Audiolab 9000A

Practicality, solid build and a strong performance all in a neat single package

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Integrated amplifier £1999 whf.cm/Audiolab9000A

Audiolab's first product was the 8000A. This hugely successful integrated amplifier was launched in 1982 and was instrumental in establishing the brand as a major force in the market. It was also a serious attempt to offer a sensibly priced, fully featured stereo amplifier that needed no excuses

While much has changed with the Audiolab brand since then, we can see strong parallels between that original and the 9000A. Apart from slim proportions and clean aesthetics, both amplifiers also share a common ethos, one that aims to please most of the people, most of the time and in a wide range of systems. No easy task. Both amplifiers look smart but understated, though the moment the 9000A's 4.3in colour LCD screen fires up there is no doubt that things have moved on.

Out of the ordinary

It remains unusual to find such a display on a stereo amplifier, but it gives the newcomer a sophisticated modern feel and allows easy access to the set-up menu where it is possible to configure the product to taste. You can choose the digital filter setting, set the sensitivity for individual analogue inputs, adjust the balance between the speakers and control how long the amplifier idles before it enters standby mode.

On a more day-to-day basis, that screen can be switched to show VU meters (in digital or analogue form), the resolution of an incoming digital signal or just the volume setting. Or it can be turned off. It also indicates in which mode the amplifier is operating.