Dear Audio Friends, I have a Audiolab 8000s integrated amplifier. Although I like the thing, it has weak points, I have discovered. The sound is very straightforward and analytical, which can only partly be improved to a somewhat more involving sound by cables etc.
Is it possible to change this, for example by changing the op-amps or whatever other responsable part?
Thanks, Hans
Is it possible to change this, for example by changing the op-amps or whatever other responsable part?
Thanks, Hans
Hans
I can't give you any specific advice since I am not familiar with Audiolab amps. However, the following Tag Mclaren white paper gives some details of component changes they made when upgrading the Audiolab range to the F3 series
http://www.tagmclarenaudio.com/dev/white/wp7.asp
Geoff
I can't give you any specific advice since I am not familiar with Audiolab amps. However, the following Tag Mclaren white paper gives some details of component changes they made when upgrading the Audiolab range to the F3 series
http://www.tagmclarenaudio.com/dev/white/wp7.asp
Geoff
This is sad...... Walt Jung published his "Picking Capacitors"article over 20 years ago in Audio magazine. Resistor comparison articles were published in a mainstream British audio magazine over 15 years ago. The TL071, TLO72, and 5534 are about 20 year old opamp designs. Much better opamps have been available from Analog Devices and Burr Brown for at least a decade. And I'll bet this company consideres themselves a High End company. I can't think of a better illustration of why to build your own equipment.
Moving deck chairs on the Titanic
This reminds me of some conversations I used to have with some Japanese colleagues many years back. I struggled to understand why Sony with all of its resources and money was unable to make hifi that sounded as good as teeny (by comparison) companies like Naim, Krell, etc. Except at the very low end, I don't think it is really a matter of material cost - I'd estimate the Naim 250 costs 10% of its retail price to make. So it's not the same thing as, say, performance sports cars where it actually costs much more to produce and tune. I could only conclude that it must be down to the people they employ simply not having sufficient expertise. There must be a shortage of talent out there.
The sort of improvements mentioned sort of skirt around the basic limitations of the knowledge of the design team. When you are Mark Levinson getting fussy about pasive compone t materials and so on is reasonable - when you are Audiolab it's missing the point.
To make the 8000 sound better is quite possible but it's hard to make suggetsions without knowledge of the circuit. It will certainly involve some semiconductor changes. Can you provide a schematic?
This reminds me of some conversations I used to have with some Japanese colleagues many years back. I struggled to understand why Sony with all of its resources and money was unable to make hifi that sounded as good as teeny (by comparison) companies like Naim, Krell, etc. Except at the very low end, I don't think it is really a matter of material cost - I'd estimate the Naim 250 costs 10% of its retail price to make. So it's not the same thing as, say, performance sports cars where it actually costs much more to produce and tune. I could only conclude that it must be down to the people they employ simply not having sufficient expertise. There must be a shortage of talent out there.
The sort of improvements mentioned sort of skirt around the basic limitations of the knowledge of the design team. When you are Mark Levinson getting fussy about pasive compone t materials and so on is reasonable - when you are Audiolab it's missing the point.
To make the 8000 sound better is quite possible but it's hard to make suggetsions without knowledge of the circuit. It will certainly involve some semiconductor changes. Can you provide a schematic?
I've got a better reason as to why they don't do it. Krell and all the other high end companies have built a business on their reputation for quality. The rest of them are riding on consumer name recognition. If you look at the cost per unit to make these changes were looking at 20 bucks tops. Not a lot eh? Until you factor in their going to make and sell 100,000 of these units. The public is not going to pay extra for something that sounded fine to them in the first place. People actually think the mini disc and mp3 sound fine. The masses are going backwards for sure, but their asking for it. And the manufacturers are going to give it to them. Anyway, right or wrong that's what I think
Hans,I had similar notion on most solid state DIY amps I made,and tried many ways to avoid that cold and uninvolving signature.Choke did best for me!Now I had them in every power supply of my gear.Choke is not a cure-all solution but it helps noticeably if you can take some voltage drop,and have room in your amp for those big irons!Go for LC configuration for best results.Good luck with your tweaks...
Hans,
I doesn't seem that anyone will provide a schematic. This takes a bit of time and patience but you can work out what the schematic is by studying the pcb. If you have the patience, then draw it out and post it for comments
The sort of modifications that are most likely improvements that are practical will be in the psu, the wiring and grounding paths, potentiometers and possibly the output stage. Some capacitors might be changed. It might be possible to upgrade op-amps depending upon the surrounding circuitry: such as from standard op-amps to high quality Burr Browns.
Help with this is very difficult over the internet so don't get your expectations too high.
BAM
I doesn't seem that anyone will provide a schematic. This takes a bit of time and patience but you can work out what the schematic is by studying the pcb. If you have the patience, then draw it out and post it for comments
The sort of modifications that are most likely improvements that are practical will be in the psu, the wiring and grounding paths, potentiometers and possibly the output stage. Some capacitors might be changed. It might be possible to upgrade op-amps depending upon the surrounding circuitry: such as from standard op-amps to high quality Burr Browns.
Help with this is very difficult over the internet so don't get your expectations too high.
BAM
Dear Traderbam (and Dex-Rex), I will be very patient. At the moment my hifi sounds rather good, due to the fact that I changed the cables from vdHull cs 122 to only copper VLS ultra high performance heavy duty cables (I think only known in the Netherlands); nevertheless their name they sound very good. Much better (in my setup!?) than the Transparent cables I tried, and much cheaper.
What the pcb concerns; I am afraid though I have maybe the patience, I have not the time. (Being a teacher in Holland is nice because of the kids, but for the rest it is almost day and night work nowadays.)
Dex-rex; can you tell me a bit more about the choke?
Thanks, Hans
What the pcb concerns; I am afraid though I have maybe the patience, I have not the time. (Being a teacher in Holland is nice because of the kids, but for the rest it is almost day and night work nowadays.)
Dex-rex; can you tell me a bit more about the choke?
Thanks, Hans
Dear Hans,
Choke or D.C.reactor is large inductivity device used to lower the supply ripple voltage.They are connected in series between rectifying diodes and supply filters(parallel fitted condensators).That`s called choke input filter or LC config.Choke itself is an energy storage device,and would never let the +rail run out of steam.Furthermore,choke forms a classic 12dB/oct. filter,which really filters any AC line noise!Diodes in supply are on less stress...But choke is relatively expensive,big,heavy and you will have some voltage drop on supply rail.Check them on
www.hammondmfg.com.Approximate calc is L=R/940 for 50 Hz(minimum value),the bigger the better.R is for effective resistance of the rail to be supplied R=E/I.I make my own chokes out of old,big EI transformers,with very loose calculation,and they are working good!
Greetings,
Choke or D.C.reactor is large inductivity device used to lower the supply ripple voltage.They are connected in series between rectifying diodes and supply filters(parallel fitted condensators).That`s called choke input filter or LC config.Choke itself is an energy storage device,and would never let the +rail run out of steam.Furthermore,choke forms a classic 12dB/oct. filter,which really filters any AC line noise!Diodes in supply are on less stress...But choke is relatively expensive,big,heavy and you will have some voltage drop on supply rail.Check them on
www.hammondmfg.com.Approximate calc is L=R/940 for 50 Hz(minimum value),the bigger the better.R is for effective resistance of the rail to be supplied R=E/I.I make my own chokes out of old,big EI transformers,with very loose calculation,and they are working good!
Greetings,
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