2. amps-preamps
  3. 1090225144

To buy or not to buy Audiolab 8000C

Hello there. I'm in such a dilemma. There's a unit of Audiolab 8000C preamplifier I've been given to try out for a couple of weeks. I find the preamp pretty neutral by my standards. I have been hooking up my CD player direct to my volume adjustible power amp direct, hence clarity, is nothing new to me. Even the CD player has electronic volume control but I find it troublesome as it's set to max every time I turn it on and I have to bring it down manually.

With a preamp, the volume is easily set to comfort levels before turning them on.

Problem is, my budget is limited. And the seller admited that he has changed the toraidal transformer in the audiolab 8000C recently. I always belived that electronic components have a limited life span. When one component goes, does it always mean others are going soon? Would I be buying a dying old woman whom I cant have children with? I suppose I could ask for a bargain, seeing that even the mostly used RCA jacks at rear panel are slightly shaky (not sure if they can be adjusted) and may allow the interconnects to contact each other. But a local shop once offered me a preamp with remote priced 50% higher than what this guy is offering and that one is new. This is used and has no remote. Two uncertainty on the new unit - brand and sound quality. With a remote, yes, the thing about convenience is rated higher but sound may be in question. Planning to go the the shop to audition but thought perhaps I could first get some insight on the worthiness of buying a used preamp aged nearly 10 years.

Any advice appreciated.

SJ
dewitgoh0df4
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
I'd hold out for $180 and if he sells it great, if not then it's no loss. Loose RCAs are often very simple to fix, even if you have to put in new panel-mount RCAs and wire them to the PCB. Even better, if you know the distance to the source (CD player I assume) then remove the RCA plugs from one end of the interconnect and solder the interconnect directly to the PCB. This removes not only a connection, but a large portion of capacitance from the interconnect. I have done this on my DAC, and the improvements were not small.

So don't sweat the RCAs ... have a good listen with quality headphones and make sure you like the sound.
dewitgoh0df4 OP
8 posts
 
Wow Seandtaylor, you're pretty daring there, removing the RCA. There's a shop in my area that does "component upgrades" etc which may be able to help me there. At the moment, I have a thought - to swap the CD RCA and power amp RCA with others on the rear panel that arent used so frequently. That's if I cannot fasten the loose RCAs. But, this weekend, to the mall, and more questions for you guys after the audition. The owner will be back from vacation in Russia by 29th... woops... time running out. :P
ryder
946 posts
 
I would agree with Seandtaylor99. The price for the unit shouldn't go above $200 and whatmore with lose RCA's! $180 should be just right. The RCA's are not an issue since you can get them changed to quality WBT plugs which will give you quite a substantial improvement. I would worry about the toroidal though since it's not original. Nevertheless, if it's properly done then shouldn't be much of an issue either.
dewitgoh0df4 OP
8 posts
 
Thanks Ryder for your reference on price. To begin with, I'd probably ask for USD184. USD197 would be my highest offer. Since a new preamp is about double that, I will get the comfort that it's absolutely new with zero miles on it. Also, there's another option I am considering... a high grade passive preamp. The DIY store had introduced me Stevens and Billington passive attenuators. These arent cheap as well plus they're very simple. Then again, the rule of thumb here is simplicity for better sound quality. The setback is the casing, which they said would be a simple small box. If the attenuators can be fix in a "normal" casing like that of the audiolab 8000C, by God, it'd be more appealing asthetically. Will ask them if that can be arranged.

The seller of the audiolab says the toraidal is original but I cannot verify that unless I bring it to the DIY shop, which I may since I could also ask about their products. One of the wires that comes with the replacement toraidal is of different color from the blown one. But could it be that the transformer manufacturer changed the color of the wire over the years?
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
If your CD player was happy driving the power amp directly then a passive preamp could work very well for you.

There are various passive preamp kits available, or you could buy one from Creek.
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