Boulder 3060 smooth and a maybe even a bit warm?

[pk_LA]

Tonight the 3060 got installed. Picture below.

There is one major hiccup. There is a distinct hum coming from the speakers. It seems to be primarily related to the dimmers - the room has 12 lights on 3 separate Lutron Radio Ra dimmers. But, even when I killed the breaker to the controls for the lights there was still an ever so slight hum. My concern is that it is related to the new 240V/30A breaker I had put in to accommodate the amp - which required the walls to be torn up! Anyway, I am hopeful that we will sort it.

As for sound..it is early to really say. When the new amp got installed I also had all new Transparent Gen6 Opus power/interconnects/speaker cables put in plus a brand new VTL pre-amp on demo. With that said, the amp has massively better bass control than the d'Agostino did. The micro detail is awesome. And, it is quite musical. With that said, the soundstage is great for vocals- not so hot for rest of range. The musicality also varies massively depending on the recording. It's great on great recordings and actually bad on mediocre ones. "No Time to Die" by Billie Eilish was great whereas 'Street Spirit' by Radiohead was akin to listening in the car.

 

[BillK]

What you describe is what Boulder actually often describes - good recordings will be good, bad recordings will be bad and the 3060 is transparent to the source.

If you want something that will make all recordings sound good, you have to choose another brand.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Congratulations on getting the new components installed, Patrick!

 

[pk_LA]

Thanks Ron - I just hope it gets sorted out. I was so disappointed when I heard the buzz/hum. I really really don't want to tear that room's walls apart again!

 

[BillK]

I neglected to ask how you got a 3060 into place there without a forklift.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Congrats

If i had one it would be centerstage in the room lol with lights on them .
I usually put the power amp as far away from anything else( low level signal ) as possible (between the speakers )
I also got a hum from my system when my new CAT pre amp arrived 3 months ago .
Turned out it was caused by my phone charger being to close to the pre , with the old one i never had this issue .

 

[dandylinpsst]

Thanks Ron - I just hope it gets sorted out. I was so disappointed when I heard the buzz/hum. I really really don't want to tear that room's walls apart again!

My sixth sense tells me it's VTL pre-amp who caused this problem!
Try the boulder 1100 or 2110 pre-amp.

 

[LL21]

From my experience with Opus 5 break-in, you also definitely have at least 100-150 hours to go from burn-in on the cables. Mid-focused beauty is pretty consistent...over time, it starts to spread out, then collapses and then spreads out beautifully across the spectrum and deepens, etc, etc.

 

[sbnx]

@pk_LA, It sounds like you have a basic ground loop issue. You have your amp plugged into one outlet (220V) and the rest of your front end plugged into another outlet (110V). The difference in ground impedance between these two paths is resulting in the 60Hz/120 Hz hum you are hearing coming through your speakers. The good news is that this should be relatively simple to resolve and no need to tear up your walls.

The back of your amp has two ground connections (See picture). Get a ground cable. This does not have to be expensive. (any wire will work as you just need the electrical connection.) Connect one end to the ground connection on the back of the amp and connect the other end to the ground of your power conditioner or surge protector or whatever it is you are plugging all of your front end gear into. This should clear up the hum related to the ground loop. But it won't fix the issue with the dimmers.

 

[pk_LA]

4 people and it was tricky!

@pk_LA, It sounds like you have a basic ground loop issue. You have your amp plugged into one outlet (220V) and the rest of your front end plugged into another outlet (110V). The difference in ground impedance between these two paths is resulting in the 60Hz/120 Hz hum you are hearing coming through your speakers. The good news is that this should be relatively simple to resolve and no need to tear up your walls.

The back of your amp has two ground connections (See picture). Get a ground cable. This does not have to be expensive. (any wire will work as you just need the electrical connection.) Connect one end to the ground connection on the back of the amp and connect the other end to the ground of your power conditioner or surge protector or whatever it is you are plugging all of your front end gear into. This should clear up the hum related to the ground loop. But it won't fix the issue with the dimmers.

thank you for this! it was, in fact, a ground issue

 

[pk_LA]

Today I asked the electrician who installed the outlets/breakers for the system and amp to come and take a look. They installed a cable directly from the ground on the circuit to the ground spike and the hum/buzz vanished.

Also, after playing the system all day on lowish volume and then listening tonight it sounds significantly better! That said, I also eliminated the pre-amp from the chain. As such it has become a tad dry compared to before.

Anyway, I know look forward to directly comparing the Boulder 3010 to the Nagra HD to the VTL TL7.5 III.

On a somewhat related note I did A|B the Transparent Opus Gen 6 power cord to the stock one that came with the Boulder. The Trans was smoother and had noticeably larger soundstage. The stock cord was somewhat more etched - if that makes sense. The difference was not huge. That said, I look at what I have spent for much smaller gains and, with that in mind, I would recommend the Transparent Opus power cord.

 

[gds7368]

What you describe is what Boulder actually often describes - good recordings will be good, bad recordings will be bad and the 3060 is transparent to the source.

If you want something that will make all recordings sound good, you have to choose another brand.

I'm going to echo this after living with the 3060 for 4 years (now gone). It sounds AMAZING on great recordings ... but lesser recordings just have nowhere to hide. That being said I only had digital when I owned it - so analog may be the bees knees for a Boulder system. I kick myself for not trying my all-Boulder system with a turntable ....

 

[infinitely baffled]

There is a large and wide spectrum of sonic options and varieties between the coolness* and control of a Boulder and the "make every recording sound 'smooth' and 'musical'" of, for example, a syrupy old-fashioned tube amplifier.

Some people want to focus on hearing music, and not hearing the technical and frequency response "limits" of the loudspeakers.

*I have not heard the 3060 myself. But I found other Boulder amps to sound, to me, on the "cool" side. I tend to hear things similarly to Shakti, and if he finds Boulder to be on the cool side I am sure I would concur.

Ron i would say to you (and Shakti) the the Boulder sound has changed significantly since the 1060 he owned. The jump from 2060 to 2160 was huge, the improvements coming via a rich, musical presentation- although obviously your choice of pre amp will radically affect the character.
Personally i would go to great lengths to hear a 3060. I don't know of any in Europe.

 

[infinitely baffled]

Also, I concede, I am speculating from afar. I am still merely assuming, without knowing, that the Boulder 3060 has the very slightly cool overall sonic presentation I personally heard from Boulder amplifiers in the past. Perhaps the 3060 has a different sonic presentation on this particular sonic spectrum than prior Boulder amplifiers.

Indeed it does, Ron

 

[nonesup]

Personally i would go to great lengths to hear a 3060. I don't know of any in Europe.

At Ultimate Audio (Lisbon) they have a 3060.

 

[nonesup]

 

[infinitely baffled]

At Ultimate Audio (Lisbon) they have a 3060.

Have you had a chance to hear it?

 

[nonesup]

I'm not sorry. With Covid 19 I have not traveled outside my country for two years. They now have Boulder 3060, CH M 10, and have just received Gryphon Apex. They are out of my reach but it would be very nice to hear them and I have always liked to visit Lisbon.

 

[LL21]

Have you had a chance to hear it?

I have communicated with Miguel at Ultimate Audio, and he said it is truly rarified and exceptional in performance.

 

[LL21]

I'm not sorry. With Covid 19 I have not traveled outside my country for two years. They now have Boulder 3060, CH M 10, and have just received Gryphon Apex. They are out of my reach but it would be very nice to hear them and I have always liked to visit Lisbon.

WOW! Quite a collection!