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I have heard Boulder a few times, most recently a $26k amp and I forgot the 5 figure price of their preamp. Boulder is supposed to be the stuff but it doesn't do much for me. I'm not meaning for this to be negative, it is certainly transparent, controlled and detailed. I just don't find that it draws me in. I was just curious if others who have heard it how they liked it. I fully understand we like what we like, it's just most people seem to rave about it.
Now, on the other hand I heard Tidal Audio, a German brand, for the first time and it instantly became my dream system if I should hit the lottery.
Follow Ups:
Boulder appears to be a sonic match for both Focal/JM Labs and Wilson loudspeakers.
Mr Peabody, I previously owned a pair of Marten Coltrane Alto's about 3 years ago which are inefficient & like plenty of power. I was originally driving my Alto's with a Classe Cap-2100 integrated which has good current, but was struggling to control the Alto's, so I started looking around for a power amp to pair with my modded Ayon CD-5s (as linestage) when my Dealer offered me a good deal on a Boulder 1060 he had in on trade. In my system, the Boulder was a perfect match. It had excellent control and bass, sounded dead quiet, neutral and natural to my ears. My Ayon added tube virtues of warmth, sweetness & dimensionality within a holographic sound stage.Btw, I also upgraded the factory 32a power cable with a Jorma Prime pc which I had re-terminated with a German 'Walther' 32a connector which was a nice upgrade over the factory cable.
To me, the Boulder amps sound better with a tube preamp upstream. Ayon has good synergy. ARC, VTL or VAC should also work well, as the 1060 has a high input impedance of 50k Ohms which is benign to even the weakest tube preamps. Of course, the new Boulder 2100 preamp & 2120 dac/network player are awesome pieces & would be a no brainer with warm speakers like Sonus Faber if your pockets run deep enough!
Vitus SCD025MkII, SIA025, Oppo BPD-103AU, Magico S5's, Taoc ASR racks + SCB-RS50g, Stillpoints Ultra 6's/Mini's/LPI's, Furutech GTX-D(G), Gigawatt PC-3 SE Evo, Jorma Prime pc's + xlr's/Statement sc's/Unity pc, Siltech Classic Anniversary rcas + HDMI
Edits: 11/11/15 11/11/15 11/11/15 11/11/15 11/11/15 11/11/15 11/11/15 11/11/15 11/12/15
I agree with what Bodhi said.Boulder was a company that I was always interested in from a distance, but I was never well-heeled enough (nor interested in solid state for a great number of years) to buy any of their gear. Another limitation I had with Boulder was that they only offer balanced connections, and I needed a bit more flexibility than that.
Well, time marches on and systems change. I was putting together a new system that required some smaller rock-solid mono blocks at 4ohms, and the entry level Boulder 850 amps fit the bill. My pre-amp in this system (the EAR 912, which I had lusted after for years) has both balanced and single ended outs, so I can switch to some single ended tube mono blocks when I want a change from the Boulders. Like Bodhi said, With this tubed pre-amp upstream, I almost never tire of the Boulders.
They are extremely neutral (perhaps even a bit dry), but given that I have some other gear in the system that some might call 'romantic', the Boulders have settled right in.
One thing that really means a lot to me when it comes to hi-fi gear is that if the price is high, I better see some quality to match. All the innards in this Boulder gear is top notch and the chassis is beautifully put together too (Boulder is one of the very few that makes EVERYTHING in-house...right down to the CNC machines that cut the pieces that house their electronics).
If you're running a completely balanced system, then maybe you can get your feet wet with the Boulder 865 integrated amp. My experience was that after living with these entry level Boulder mono blocks, I'm tempted to eventually move up the chain and pick up some additional Boulder gear. Granted, I dont see myself having a completely balanced system anytime soon, so it is likely that I would just buy bigger Boulder amps (perhaps from the 1000 or 2100 series).
FWIW, I have very few (and very specific) hi-fi brands that I will own these days. When it comes to solid state, I've now added Boulder to my very short list. The problem is, of course, with how darned expensive it turns out to be.
Happy Listening!
Edits: 12/20/15
Boulder is good stuff, if you like ss equipment. Personally, I prefer
Ayre and BAT for high end ss amps. Rowland is fine, too.
But I find tubed gear to be more euphonic. Were I to hit the lotto, I'd
likely buy a VTL setup. Rogue would be up for consideration too.
Hi Mike, if you haven't heard it you would probably like Pass Labs. I was also impressed with the Levinson 532h, not "tube like" in any typical way but the amp is very transparent and quick with still giving the sense of melody in the music. I feel a lot of SS miss that, some how stripping away whatever it is that allows us to sense the melody or some call PR&T. The 532h transients give it a live sort of sound, not just only large transients but everything just seems to pop, in a good way. The "H" series uses banks of small caps opposed to the large can style, they say that's what gives it the liveliness.
VTL, Manley, and VAC are on my wish list too!
ARC / CJ.... been there done that. ;-)
I used to frequent Audio Unlimited Denver before John Barnes passed away in 2011 [RIP]. John Barnes and Carl Jerritts ran an outstanding audio shop for decades out of John's large home with multiple listening rooms throughout including the fully finished basement and large converted garage that was completely insulated, carpeted, and had dedicated AC.For a while, their main setup consisted of a couple massive Boulder amps and high-end Boulder preamp/DAC, along with Accuphase DP-85 CDP... and a few turntables. This drove a pair of tall Focal speakers. I don't recall the speaker model but they were top of the line. These things looked very impressive, and taller than me. They had a lot of other brands as well including a few vacuum tube systems.
As impressive as the Focal speakers looked being driven by massive Boulder monoblocks, I never thought the setup sounded that great. To me, it was a little dry and lacking 'soul'. But of course, I tend to lean toward systems that are a tad bit warm, rich, and full-bodied. They also had Air Tight, CJ, Cary, BAT, MacIntosh, Electrocompaniet, and other brands.
The guys at Audio Unlimited Denver were great. They would always let me come in and play with all the high-end gear while they did their administrative work in the back office. Never any pressure to buy but always friendly and eager to talk shop.
Carl Jerritts opened Apex Audio Denver a number of years ago and he still carries Focal but I believe his 'high-end' electronics are now Solution.
Edits: 11/10/15
Abe-
there are several great Audio shops in the Denver area.
You know, that's the way audio shops should be. That's how I got hooked :). I visited a local high end shop years ago, the guy who talked with me was friendly and willing to show me stuff with no pressure, or, are you going to buy. Well, one day my old CDP broke, I wondered back in the same store and the rest is history, LOL.
In contrast, I called a shop on the other side of the state, I forgot what brand I was considering, I tried to talk audio and find out some info, he just interrupted and said, "are you going to buy anything from me"? Like I was just wasting his time. I thought, if I was going to buy I certainly won't now. I didn't plan to take a trip without some basic into.
I had a similar bad experience at a 'high-end' brick and mortar store in Denver. They used to be located on Colorado Blvd, and then it appears that they moved to Steele Street, but I think they're out of business now.
About a decade or more ago I walked into the store to browse and see what they had. I saw Classe, ARC, and some others.
A young sales guy with wrinkled white dress shirt and an improperly tied tie walked up to me and the first thing he said was, "so, what are we buying today"? No introduction, no offer to let me audition something. And he made me feel like I was imposing on his precious time. I continued to browse for a few minutes then politely left the store and never ever came back.
They're probably out of business so I think I can safely say the place was called "Cherry Creek Audio" in Denver. I knew they carried ARC at that time but I went out of my way to audition and buy some ARC gear elsewhere as I refused to do business with my local authorized ARC dealer.
Fortunately, we have a number outstanding audio shops in the Denver area.
I resonate with what is being said. Your story about Cherry Creek Audio caught my attention.
I am not from Colorado but was visiting my sister in Centennial, 10 years ago. I was in the market for speakers, quite possibly under $1000, but nothing is engraved in stone. I really wanted something that could reproduce acoustic music and sound "real" (classical music, as I am a musician and retired from a 25 year career). While in Cherry Creek Audio, I took my time listening, then after awhile they ushered me out of the room because a doctor wanted to listen to the speakers. Actually, I would have been fine just standing there if they had said something polite like, we don't mind you listening, but we need to turn our attention to a client with an appointment. Anything polite would have worked. Of course I left.
In the end, I drove to Colorado Springs and visited Roy at Green Mountain Audio (unannounced) who gave me a factory tour (small factory) and an extensive, personal audition. He is a nice guy, physicist with an excellent ear--not a salesman. I bought a pair of Europas on the spot, and still have them. Actually, I believe Roy used a Boulder amp. Europas are a little on the warm side, I guess you could say, but are still very "real" sounding--good for playback of live, acoustic recordings in which I am intimately familiar hearing it live, as I have spent my life. Actually, Roy used to be an orchestra recording engineer.
The bigger point is that casual listening is the only way.
Obsession with profits is obscene. ... and if you are not spending thousands, you don't count, right?...
Another good one is Frank Van Alstine. He is certainly there to sell his product, but he is a real decent human being about it yet has made a good living (heard him say on youtube). He's been around probably 40 years or more.
Interesting.
I thought I saw Cherry Creek Audio at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest just a few years ago so if they did in fact go out of business, I believe it had to be fairly recent.
In any case, I'm glad we have many good audio shops in and around Denver. Cherry Creek Audio was not one of them.
If you don't mind. Since I am a relative newbie to the Denver area what are some of the shops you recommend?
Thanks.
I had plans to attend RMAF this year and looked forward to visiting Denver, unfortunately things just didn't work out, but I do hope to get there next year.
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