Audiolab 6000A Stereo Integrated Amplifier with DAC & Wireless Bluetooth

Outwardly, the 6000A bears 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, enabling digital sources to be connected directly without an external DAC. It supplies four digital inputs, three line-level analogue inputs, an input for a turntable, wireless connectivity via Bluetooth and a dedicated headphone amp, in addition to its ability when driving loudspeakers. The Audiolab 6000A is designed to be the perfect match for the Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport.

Much effort has been made to ensure the 6000A’s 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, utilising ESS Technology’s 32-bit HyperStream architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator to deliver ultra-low noise and high dynamic range.

No company knows more about making the most of this technically excellent, but challenging, DAC technology than Audiolab. If the circuitry that surrounds the ES9018 is not of sufficient standard, the resulting sound can seem a little cold and hard; treat it right, however, and the level of musical expression that this chip digs from the digital signal is captivating. Audiolab’s original, universally acclaimed M-DAC was one of the first home audio components to incorporate an ES9018 chip back in 2011, and the company has been honing its implementation ever since

Analogue circuitry

The 6000A’s discrete Class AB power amp stage delivers 50W per channel into 8 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 4x15000uF reservoir capacity (60000uF in total), helps the amp to maintain firm control of the music whilst enabling excellent dynamic range.

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 -80dB 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’s circuitry, protecting the sensitive preamp section from noise interference. This, plus the use of independent low-noise power supplies for critical stages, helps to deliver a performance that rivals significantly more expensive analogue amplifiers, even before taking the 6000A’s impressive digital circuitry into account.

Technology

Turntables and headphones

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

Similarly, an increasing number of people are using headphones for music listening, so Audiolab has incorporated a dedicated headphone amp with current-feedback circuitry. Its gain bandwidth and high slew rate ensure a dynamic, detailed and engaging performance with all manner of headphone types – more boxes ticked for this most integrated of integrated amplifiers.

Specifications

Gain (max.) +8dB (Line)

+55dB (Phono MM)

Input Sensitivity 720mV (Line, Volume = 0dB)

3.1mV (Phono MM, Volume=0dB)

Input Impedance 10K (Line)

47K//100pF (Phono MM)

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) < 0.0004% (Line, 1KHz @ 2V, Volume = 0dB)

Frequency Response 20Hz-20kHz (+/-0.1dB)

Output Voltage 2.3V max. (Volume = 0dB)

Output Impedance 120 ohm

Signal-to-Noise Ration (S/N) > 110dB (Line, A-weighted)

>76dB (Phono MM, A-weighted)

DAC

D to A converter ES9018K2M

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) < 0.0006% (1KHz @ 0dBFS)

Output level (0dBFS, 1KHz) 2.05V

Max. Sampling Frequency 192KHz

Signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) > 112dB (A-weighted)

Digital Filters Fast Roll-off , Slow Roll-off , Minimum Phase

Power Amplifier Section

Gain +29dB

Rated Max. Power Output 2 X 50W (8 ohm, THD<1%)

2 X 75W (4 ohm, THD<1%)

Frequency Response 20Hz-20kHz (+/-0.3dB)

Input Sensitivity 720mV

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) <0.003% (1kHz @ 40W/8ohm)

Signal-to-Noise ratio (S/N) > 110dB (A-weighted)

Max. Output Current 9A

Headphone Amplifier

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) < 0.01% (1kHz, 50mW)

Output Impedance 2.35 ohm

Load impedance 20-600 ohm

General

Standby Power Consumption <0.5W

Power Requirements 240V ~ 50 - 60Hz

230V ~ 50 - 60Hz

115V ~ 50 - 60Hz

100V ~ 50 - 60Hz

Dimensions (mm) (W x H x D) 445 x 65.5 x 300

Carton Size (mm) (W x H x D) 512 x 467 x 146

Weight 7.8kg (Net)