An Amplifier remains the beating heart of any high-performance audio system, a truly versatile integrated amp needs to cover many bases – digital and analogue sources, wireless connectivity for portable devices, a phono stage to cater for vinyl playback, amplification for headphones as well as speakers… That’s a lot to pack in, whilst keeping performance high and the price tag affordable – and yet, that’s exactly what the 6000A delivers. 

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.

To incorporate all this functionality, there must be compromise under the lid, right? Wrong. The
6000A’s 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 6000A at
such a low price point, Jan returned to the technologies he implemented in the 8300A and
painstakingly redeveloped them, whilst 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 those flexible facilities.

The 6000A’s 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 4x15000uF reservoir capacity (60000uF in total),
helps the amp to maintain firm control of the music whilst enabling excellent dynamic range.

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 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.

Jan Ertner, the project’s lead electronics designer, commented: “The majority of audio components that I design retail for upwards of £1,000, so the 6000A was a tremendous challenge – an integrated amp with a full roster of digital and analogue facilities at a target retail price of just £600. What’s more, it had to deliver the excellent sound quality for which Audiolab is famed, without compromising one aspect of performance in order to accommodate another.