlled the bass better, I preferred the Audiolab with these speakers. The Primare killed the emotion while 851 made the sound too hi-fi’ish.

I have also heard the 6000a, but with another speaker (Wharfedale Linton). From what I could decipher, the 6000a is no slouch - it doesn’t lose much by way of power of sound quality while adding the digital side as a value-added feature. One of our FMs, @navjyot uses the 6000a to drive his Castle Knight 2. You can seek his feedback.
 
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No. The main usage is for stereo to drive castle knight 2. As nr1509 has little power so thought of also using as power amp for HT duties as well.
Thanks for the answer - that makes my observation above redundant. So if I understand correctly - when using the HT you will be using the 6000a as a Power amp, and in stereo it will be used as an integrated, am I correct?

In that case yes it should be perfectly fine. The amp is a fantastic thing and quite a bit ahead of the Marantz offerings you suggested. The Dac is capable and while I did use it with the Schiit Modi Multibit II, I always preferred the sound directly from the amp using it's own DAC, and hence the Schiit was sold.

It should be a perfect match with Castle Night as I believe they use the AL offerings for demo, being the same company (correct me if I am wrong). Your choice is fine and for the price, there are very few that could match the sonic capabilities (sound being subjective obviously).
 
I am a happy Castle Knight 2 user for almost 3-4 years now and I drive it with Audiolab 8200A. Sonically and power-wise it’s almost a perfect combination. Audiolab’s neutrality and resolution goes well with Castle’s warmth. They create an unfatiguing, yet musical combination. I have tried my Knight 2s with higher amps - Cambridge 851a and an older Primare - while they controlled the bass better, I preferred the Audiolab with these speakers. The Primare killed the emotion while 851 made the sound too hi-fi’ish.

I have also heard the 6000a, but with another speaker (Wharfedale Linton). From what I could decipher, the 6000a is no slouch - it doesn’t lose much by way of power and sound while adding the digital side as a value-added feature. One of our FMs, @navjyot uses the 6000a to drive his Castle Knight 2. You can seek his feedback.
Thanks @SachinChavan. I had gone through all your posts related to knight 2 as well as your audition of castle Avon FS. They were instructive and highly beneficial.
 
Thanks for the answer - that makes my observation above redundant. So if I understand correctly - when using the HT you will be using the 6000a as a Power amp, and in stereo it will be used as an integrated, am I correct?
Yes, you are. Thanks for the feedback.
 
Thanks @shyamv - I understand that, I have a 6000a and I have used in multiple configurations - PA in HT, as stereo Integrated, as a preamp, with and without DAC, with multiple speakers. For me it is currently driving a pair of Quad S1s as an Integrated. However, I was asking that - as if the only use of this amp will be to be used as a power amp, there are better options in the same price range and more powerful too. So in my humble opinion it maybe a complete waste as power amp only.

To answer here - the amp is not neutral and is slightly warm, the signature of the Amp is audible in all configurations but it doesn't colour the speaker sound much, only adds it's own characters slightly. It works with almost anything I have tried, but it does make very warm speakers quite dark. It has a resolution in loads though, and that is apparent when you connect it to a capable speaker.
Thanks, very appreciable reply.
 
Thanks for the answer - that makes my observation above redundant. So if I understand correctly - when using the HT you will be using the 6000a as a Power amp, and in stereo it will be used as an integrated, am I correct?

In that case yes it should be perfectly fine. The amp is a fantastic thing and quite a bit ahead of the Marantz offerings you suggested. The Dac is capable and while I did use it with the Schiit Modi Multibit II, I always preferred the sound directly from the amp using it's own DAC, and hence the Schiit was sold.

It should be a perfect match with Castle Night as I believe they use the AL offerings for demo, being the same company (correct me if I am wrong). Your choice is fine and for the price, there are very few that could match the sonic capabilities (sound being subjective obviously).
This clarifies all of my queries. Thank-you all for chipping in. Very much appreciated.,
 
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