T&A preamps are not a good match with Boulder power amps. They bring nothing positive to the party but make the sound sterile. I tried one with my 2060, shortest demo ever.
1110 & 1160
- Thread starter Hamburger
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T&A preamps are not a good match with Boulder power amps. They bring nothing positive to the party but make the sound sterile. I tried one with my 2060, shortest demo ever.
This is a very interesting dilemma you have, and the answer will be dictated by your preferred musical interpretation.
The Boulder preamp will extend frequency response at both extremes. The sound will be awesome, and you will likely experience surprise that a preamp can bring so much dynamism, so much bass extension and such vibrancy.
Substitute a valve pre amp and you will inevitably lose some of the shock and awe of the pure Boulder combo. But you may find you gain a little intimacy and some of that 3am smoky jazz club seductiveness that valves can bring.
Personally i find a valve preamp, solid state power amp to be the ideal combination, just intensely musical and immensely satisfying, but with limitless power.
However i could equally live with a Boulder pre power combo, that scale and power are very addictive. But it would not be better....just different.
I wish you the best of luck!
Hi, I answer to You late because I haven't been to the forum for a long time. Your speech is interesting, but above all, You have analyzed the differences between using a Boulder preamp or a vacuum tube preamp. Actually My current dilemma is between staying with the dac/pre Bricasti M1SE or investing in the purchase of a Boulder 1110. I know it is not easy to theoretically establish what I can expect with the inclusion of the Boulder preamp, but I'm curious to read your opinion about these two options.
I also have to say that the sound of my system, without the preamp, is very pleasant, and does not seem to lack anything (just a hint of volume on rare occasions), but I have never tried with an 1110...
Many Thanks (and sorry for the bad translation)
Roberto
I've heard the 1100 series amps on a few occasions, the last couple of sessions with the APL Hifi DSD-MR tube dac. With some tubes in the mix, the sound is powerful, well controlled, natural, resolved & dimensional thanks to the tube dac.
Bodhi, what is that dac like? At €50k, it's a bit rich for my blood, and the one review available came across as a little sycophantic. But I am intrigued a little by it. APL was one of the interesting left field choices along w Stahl Tek a decade ago.
Roberto your English is just fine, but i must apologise for giving the impression that i know what I'm talking about....luckily Bodhi is more knowledgeable ?
Thank You for the testimonials, but I decided to end up with tube electronics; last month I sold my Convergent SL1 UMKII, and now I'm happy with an all transistors system.
As I have already wrote, my only doubt, is if to add an 1110 preamp, or continue with my Bricasti M1 connected directly to 1160; I should like to know if my system can take a concrete step forward or if instead it is just a small nuance (with the addition of a Boulder preamp). If the improvement is small details, I could change goal and replace my Bryston BDP-2 digital player with an Innuos The Statement, which I see is very well considered in this forum.
As I have already wrote, my only doubt, is if to add an 1110 preamp, or continue with my Bricasti M1 connected directly to 1160; I should like to know if my system can take a concrete step forward or if instead it is just a small nuance (with the addition of a Boulder preamp). If the improvement is small details, I could change goal and replace my Bryston BDP-2 digital player with an Innuos The Statement, which I see is very well considered in this forum.
I would say that if you are looking to increase the dynamics of your system, go with the Boulder pre amp. I was genuinely astonished at the increase in bass extension the addition of a Boulder 2110 brought to my system. I doubt i would have felt the same need to add subwoofers to my system if i had experienced that house-shaking bass first. By comparison the Vitus Reference Linestage, while equallybeautifully textured, sounded a bit tentative and lacking balls
Sonically, what do you value in your system?
What would you change about it's presentation?
What would you like to achieve?
For my part i would have been very curious to hear you Convergent/Boulder combination.
While i adore my Wavac, on paper it isn't the best match for my 2060, so i doubt it will be the final pre amp i partner with it.
Other pre amps that arose my curiosity include offerings from VAC, Tenor, FM Acoustics, Robert Koda, David Berning, perhaps even the ARC Ref 10 or CAT
Sonically, what do you value in your system?
What would you change about it's presentation?
What would you like to achieve?
For my part i would have been very curious to hear you Convergent/Boulder combination.
While i adore my Wavac, on paper it isn't the best match for my 2060, so i doubt it will be the final pre amp i partner with it.
Other pre amps that arose my curiosity include offerings from VAC, Tenor, FM Acoustics, Robert Koda, David Berning, perhaps even the ARC Ref 10 or CAT
Of my current system I am very satisfied, with the PMC BB5 I got both the detail and the great impact, even the dynamics is excellent, so I could easily stop as I am; the only small limit is the lack of a bit of volume with some low recordings, also because the BB5s have the ability to swallow several watts and play really loud without going into crisis, but it only concerns a very small part of my records.
The Convergent that I tried for a few months together with 1160, sonically did not add anything interesting compared to Bricasti alone. Certainly a greater reserve of volume (of which I spoke earlier), but also a greater breath due to the tubes (while now there is only silence).
I was intrigued by the synergy that a Boulder preamp should bring, while maintaining silence and cleanliness. At the same time there is a bit of fear of hearing small differences, paid at a high price.
I doubt it will be a subtle difference.
I would be more concerned that you may find it too 'Technicolor', if anything
I would be more concerned that you may find it too 'Technicolor', if anything
I don't know if I understood well your definition... Perhaps you mean that I could find a sound that is more loaded with effect and less neutral and transparent?
I have heard most of the D'Agostino gear but not those specific pieces, except at shows. I have heard the Progression Mono amps many times. I know Boulder gear pretty well. I have had a Boulder amp and phono stage in my system for over 10 years. I demoed the 1110 in my system for a few days and if I were in the market for a preamp at that level, I would buy it.
Better built, better sound, more reliable and much more advanced user interface with great versatility.Dangerous words indeed!
Hi Chuck, why would you choose the 1110 over the Progression? What's the attraction to you, I wonder.
Been thinking about this and i wanted to try and give you a better answer.
I would describe the sound with the Boulder pre amp as more vivid, and slightly scaled up, or bigger sounding, and a bit cleaner with a lower noise floor.
With my Wavac i experience more atmosphere, a slightly darker tonal balance, relatively a bit scaled down and more intimate
Stepping back you might also describe these as perhaps the fundamental sonic characteristics of solid state and valves, respectively
I hope that's less cryptic, and more helpful to you, Roberto
I thought that, at least for this parameter, the configuration with the direct dac would have been better; Translating: no preamp = less noise floor...
...or as an alternative, a new passive, autotransformer volume control preamp: http://www.townshendaudio.com/allegri-reference-preamplifier/
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