Audiolab 8200CDQ+ 8200 P is a good combination for B&W PM1

[andy-liu]

Hi Everyone:

I need some help to select my equipments, i am looking for getting PM1+Stands. In terms of the AMP +cd player, i currently decide to go for Audiolab 8200 CDQ+ 8200 P, not sure if it is a good combination for PM1?

My budget is around 1500 pounds for amp+cd player

Room size: around 20 sqm

i mainly listen to pop music

Thanks vm

Do u have any other suggestions, dont hasitate to tell me

Andy

 

[Frank Harvey]

I really like the 8200 CDQ / 8200P combination. A high quality CD/pre fed directly to a capable power amp for a good price. The PM1's might be a little insensitive, but the 8200P has enough guts to get them going. You'll have a few different filter settings on the CDQ as well in order to tailor the sound to your liking. Granted, they're subtle, but they work.

I think if I was to have a simple system at home it'd probably be the CDQ/P. It might have some competition from Leema's Elements amp and CD, but their amplifier won't quite match up to the bulletproof Audiolabs. Plus, they're more expensive.

 

[andy-liu]

Thanks vm for your suggestions.

Well, i havent tested them yet cuz it is bit of hard to find a place stocking PM1,Audiolab 8200 CDQ+8200P and a demonstration room in London.

Instead, i went for testing Creek evolution 2 combination (evolution 2 integrated amp+cd player) to pair with PM1 in Superfi shop 2 weeks ago. And i really want to compare the Audiolab combination with them.

Because PM1 still belongs to bookshelf speakers, i imagine they do not need a very strong power soucre to drive, from your perspective, should i get a mono power amp or 8200P is fine?

I dont listen to classic music at all, and pop music (maybe live concert sometimes) will be my favourite.

Thanks vm

 

[Frank Harvey]

Smaller speakers tend to be less efficient, so normally need more power to run at normal levels. Like I say, the 8200P won't have a problem driving the PM1's, but if you're after a more efficient speaker, you're probably better off looking at floorstanders.

 

[andy-liu]

Thanks vm for your explaination.

Do u have any comments on Creek Evolution 2 combination? I mean Creek Evolution 2 Integrated Amp+ Creek Evolution 2 CD Player

Is it a good idea to pair with PM1?

Thanks

 

[Frank Harvey]

Sorry, I haven't heard Creek in almost 15 years!

 

[matthewpiano]

When I heard the PM1s for the first time it was with the CDQ and the Audiolab Monos. Sounded breathtakingly good. The insight into the recording was unlike anything I've heard, apart from the KEF Blades.

 

[bemaniac]

didn't bring my amp to a demo and the only budget amp and source they had was the audiolab stuff. I was laughing because they made my setup sound awful compared and I was happy until I heard those! They were demoed with my current q500s and also r300s which I was looking into upgrading to.

 

[andy-liu]

Thanks for your reply.

I was heard quite many positive feedbacks regarding 8200 CDQ, almost decide to go for it.

What about power amp? should i go for Audiolab 8200P or Audiolab Monos?

They are quite different in terms of the price then.

Thanks

 

[andy-liu]

So do u feel good about audiolab stuffs or not?

have u got chance to try audiolab 8200CDQ with 8200P?

Thanks

 

[andy-liu]

Haha fair enough.

Thanks vm for your help

 

[Ben K.]

I really like the 8200 CDQ / 8200P combination. A high quality CD/pre fed directly to a capable power amp for a good price. The PM1's might be a little insensitive, but the 8200P has enough guts to get them going. You'll have a few different filter settings on the CDQ as well in order to tailor the sound to your liking. Granted, they're subtle, but they work.

I think if I was to have a simple system at home it'd probably be the CDQ/P. It might have some competition from Leema's Elements amp and CD, but their amplifier won't quite match up to the bulletproof Audiolabs. Plus, they're more expensive.

David (or anyone else) have you heard the 8200m's with the cdq? If so how do they sound? Are they a big improvement over the 8200p?

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Hi David,

I currently have a TAG Mclaren AV32R BP 192 processor, 100x5R Mono Power Amps, 100P Power amp for surround duties, main speakers are old B&W P4 floor standers by-amped with four of the monoblocks, remaining mono block does center duties.

Not totally happy with two channel sound so looking to change main speakers to B&W PM1 with their dedicated stands, would this be a good upgrade or could you recommend anything else. Am quite a big B&W speaker fan but will not rule anything out as long as not massive and ugly !!.

Have recently moved and my new lounge/dinner is 21ft x 12ft, but due to layout, speakers would face across the 12ft rather than the 21ft length.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Regard,

Jelly

 

[Anonymous]

Hi David,

I currently have a TAG Mclaren AV32R BP 192 processor, 100x5R Mono Power Amps, 100P Power amp for surround duties, main speakers are old B&W P4 floor standers by-amped with four of the monoblocks, remaining mono block does center duties.

Not totally happy with two channel sound so looking to change main speakers to B&W PM1 with their dedicated stands, would this be a good upgrade or could you recommend anything else. Am quite a big B&W speaker fan but will not rule anything out as long as not massive and ugly !!.

Have recently moved and my new lounge/dinner is 21ft x 12ft, but due to layout, speakers would face across the 12ft rather than the 21ft length.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Regard,

Jelly

 

[Anonymous]

Hi David,

I currently have a TAG Mclaren AV32R BP 192 processor, 100x5R Mono Power Amps, 100P Power amp for surround duties, main speakers are old B&W P4 floor standers by-amped with four of the monoblocks, remaining mono block does center duties.

Not totally happy with two channel sound so looking to change main speakers to B&W PM1 with their dedicated stands, would this be a good upgrade or could you recommend anything else. Am quite a big B&W speaker fan but will not rule anything out as long as not massive and ugly !!.

Have recently moved and my new lounge/dinner is 21ft x 12ft, but due to layout, speakers would face across the 12ft rather than the 21ft length.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Regard,

Jelly

 

[Frank Harvey]

David (or anyone else) have you heard the 8200m's with the cdq? If so how do they sound? Are they a big improvement over the 8200p?

Thanks

Apologies for missing this question.

The 8200P is a capable power amp, more capable than many integrated amplifiers, but 8200M's have more headroom and better current delivery, so will either be able to drive more demanding speakers, or have better grip and drive speakers that are a relatively easy load. It's all down to how good you want your system to be.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Hi David,

I currently have a TAG Mclaren AV32R BP 192 processor, 100x5R Mono Power Amps, 100P Power amp for surround duties, main speakers are old B&W P4 floor standers by-amped with four of the monoblocks, remaining mono block does center duties.

Not totally happy with two channel sound so looking to change main speakers to B&W PM1 with their dedicated stands, would this be a good upgrade or could you recommend anything else. Am quite a big B&W speaker fan but will not rule anything out as long as not massive and ugly !!.

Have recently moved and my new lounge/dinner is 21ft x 12ft, but due to layout, speakers would face across the 12ft rather than the 21ft length.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Regard,

Jelly

Hi Jelly

You should find the PM1's will be quite an improvement over the P4's - the HF performance should be night and day, and you should find the midrange quite an improvement. Bass will obviously be a little different, but this is where you need to audition them, and see how you get on with them. If you feel that the bass isn't to your liking, pop back and we'll make some more recommendations

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi jelly

What other speakers, source component/s are you also using?

What genre of music do you generally listen to?

Btw, in the meantime another option to also consider is to change the AV32R BP 192 for Audiolab's new 8200AP. Fwiw, i've found the 8200AP performs to an even higher level with music and movie soundtracks :rockout:

http://www.audiolab.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?lang=En&Tab2=8200AP

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[bigmoose]

That's interesting, I was looking at getting the exact same combination, and had the chance to audition it for 3 days.

In short, I believe you will be extremely happy with the combination. The b&w are breathtaking speakers. They are highly dynamic and very detailed. Only drawback is they are not the most efficient, and you need to push them a bit harder than.. Say, the tannoy dc8, or PMC 22 I had the chance to compare with. They are excellent for medium sized room, but will not fill a large room.

I had to go for the more expensive Tannoy dc8 because of the size of my lounge, and I thought they offered a better sense of scale. If it was for a medium size room, no doubt, I would have gone for that combination.

PS: not sure if that matters to you or not, but I had one small annoyance with the 8200p is that it will not work with the remote - you will need to switch the unit on and off from the unit itself. Not exactly a deal breaker, but something you might find annoying.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Rick,

Thanks for you reply.

My other speakers are M&K LCR 150 Xenon centre, & Rears.

Music = a bit of evething but not into classical, more pop music than anything else I suppose and anything that sounds good !!. I particullarly like womens vocals such as Norah Jones, Adele, but the quite happy to play dire straights to Rhianna.

Source components is Denon DVD2390 used as transport to DAC's in the AV32R & Sony BDP-S760 Blue ray player connected to AV32R 5.1 bypass also have PS3. Tried the denon with analogue connections to the bypass input and did not really make much difference. Did look into the audiolab 8200AP some time ago but never seemed to get released.

Have you done a comparison between the AV32rBP192 & the 8200AP as I was potentially looking at the 8200CD/DAC and feeding that to TAG via analogue connections. Are the DAC's in thef 8200AP the same as in the 8200CD ?. Another reason for the 8200CD is that I am soon to start copying my CD collection to FLAC format on a hard drive and this could be feed to the Audiolab.

Do you think that changing the electronics is the right route to go first or change my existing B&W P4 speakers, people mention that changing to the B&W PM1's that they may not have the bass that im used to but if there being by-amped with the Tag 100x5R should give them a good kicking ?.

Problem I have is getting home demos of kit as I know when I bought the Tag kit it was from Audio Excellence in Gloucester which are no longer, they lent me thousands of £ of equipment as it's amazing how totally the synergy in your own home can change things dramitically, it's a lot of dosh to get it wrong !!.

Any thoughts on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve