Audiolab 6000A 100-watt Stereo Integrated Amp/Bluetooth DAC – Black

The Sound of Science

Outwardly, the Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier bears a strong resemblance to the 8300A with its rotary controls and large, central OLED display.

Unlike its costlier, analogue-only sibling, it incorporates high-quality D/A conversion, connecting digital sources directly without an external DAC.

It supplies four digital inputs, three line-level analog inputs, an input for a turntable, wireless connectivity via Bluetooth, and a dedicated headphone amp, in addition to its ability when drive loudspeakers

Classic Hi-Fi for the Modern Age

To incorporate all this functionality, there must be compromise under the lid, right? Wrong. The Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier lead electronics designer is Jan Ertner – the same man responsible for the 8300A, as well as

many other award-winning audio components over the years. When challenged to deliver an Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier at such a low price point, Jan returned to the technologies he implemented in the 8300A and painstakingly redeveloped them, while adding high-quality digital circuitry to the mix.

The result is a new-generation amplifier evolved from the architecture of its pricier sibling, delivering exceptional sound quality alongside flexible facilities.

Digital Circuitry

Much effort has been made to ensure the Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier digital circuitry delivers the level of quality one might expect of a high-performance standalone DAC.

As ever, Audiolab has turned to the ES9018 Sabre32 Reference chip family to perform D/A conversion, utilizing ESS Technology’s 32-bit HyperStream architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator to deliver ultra-low noise and high dynamic range.

Analogue Circuitry

The Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier discrete Class AB power amp stage delivers 50W per channel into eight ohms, with a maximum current delivery of 9 Amps into difficult loads.

The output stage of the discrete power amp circuits uses a CFB (Complementary Feedback) topology, ensuring superior linearity and excellent thermal stability, as the idle current is kept independent of the temperature of the output transistors.

A substantial 200VA toroidal transformer, followed by a 4x15000uF reservoir capacity (60000uF in total), helps the amp to maintain firm control of the music whilst enabling excellent dynamic range.

Turntables and Headphones

In recognition of the recent vinyl revival, Audiolab has included a phono stage for moving magnet phono cartridges – a high-quality, low-noise, JFET-based circuit with precise RIAA equalization.

Similarly, an increasing number of people are using headphones for music listening, so Audiolab has incorporated a dedicated headphone amp with current-feedback circuitry.

It gains bandwidth and a high slew rate ensuring a dynamic, detailed, and engaging performance with all manner of headphone types – more boxes ticked for this most integrated of integrated amplifiers.

Operational Modes

The 6000A’s flexibility with digital and analog sources is not the only thing that makes it so versatile; it also offers three distinct operational modes, reflecting the amp’s discrete internal architecture and enabling it to adapt to its user’s evolving requirements.

The primary mode is ‘Integrated’ – this combines the pre and power amp stages, for the connection of digital and analog sources to the amp’s inputs and a pair of speakers to its binding posts

As for the analog pre and power amp stages, we’ve worked long and hard to ensure that the Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier delivers class-leading sound quality.

As a package – a high-quality, affordable integrated amp for the modern age – the Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier represents excellent.