Audiolab 6000CDT Dedicated CD Transport with Remote

Back in the day I used to use high-quality cd players as transports. After testing this unit out I realized how much better Redbook CDs can sound with a great transport! This thing is awesome. Never skips and sounds terrific.

This transport extracts an amazing level of detail from red book cds. Wow. No jitter, buffers ahead to correct for errors. I did not realize how good standard CDs could sound.

One would have to spend a lot more to step up from this.

After owning the Audiolab 6000CDT player for over 4 months I thought it was fair I provide a review. Using the 6000CDT with several different amplifiers and speakers, and comparing the sound to several older CD and DVD players, none of the CD/DVD players were over $400. The CD/DVD players ranged from the Teac CD-P650; Denon DVM-745; a fairly inexpensive Sony DVD player; a vintage 20 year old Koss DVD/CD player and these are my feelings.

The fit and finish of the Audiolab 6000CDT was extremely solid and high-end feeling, even the remote was intuitive and seemed made of some lightweight metal, not plastic. I love the precise and firm buttons on the front of the CD player. It was definitely a couple steps above my other players in regards to build.

Sound, it didn't blow any of my other CD players away; using a Shiit Modi DAC or the internal DAC of my amps.
However, it portrays a very solid and well rounded performance. It doesn't attract any attention to itself, but rather provides neutral information. The nice thing I noticed is with the 6000CDT there is zero glare to the sound that you often get with cheap CD and DVD players playing music. This is a beautiful thing. It plays very clean, smooth, and with an expansive soundstage.

Most of my players are no longer sold except the Teac P650, which gets average reviews for reliability but really good reviews for sound. For around $150 when I bought the Teac 3 years ago it was a steal. My hearing is fairly good, and honestly I don't see upgrading from an already decent CD player to the 6000CDT. I barely could hear any difference after 4 months between the 6000CDT, 15 year old Denon, and the Teac. The cheaper DVD players from Koss, and definitely Sony, there was a little less refinement and sound quality.
If your current CD player breaks then definitely check out the 6000CDT.

I purchased this last week at the reduced price of $549.00. It must have been one of the last units sold before the price increase. So far it is exceeding my expectations. I was pleasantly surprised when playing Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon. All the tracks segued without interruption! Had I known this I would have bought it much sooner. Maybe the folks at Audiolab or here at W.W. Stereo should highlight this capability. I spent quite some time vainly searching for a CD player with continuous playback. My Cambridge Topaz 10 didn't have it and it drove me nuts. Sometimes the Cambridge would stop playing discs completely for no apparent reason too.
I have absolutely ZERO buyer's remorse over this unit.

After having a year of trouble with my Cambridge CXC CD transport (excessive skipping), I begin researching other transports. I had contacted Cambridge about my problem, but they basically said the transport was inherently sensitive and they couldn’t do much about it- I could send it in but I would have to pay a fee to have it checked out. I decided on investigating the Audiolab 6000CDT. It had received great reviews but was said to scratch CD’s when you load them in the unit.. I called World Wide Stereo and spoke to Ira about my concerns. He was very helpful and listened to my concerns about the Audiolab unit. He highly recommended it. So, I purchased it. I LOVE IT! The sound is great- nice soundstage, clarity and quality. Zero issues with skipping , even with my scratched CD’s. And the unit has not scratched any of my CD’s. A great purchase and buying experience World Wide Stereo. Thank you!

Just a few weeks ago I had never even heard of a CD transport. Now thanks to advice from World Wide Stereo I own one, and I am hearing my CDs with a level of differentiation of the sounds that I have never before experienced. My CDs have never sounded this good before. A great piece of equipment.

After 15yr's i decided to rekindle my interest in" Audio" and build a "New System" and to my surprise this unit surpassed my expectation of what good "CD PLAYBACK" should sound like..Used with a number of "DAC'S" it was like having a different "CD PLAYER" everyday. It let's you know what your "DAC" is doing..! I'AM impressed..!!

Pro's.
Good Quality Build
Work's As Advertised
Under Stated Value

Con's.
No Way To Connect to
the 6000N w/o Amp
Would Be a Killer CD
Player with it's own Dac

I bought this from World Wide about one week ago. It was beamed to me in two days. No shipping charges. Fantastic. Very well boxed. I am using a Cambridge CXN V2 for the dac. Sounds wonderful. I was using a Sony S-7000. Technically a dvd player but with a high end cd output. Of course the Audiolab has superior sound compared to the oldy-but-goody Sony. Definition and soundstage were the first notable improvements. Fantastic dynamics. I can easily follow each instrument or voice. Very well built. My first slot loader. I don’t miss a tray but slot llading takes a little getting used to. You have to handle the cd a bit different but no big deal. So far I am extremly happy with it and it works quite well with the CXN V2 which is an incredibly capable streamer. A really great transport for the money!

Ill divide this into 3 categories, build quality, functionality, and sound.

The Audiolab 6000CDT is a handsome looking piece of kit in either matte black or silver. I chose black which is actually closer to a dark gray. No shiny bits so no fingerprints either.

Build - Top notch with proper reinforcement with a large number of visible fasteners. All aluminum with a large OLED screen.
I attempted to make this unit skip by tapping, knocking, and even allowing my kids to jump in front of it and still not one single skip. Impressive. Images of the inside also indicate top both have build exceeding its price bracket.

Functionality - It does everything you need for it to with a fully functional remote. Back side is stark with only power cable (detachable, thick, and long), and spdif. No balanced

Sound - Get a DAC because this has no sound and thats the point. Its a transport and a darn good one at that.

Overall theres nothing negative to say about the Audiolab 6000CDT. It looks great, comes in at a great price, and is built extremely well at its price point. I can think of a handful of transports out there now that are even more expensive than this one that just dont do anything any better and dont justify that price difference either.

If I had to nitpick something Id say the remote for my taste is too big. Its a general remote that also works with Audiolabs other pieces within the range. It is nice and has some heft to it due to a nice piece of aluminum up top.
I just wish it were smaller but thats hair splitting.

Just buy the damn thing and worry about DACs and amps.

XLNT. spinner for the money. This product is very heavy duty. You could spend Ten's of thousands of dollars for a transport. My question is Why. I would imagen if I had two Hundred Thousand Dollars in a sys. It might be stupid to spend under a Thousand for one. Mike

A beautiful machine - built solid, heavy not plastic, feels like an investment not something that will be replaced in 2 yrs - clean front panel - simple operation - straight forward - silent - the slot load grabs your disc firmly not like some flimsy machines do so there is plenty of vibration control - sound is phenomenal: mine is running into Chord m-upscaler and Hugo TT-2 DAC so the sound from the disc was the best I had ever heard using Moon Audio cables - great stuff - very happy!!!
No regrets!!!

Wow! Built like a Sherman tank. Great sound paired with my Cambridge CXA80 and monitor audio bronze 2’s (towers coming soon). The selling point was the cd reading enhancement.
Great product!!

Excellent transport. Built very solid and does not have a tray that may cause problems down the road. I use a McIntosh integrated amp that has an excellent DAC so all that I really needed was a transport. This certainly fulfilled everything I needed for my CD’s

CD's never sounded better.

PERFECT!! JUST WHAT I NEEDED A SIMPLE CD TRANSPORT TO PLAY MY CD COLLECTIONS...

Couldn't believe CD's could sound so good until I purchased the 6000CDT. I already had an excellent Integrated amp with DAC and excellent speakers, but the sound was just OK. That is until I purchased the 6000DCT. It might be the best audio purchase I've ever made.

I purchased the 6000CDT after sampling some similar priced CD players and transports. I paired the 6000CDT with my SimAudio Moon 240i and Martin Logan LX16 speakers, the family room system. Right out the box I experienced precise and detailed sound. With continued use, the sound continued to improve. The 6000CDT is well built and I appreciate that I can use an upgraded power cable with the unit. The transport mechanism is extremely quiet. I must add that the 6000CDT's performance is close to the performance of my $2,000 plus CD transport. My family and I am very satisfied with the unit! I highly recommend the 6000CDT and of course recommend pairing it with a quality DAC!