T3 - UK (2020-08)

10 T3 AUGUST 2020

Horizon

Putting the I/O

in audio, the

6000A Play offers

a cornucopia of

connectivity. It has

one phono pair,

three aux pairs

and four digital

inputs, while DTS

Play-Fi allows

you to stream to

multiple devices

and from most

major streaming

services.

The best new tech heading your way

“Soup up your stereo

with this sound piece

of kit”

Josh Russell, Editor

TECH-O-METER

AUDIOLAB

6000A

PLAY

£799, audiolab.co.uk

Does your home stereo need a new heart?
Transplant in Audiolab’s exquisite 6000A Play
and it’ll beat stronger than ever before. Cheesy
cardiac intro aside, this is something of a hybrid
device, comprising the amplification electronics
of the company’s highly-rated 6000A and the
streaming smarts of its class-leading 6000N.
What results is a finely-balanced and delicate-
looking amplifier that’s as adept at blasting out
the signal from your CD transport as it is
streaming 24-bit/192kHz hi-res audio.
The core of that streaming platform is DTS
Play-Fi – quickly becoming something of a
standard in audio streaming – which links the
6000A Play to a laundry list of music services,
streaming radio stations, or your own hi-res
collection via the Play-Fi app. That’s not its
only trick; you can also hook up the likes of
Spotify Connect, or just connect and stream
via aptX Bluetooth. With four digital audio
inputs, three line-level RCA inputs and an MM
phono connection, you’re not short of other
audio options, either. There’s a good reason
we went with the ‘beating heart’ analogy: this
is the hardware through which your whole hi-fi
can really come to life.
Even if you already have a meaty power
amp or a beloved preamp, the 6000A Play
can slot right in. You can optionally disable
one of its two stages and only make use of
the other one, so whether you need 50W
per channel amplification into eight ohms,
or a simple and precise analogue preamp,
you’re completely covered.