Vesuvius, I would not say the Boulders are "sterile", that suggests they are lean which from experience with Boulder products they are not. And this is Boulder's best Class A amp, so the sound should be very linear, smooth & spectacular. If there was too much neutrality in that system, easy solution is add a very nice vinyl source or warmer sounding cd player like Vitus. And maybe switch cables to some cables with good body/warmth like Siltech Royal Sig's or Jorma Prime.