Audiolab has elevated its entry-level amplifier to MkII status, integrating technologies from the upmarket 7000A and 9000A to deliver premium performance and versatility at an affordable price.
Almost seven years on from the launch of Audiolab’s 6000A integrated amplifier, the 6000A remains the cornerstone of the company’s entry-level 6000 Series, which also includes CD transport and network streaming components.
In 2023, the 6000 Series was joined by two new ranges pitched at higher price points – the mid-tier 7000 Series and flagship 9000 Series. Both these ranges include amps built up from the 6000A’s essential template, upgrading the hardware to deliver enhanced specifications and performance.
It is from these technical developments that the 6000A MKII now benefits, upgrading key components and elevating critical circuitry to reaffirm the 6000A’s status as the benchmark at its price.
Externally, the 6000A MkII appears identical to the original model: same chassis, same controls, same central OLED display. Under the lid is a different story; numerous upgrades have been applied, encompassing the DAC section, phono stage, transformer and power supply circuitry.
Around the back, an HDMI ARC input has been added. The manufacturer notes that this is still a rare facility for a high-performance stereo amp to offer, but one that consumer research shows is increasingly in demand.
Led by Jan Ertner, Audiolab’s electronics design team has reviewed every element of the 6000A’s circuit design to elevate performance.
The 6000A MkII incorporates state-of-the-art digital-to-analogue signal conversion, enabling digital sources to connect directly without an external DAC. Like its predecessor, there are two coaxial and two optical S/PDIF inputs, handling hi-res sample rates up to 192kHz.
To this complement of digital inputs, the 6000A MkII adds HDMI ARC (compliant with HDMI 2.1/eARC) for seamless AV system integration. This allows the amp to connect to a TV using a single HDMI cable, with the added convenience of being able to use the TV remote to power the amp on/off with the TV, adjust volume and so on.
Thus, the TV and everything connected to it – from streaming devices to video game systems – receive a sonic upgrade that the brand claims is superior to any soundbar. The 6000A MkII joins Audiolab’s upmarket 7000A in offering this facility.
The 6000A MkII also shares the 7000A’s Bluetooth module, an upgrade on the original 6000A’s Bluetooth offering. Bluetooth compliance delivers improved range and speed, with support for multiple codecs including aptX HD. For analogue sources there are three line-level RCA inputs, plus one for a turntable.
Audiolab has improved the 6000A’s MM phono stage to deliver a high-definition, low-noise performance, with precise RIAA equalisation and input filtering to ensure vinyl is treated with as much care as digital sources.
Ever since the M-DAC launched 14 years ago, Audiolab has been famed for the performance of its DAC circuitry. The manufacturer states that the M-DAC was one of the first consumer audio products in the world to incorporate ESS Technology’s Sabre32 Reference DAC chips, sharing its use of the ES9018 chip family with other Audiolab components including the first-generation 6000A.
The ES9018K2M used in the 6000A remains a high-quality DAC chip but is now 12 years old. Audiolab has switched up to a new-generation 32-bit Sabre chip for the 6000A MkII – the ES9038Q2M, the same chip used in the upmarket 7000A amp. This is accompanied by proprietary circuitry fed by a dedicated power supply, designed to make the most of ESS Technology’s HyperStream II architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator for ultra-low noise and high dynamic range.
Although always technically excellent, Sabre DAC chips are challenging to implement to maximum effect and must be integrated into a product’s circuit design with care to extract their full sonic potential. The post-DAC active filter is a critical element and Audiolab has developed a Class A circuit perfectly tailored to make the most of the ES9038 chip family; this was implemented in the 9000 and 7000 Series amps and the 6000A MkII now benefits too.
Five user-selectable digital filter settings (an increase on the original 6000A’s three) allow the listener to adjust the sound to suit the source – particularly useful given the variable quality of digital formats and streaming services. Whether connected via HDMI, S/PDIF or Bluetooth, every digital source benefits from the outstanding quality of the 6000A MkII’s DAC stage.
The original 6000A’s discrete Class AB amp circuitry has been praised for its balanced performance across all critical parameters at an affordable price. The 6000A MkII builds on the same design by upgrading the 200VA toroidal transformer and power supply circuitry.
The new transformer’s secondary windings deliver increased voltage, together with reduced impedance for better control of the power supply voltage. The transformer is followed by four 15,000uF reservoir capacitors (30,000uF capacitance per rail, 60,000uF in total) for the power amplifier’s supply. This helps the amp maintain firm control of the music whilst enabling excellent dynamic range.
Like its predecessor, the 6000A MkII’s main output stage uses a CFB (Complementary Feedback) design for linearity and thermal stability. The amp’s power rating remains the same at 50W per channel into 8 ohms, but the maximum current delivery into difficult loads has increased from 9A to 11A, helping to ensure the amp drives a wide range of speakers to high volume levels with ease.
Headphone listeners are well served too, thanks to the 6000A MkII’s dedicated headphone amplifier. With its current-feedback design and high slew rate, a dynamic and detailed performance with all manner of headphones is assured – a far cry from the elementary headphone outputs of most integrated amps.
The preamp section is kept as simple as possible to maintain signal purity, with line input signals passing to a precision analogue volume stage. The latter covers the range from -78dB to +8dB in steps of 2dB and 1dB (step resolution increases with volume position).
Much effort has gone into the physical layout of the 6000A MkII’s circuitry, protecting the sensitive preamp section from noise interference. This, plus the use of independent low-noise power supplies for all critical stages, helps to deliver a performance that reportedly rivals significantly more expensive analogue amplifiers, even before taking the 6000A MkII’s impressive digital circuitry into account.
The 6000A MkII’s power supply circuitry is further enhanced by integrated filtering technology, another upgrade over the original 6000A. This removes RFI/EMI from the incoming mains supply, reducing differential-mode noise (exacerbated by cheap switch-mode power supplies in many home appliances) and common-mode noise (aggravated by airborne interference from phones, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth). This sinks the noise floor further, imbuing even greater sonic focus and clarity.
As is traditional with Audiolab’s integrated amps, right back to the classic 8000A from 1982, the 6000A MkII offers three distinct operational modes which reflect its discrete internal architecture and enable it to adapt as its user’s requirements evolve. The primary mode is ‘Integrated’ – this combines the pre and power amp stages, for the connection of digital and analogue sources to the amp’s inputs and a pair of speakers to its binding posts.
‘Pre-Power Mode’ disconnects the pre and power amp stages. This allows the 6000A MkII to be used solely as a power amp – for example, connected to an AV processor in a home cinema system.
It also enables additional signal processing to be added, by connecting the amp’s ‘preamp out’ socket to an external processor, then returning the processor’s output to the amp’s ‘power amp in’ socket.
Finally, ‘Pre Mode’ disables the power amp stage, turning the 6000A MkII into a standalone DAC/preamp. This enables external power amplification to be added, thus providing a possible upgrade path.
The new, improved Audiolab 6000A MkII is available from April in a choice of silver or black, at an RRP of £699 – just £50 more than its predecessor.