Keep original Audiolab 8000A or replace with Quad Vena?

theaceface

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Oct 20, 2016
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I have an original 1983 Audiolab 8000A amp and my original intention was to keep my amp and find suitable speakers that I will unfortunately have to wall mount.

My original budget was £500

After a LONG time ploughing through many reviews etc, I have decided to increase my budget to £1000 as I liked the idea of the ProAc Tablette 10.

I was unsure if my amp would be suitable or if the addition of an 8000P would help matters.

The increased budget then made me wonder if it might be worth replacing the Audiolab for something a little more up to date?

I noticed a local dealer had a package deal on a Quad Vena with Quad S-1 speakers, im unsure as to how the Quads would be when wall mounted?

Is the Vena much better than the 8000A?

Are there other nice alternative amp/dac combos at a similar price?

Do I keep my amp and spend £1000 on speakers?

Any feedback greatly appreciated.
 

rainsoothe

Well-known member
Hi. As far as I know, very few speakers are designed to work well against a wall, or wall mounted. The Quad might be such speakers, I am unfamiliar with them, but try to audition before you buy. Other candidates should be Guru Junior and Neat Iota. If I were to have my speakers wall-mounted, I would search for speaker first, and match the speakers I chose to an amp. Otherwise, I like checking amps first.

Again, try to audition before you buy. A good dealer will help you sort almost everything out, and home demo is the best route to take, if it's an option.
 
theaceface said:
I have an original 1983 Audiolab 8000A amp and my original intention was to keep my amp and find suitable speakers that I will unfortunately have to wall mount.

My original budget was £500

After a LONG time ploughing through many reviews etc, I have decided to increase my budget to £1000 as I liked the idea of the ProAc Tablette 10.

I was unsure if my amp would be suitable or if the addition of an 8000P would help matters.

The increased budget then made me wonder if it might be worth replacing the Audiolab for something a little more up to date?

I noticed a local dealer had a package deal on a Quad Vena with Quad S-1 speakers, im unsure as to how the Quads would be when wall mounted?

Is the Vena much better than the 8000A?

Are there other nice alternative amp/dac combos at a similar price?

Do I keep my amp and spend £1000 on speakers?

Any feedback greatly appreciated.

Bearing in mind the age of your Audiolab I would have no qualms about changing it for a Vena if I had the funds.

The Vena + S1 combination is, to my ears, quite excellent and I am sure the S1's will work as well as most of the alternatives when used close to a rear wall if you cannot afford the ATC HTS7 on-wall speakers (Please note these are usually priced per single speaker but will still be within your budget)
 

insider9

Well-known member
During my demo of S-1 they were positioned closed to a wall. They're such tiny speakers that they are unlikely to suffer a great deal even though they're rear ported. I would suggest a home demo though as worst case scenario it will skew the tonal balance. Though I don't supposed it would a great deal and if it did you could always try eq the bass.
 
rainsoothe said:
Hi. As far as I know, very few speakers are designed to work well against a wall, or wall mounted. The Quad might be such speakers, I am unfamiliar with them, but try to audition before you buy. Other candidates should be Guru Junior and Neat Iota. If I were to have my speakers wall-mounted, I would search for speaker first, and match the speakers I chose to an amp. Otherwise, I like checking amps first.

Again, try to audition before you buy. A good dealer will help you sort almost everything out, and home demo is the best route to take, if it's an option.

I did not mention these as they were, initially, outside of the OPs budget. However they are now within his £1000 budget but I would question whether his amp is sufficient for them.
 

theaceface

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I have read good things about the Guru Junior in regards to placing it close to a wall

unfortunately I don't have a local stockist to audition them

my initial choice of the ProAc Tablette 10 was because of it's closed design

The more I think about things though, it would seem logical to go with a more up to date amp than spend the entire budget on speakers

i understand the drawbacks of wall mounting but unfortunately it is my only option

i did notice it is possible to add a sub to the Vena, which could be an option in future
 
theaceface said:
I have read good things about the Guru Junior in regards to placing it close to a wall

unfortunately I don't have a local stockist to audition them

my initial choice of the ProAc Tablette 10 was because of it's closed design

The more I think about things though, it would seem logical to go with a more up to date amp than spend the entire budget on speakers

i understand the drawbacks of wall mounting but unfortunately it is my only option

i did notice it is possible to add a sub to the Vena, which could be an option in future

The closed design of the ProAcs will help, they are quite forgiving, but its not a given that sealed-boxes will sound their best close to a rear wall.

Pehaps your best combo would be the Vena and a secoun-hand pair of earlier small ProAcs
 

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