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Post by Slinger on May 23, 2022 17:01:09 GMT
Has anyone come across one of these beasts in the wild? Alexa connectivity plays Amazon Music, optical out, sounds like it ticks a lot of boxes for me. No chance I'll be able to give one a test run, so any help and info gratefully received. www.audiolab.co.uk/6000n/ |
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Post by ajski2fly on May 24, 2022 8:14:46 GMT
Has anyone come across one of these beasts in the wild? Alexa connectivity plays Amazon Music, optical out, sounds like it ticks a lot of boxes for me. No chance I'll be able to give one a test run, so any help and info gratefully received. www.audiolab.co.uk/6000n/Well Paul, from the reviews it sounds pretty good, and if Audiolab have built it with the same SQ as the 6000CD or 8300CDQ then it should hit the spot, it certainly looks very flexible and supports all the current streaming platforms and integrates with a NAS. In fact it may be a great solution for me, I have been looking at changing/simplifying my digital setup and this on top on the 8300CDQ could be the answer. |
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Post by Slinger on May 24, 2022 14:28:46 GMT
I must admit it was the Amazon Music integration that first attracted me. I don't subscribe to any of the streaming services, but I do already pay for Amazon Prime, so there's 2 million songs, straight off the bat, albeit at what they describe as " standard" definition. But if it pans out, for an extra £7.99 p.m. (or £79 for an annual subscription) I could switch up to HD and a promised 90 million songs. Of course, the Alaxa integration appeals a great deal to me as well. I do love my Alexa devices.  What I need to work out first, obviously, is whether it's going to be worth my while spending £400-£500 when I'm quite happy with the sound I've got already, and then forking out an extra £79 p.a. to play a lot of stuff I already own. Conversely, I don't doubt that a lot of the stuff I own (backed up from vinyl, years ago) will not be found on Amazon. It would end up in a DAC " shoot out" too. My Arcam SA10 has a Sabre ESS9016K2M, and the 6000N has a Sabre ES9018K2M, but as Martin has remarked in the past, it's often the implementation that makes the difference. I think I'm going to end up waiting a while, so, in the meantime, Adrian ( ajski2fly) if you're interested, here's the one I had my eye on at £430 instead of the usual £499 it's "open box" from what seems a reputable dealership. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125295891791The only downside is, it's silver. You may want to paint it black before you invite Mike round.  |
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Post by petea on May 24, 2022 14:52:25 GMT
Can you not access the files on your NAS from it, Paul?
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Post by MikeMusic on May 24, 2022 15:13:19 GMT
Slinger On Amazon Prime I've tried this a few times and as soon as I ask for a certain album it tells me I have to sign up to access Not that fussed as YouTube has 99% of what I want but can you ask and get for a specific album ? Black card or paper can be your friend with silver gear Makes it sound better too 
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Post by Slinger on May 24, 2022 15:24:53 GMT
Can you not access the files on your NAS from it, Paul? Yes, but I can do that anyway, Pete, so there's no gain in that direction. I've got well over 9,000 albums on NAS, so that's a large proportion of stuff I'd probably find myself playing on Amazon. For the amount of music I buy these days (mostly used CDs, and downloads from Bandcamp) I've got to work out if Amazon Music is worth eighty quid a year. A lot of the new CDs I buy are autographed copies or special editions from people like Bernie Marsden via Farcebook, so again, not something Amazon can provide on subscription. At the moment the cons seem to be outweighing the pros. As I said, I'm not unhappy with the saound I've got already, so I need to think about whether it would just end up being an expensive paperweight that talked to Alexa once in a while. |
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Post by petea on May 24, 2022 16:06:54 GMT
I can sympathise, as although I have decent streamers in the UK and Germany, I mainly play either files I have purchased (directly from there artist where I can), CDs / ripped versions of them (in Germany) or vinyl albums. The streamers really are pretty under-used as it were. Like you, I often buy special editions, signed copies, original pressings etc.
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Post by ajski2fly on May 24, 2022 16:22:37 GMT
Thanks for the link, have you not considered that Qobuz is VGFM for the SQ you get and is not too pricey. Personally I am not that enamoured with Amazon Music, we do have prime but only because of the home delivery savings. I have recently tried TIDAL again as the Electricery car has this available on it, but I found it a pain sometimes SQ wise in the home system, so I have gone to Spottydog for now  , I mean Spotify Premium, but the interface is a bit Woodentops IMO but works in the car and with my current set up. |
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Post by Slinger on May 24, 2022 16:37:42 GMT
The thing is, I don't actively want or need a streaming service per se. It was just a case of integrating all of the Amazon/Alexa stuff seemed appealing, but the deeper I looked the more I became aware that it was probably the "gadget" side of it, rather than the music side, that was drawing me in.
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Post by ajski2fly on May 25, 2022 8:02:14 GMT
The thing is, I don't actively want or need a streaming service per se. It was just a case of integrating all of the Amazon/Alexa stuff seemed appealing, but the deeper I looked the more I became aware that it was probably the " gadget" side of it, rather than the music side, that was drawing me in. Nothing wrong with that, even Grommet likes a gadget.  |
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Post by MikeMusic on May 25, 2022 8:34:21 GMT
The thing is, I don't actively want or need a streaming service per se. It was just a case of integrating all of the Amazon/Alexa stuff seemed appealing, but the deeper I looked the more I became aware that it was probably the " gadget" side of it, rather than the music side, that was drawing me in. More to go wrong - for me |
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jhop
Rank: Soloist
Posts: 20
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Post by jhop on May 26, 2022 18:21:48 GMT
Re: Audiolab 6000N
In my experience, it is a great sounding unit, and having owned one for over three years I can tell you Audiolab knows a thing or two about Sabre-based DACs and streamers. Plenty dynamic with lots of detail, glorious sound stage, but no glare or harshness, at least on my system. I also loved the number of music services available, including Amazon Ultra HD, which of course sounded wonderful.
So what’s not to like? For me, it came down to not being able to play gapless. Since it is a DTS Play-Fi based streamer, I couldn’t enjoy a lot of opera, or for that matter the B-side of Abbey Road. I knew this going into it, and thought for sure it would be rectified, but sadly it never was. Maybe it’s different now, but something to be aware of.
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, I mean Spotify Premium, but the interface is a bit Woodentops IMO but works in the car and with my current set up. 
