Boulder Hi End Products

[Tonepub]

Originally Posted by Still-One

Jeff
I am not speaking about sound, rather standard costs and BOM. We all know there is little correlation between the cost of materials and the end cost of a product. Just because Boulder chooses to tool their production a certain way or Zanden only has one individual qualified to polish their cases does not mean the cost do for aluminum is changes.

I have liked the Boulder gear I have heard and would have to say their gear powering the Focal EM's would be in the top three of all systems I have experienced.

JIm

Actually I was referring to parts cost. Again, Mc uses very good parts, but they do shy away from the really exotic resistors, caps and other parts that are commonplace in some of the super high end gear like Boulder. The CJ GAT preamp uses a dozen big teflon caps that cost $350 EACH under the hood and you won't ever see parts like that in a McIntosh, hence the much more reasonable price.

Originally Posted by wakkz

Boulder is nice. Listened to their Linux driven CD player connected to mcintosh mc1201 and focal grand utopia. Was quite an experience! Boulder is big very quality crafted piece of machines with as they say, patented patterns on its sides.

Focal has the right idea when it comes to Power Handling for the Speaker. The Grand Utopia EM are rated at 1500W RMS. That is how The Wilson Alexandrias II and a few other brands should be rated. At least at that level you lessen the chances of blowing out drivers even in the conservatively rated speakers. The KEF MUON as expensive as it is and as good as it sounds is rated at 500W. Shame!!
At least when you have adequate power handling from a speaker you don't have to worry too much about the speaker performing double duty; home theater as well as music. It's not always a given that you want the same speaker for both functions, but when it can do it that is a plus. A lot of drivers are blown when the increased dynamics in Digital soundtracks tests a speakers metal. People would be surprised to know some of the brands whose drivers have been blown during movie watching. Too little power to begin with; and drivers in highend speakers ARE EXPENSIVE!!! IMHO most of the big tower floor standers should be constructed to perform double-duty anywayz, and they should start out w/ 1000-1200W RMS.

[AeroSmith]

Precisely why I like the Wilson MAXX3s. There is no maximum amplifier wattage rating, only a minimum. They're greedy buggers. They'll suck up what they can get and refuse to come alive with not enough. And they're doing double duty, as you say, in a two-channel home theatre. Love the freedom they give me.

[telematic]

Hi,guys!

What do you think about Boulder 1060 and Westlake Audio BBSM-15VNF combination?

[Masterlu]

telematic... Welcome!

Originally Posted by telematic

Hi,guys!

What do you think about Boulder 1060 and Westlake Audio BBSM-15VNF combination?

Telematic, I previously owned a Boulder 1060 and was using a modded Ayon CD-5s as tube linestage driving a pair of 87db/6ohm Martin Coltranes, so I am familiar with that amp. After having a look at the specs for your Westlake speakers, my first impression is at 99db efficiency with a nominal 4ohm load the Boulder might be overkill. My Coltrane Alto's were not very efficient and loved the power and control the 1060 delivered, but the Westlakes are a much more efficient speaker.

Generally horn-loaded speakers like yours with paper cone drivers sound best with tube amps, or warm tube-like amps. Notwithstanding the massive weight of your speakers, you could probably get away with a nice tube amp, or a warm tube like ss amp. In ss amps, i'd recommend the Modwright KWA-150SE or Aesthetix Atlas hybrid stereo amp at the lower price point, at the mid price point i'd recommend the Aesthetix Atlas mono's, Vitus RS-100, Hegel H30, Rowland 625 or Pass XA-100.5 mono's, or in the high price range i'd recommend the Vitus SIA-025 class a integrated amp which is also warm and displays tube-like qualities. The Vitus is a little bit more expensive than the Boulder, but then again it is an integrated amp. I own an SIA-025 & just posted a review here fyi.

As far as tube amps go, there are endless options. On the budget end (but still bloody good) i'd look at Leben. Going higher end i'd look at the Vac 300.1a or brands like Einstein, VTL, Lamm or Cary.

Cheers,

[telematic]

Originally Posted by Bodhisattva

Telematic, I previously owned a Boulder 1060 and was using a modded Ayon CD-5s as tube linestage driving a pair of 87db/6ohm Martin Coltranes, so I am familiar with that amp. After having a look at the specs for your Westlake speakers, my first impression is at 99db efficiency with a nominal 4ohm load the Boulder might be overkill. My Coltrane Alto's were not very efficient and loved the power and control the 1060 delivered, but the Westlakes are a much more efficient speaker.

Generally horn-loaded speakers like yours with paper cone drivers sound best with tube amps, or warm tube-like amps. Notwithstanding the massive weight of your speakers, you could probably get away with a nice tube amp, or a warm tube like ss amp. In ss amps, i'd recommend the Modwright KWA-150SE or Aesthetix Atlas hybrid stereo amp at the lower price point, at the mid price point i'd recommend the Aesthetix Atlas mono's, Vitus RS-100, Hegel H30, Rowland 625 or Pass XA-100.5 mono's, or in the high price range i'd recommend the Vitus SIA-025 class a integrated amp which is also warm and displays tube-like qualities. The Vitus is a little bit more expensive than the Boulder, but then again it is an integrated amp. I own an SIA-025 & just posted a review here fyi.

As far as tube amps go, there are endless options. On the budget end (but still bloody good) i'd look at Leben. Going higher end i'd look at the Vac 300.1a or brands like Einstein, VTL, Lamm or Cary.

Cheers,

Thank you for your reply!
My Westlakes have great sensitivity, but according to manufacturer info, it's impedance may falls as low as 2Ohms. So I need an amp with great current capability.
As for a tube amps, it's not my style. They don't give good bass for my favorite music styles.
That is why I'm looking towards Boulder.

[telematic]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

telematic... Welcome!

Thanx!

Originally Posted by telematic

Thank you for your reply!
My Westlakes have great sensitivity, but according to manufacturer info, it's impedance may falls as low as 2Ohms. So I need an amp with great current capability.
As for a tube amps, it's not my style. They don't give good bass for my favorite music styles.
That is why I'm looking towards Boulder.

YW. Well the Boulder 1060 certainly has a lot of current. It's damping factor was around 3000 from memory! It is a superbly designed and built amp & is certainly capable of driving a difficult speaker load. It sounds natural and neutral in tonal balance. Some punters think it sounds a bit lean. I would not say it is lean per say. It is actually correct in the way it portrays music, but I (personally) like a warmer sound which sounds like a good hybrid amp (eg: Tenor) and the Vitus fits that bill to a t. My advice is try to find a dealer who has a 1060 for audition & see if they will arrange a home demo for you.

I can email you the technical white paper for the 1060 & links to reviews (some of which are not available online) if you wish? Just send me a pm with your email addy.

Cheers,

[telematic]

Originally Posted by Bodhisattva

YW. Well the Boulder 1060 certainly has a lot of current. It's damping factor was around 3000 from memory! It is a superbly designed and built amp & is certainly capable of driving a difficult speaker load. It sounds natural and neutral in tonal balance. Some punters think it sounds a bit lean. I would not say it is lean per say. It is actually correct in the way it portrays music, but I (personally) like a warmer sound which sounds like a good hybrid amp (eg: Tenor) and the Vitus fits that bill to a t. My advice is try to find a dealer who has a 1060 for audition & see if they will arrange a home demo for you.

I can email you the technical white paper for the 1060 & links to reviews (some of which are not available online) if you wish? Just send me a pm with your email addy.

Cheers,

Ok, according your description, Boulder is good amp for me. Unfortunately, I can't get any audio equipment for audition. Only pay and try ;-)
I tried to sent you PM, but I have no enough rights yet probably.