Audiolab is a brand that may be unfamiliar to many consumers in the United States, but in the UK, it has a decades-long reputation for putting out great-sounding, high-value electronics. While the brand (and company) has gone through a few changes over the years, including a flirtation with the ultra high-end, Audiolab has recently brought its mainstream offerings to the US market, including CD players, amplifiers and analog two-channel preamplifiers. While those will all be interesting for the dedicated audiophile, for home theater, the most intriguing piece in the line-up is the audio-only preamplifier/processor, the 8000AP.

It started way back in 2001 when I reported to you on the exquisite AVM20, which to this day for various reasons still represents to me a watershed. Two years later came the "V2" upgrade for the AVM20 wherein we swapped out the processor board for a more powerful one, opening up the then much enthused about Pro Logic II, upgrading the THX suite to Ultra2, and adding more bass management options.