Boulder amp from hell...

[KeithR]

Their name is very descriptive of character of their sound, that's why many don't care for them!

david

+1

 

[microstrip]

Boulder amps are one of those oddities in that they just don't get much respect in some audiophile circles. However, it should be noted that according to Boulder, all of their behemoth amps are optimally designed to work with 220V and NOT 110V as most of you have commonly heard them. Believe me, the difference is astonishing. I heard this effect from an AC line voltage change on Brian Flowers' Alexandria based system back in DFW a few years ago (with the 2060) and was astounded at the difference.(...)

Probably the problem was with the 110V mains power line. 220V requires half the current, so the relative voltage drop will be half. Another possibility is that the amplifier has a very poor mains noise rejection and the 220V balanced supply cleans it, but I find difficult that such an high quality amplifier suffers from such problems.

 

[ddk]

Probably the problem was with the 110V mains power line. 220V requires half the current, so the relative voltage drop will be half. Another possibility is that the amplifier has a very poor mains noise rejection and the 220V balanced supply cleans it, but I find difficult that such an high quality amplifier suffers from such problems.

No, it's crappy transformers if that is true!

david

 

[opus112]

Probably the problem was with the 110V mains power line. 220V requires half the current, so the relative voltage drop will be half.

A 220V input amp will be four times as tolerant to the mains impedance as a 110V input version. Or put another way, the 220V version will sound like you've installed 4X the current capacity mains wiring, compared to the 110V.

 

[BFlowers]

Just have a few moments and wanted to jot down some quick thoughts. As many of you are aware, I recently built a new audio room. I spent over a year listening to every high end system and component that I could. I ended up selecting the Boulder 2110/3060 combo. We all have different priorities, but for me these were preferred. These seem to pull everything off of the recording that is there. Once you have heard that, it's hard to hear less. The challenge with Boulder is that they don't have much of a sound of their own. This, combined with incredible transparency can make it very difficult and frustrating to get things just right. The reviewers kind of get it right when they point out that one can easily hear an outlet change, cable change, etc. It took me a couple of years to get my old 2010/2060 set up just right. Had I not accomplished that, I'm not sure I would have gone that route again. But, I can see how someone could listen to a boulder system that hasn't been completely sorted out, and think it didn't sound very good.

 

[LL21]

Just have a few moments and wanted to jot down some quick thoughts. As many of you are aware, I recently built a new audio room. I spent over a year listening to every high end system and component that I could. I ended up selecting the Boulder 2110/3060 combo. We all have different priorities, but for me these were preferred. These seem to pull everything off of the recording that is there. Once you have heard that, it's hard to hear less. The challenge with Boulder is that they don't have much of a sound of their own. This, combined with incredible transparency can make it very difficult and frustrating to get things just right. The reviewers kind of get it right when they point out that one can easily hear an outlet change, cable change, etc. It took me a couple of years to get my old 2010/2060 set up just right. Had I not accomplished that, I'm not sure I would have gone that route again. But, I can see how someone could listen to a boulder system that hasn't been completely sorted out, and think it didn't sound very good.

Absolutely fantastic. Congrats...i would absolutely love to hear the 3000 series Boulder. 2060 was remarkable...would love to read your thoughts on the 3060 in comparison even if perhaps 'there is no comparison'.

 

[gds7368]

I have a 2110/3060 combo as well, and there is also an advantage in terms of lower distortion with using 220 for the preamp.
So I had the electrician run separate dedicated 220 lines for both the preamplifier and amplifier.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I have a 2110/3060 combo as well, and there is also an advantage in terms of lower distortion with using 220 for the preamp.
So I had the electrician run separate dedicated 220 lines for both the preamplifier and amplifier.

congrats on the fantastic gear, and welcome to What's Best Forum.

I hope to someday hear the 2110/3060 combo in an appropriately worthy system. I have no doubt that such capable gear needs to be properly presented, and that feeding it ideal power is a critical factor.

 

[LL21]

I have a 2110/3060 combo as well, and there is also an advantage in terms of lower distortion with using 220 for the preamp.
So I had the electrician run separate dedicated 220 lines for both the preamplifier and amplifier.

Fantastic. Congrats on such an august pre/power combination. What might be the rest of your system? Most interested to hear more about it!

 

[gds7368]

Thanks for the welcoming!!! NAS into Mac Mini running Roon, Boulder 2120 DAC, 2110 preamp, 3060 amp, Magico M Pro speakers, Critical Mass Maxxum stands, Nordost Odin 2 cables and power cords. Would love to add analog too just haven’t taken that step. The system is in a room designed by an audio engineer with absorptive walls (couple reflective points by design, but almost all panels absorb sound) that pulls double duty as my home theater. So one of the 2110 inputs is a Kaleidescape Strato 4K Ultra HD movie player into Datasat rs20i into Sony 4K projector.

 

[LL21]

Thanks for the welcoming!!! NAS into Mac Mini running Roon, Boulder 2120 DAC, 2110 preamp, 3060 amp, Magico M Pro speakers, Critical Mass Maxxum stands, Nordost Odin 2 cables and power cords. Would love to add analog too just haven’t taken that step. The system is in a room designed by an audio engineer with absorptive walls (couple reflective points by design, but almost all panels absorb sound) that pulls double duty as my home theater. So one of the 2110 inputs is a Kaleidescape Strato 4K Ultra HD movie player into Datasat rs20i into Sony 4K projector.

Fantastic! Quite a system! In fact, I am actually more interested in your thoughts on the Kaleidescape which I am very interested in.

1. How exactly does it work? If we own 600 DVDs and Blu-Rays...do you burn them all on your hard drive?
2. What happens if you have multiple regions...does that cause issues with Kaleidescape?
3. What is the difference between their 2 main lines of products?

Thanks for any guidance...i have read the website and came away with these questions...and am still waiting for dealer here to provide answers.

As a consumer...how high quality is it...are you happy with it...since it apparently costs more than other options, why did you buy Kaleidescape instead...and do you think it was worth it?

 

[gds7368]

Sorry for the delay ... just got back from vacation in Costa Rica ....

1. To burn movies you would need Kaleidescape's Premiere line to back up discs to local HD, such as an M500 Movie Player plus a 1 U+ Movie Server or Disc Vault. I assume you could still buy new movies from the Kaleidescape movie store at that point, but would verify that with the dealer (can't imagine they wouldn't want that money). I have a great local dealer if you need more info, just let me know.

2. Not sure about the Regional discs, such as movies from India or China. Would need to ask a Kaleidescape dealer or rep that one.

3. I have the Kaleidescape Strato movie play and love it. The key to getting the most out of a movie theater is great source material (such as Dolby Atmos 4K UHD) into a good control system (such as Datasat) with a well integrated solution layout (4K projector/tv, quality speakers). Then the 4K UHD video on a Kaleidescape really shines as it is is fully uncompressed, unlike Apple TV 4K or Roku 4K which are extremely compressed. By comparison, I also have Roku 4K player in the same theater room so I have seen Vudu UHD and Netflix 4K movies in the same setting. Vudu movies are great for date night (choose a movie together, then it streams real-time) but Vudu UHD (or any other source) demonstrate compromised blacks, color smearing, and - importantly - very constricted sound. Can't say enough of how amazing uncompressed video and full surround audio transforms the movie experience during Kaleidescape movies. Both picture and sound, other sources seem like MP3 by comparison.

The Kaleidescape store sends emails each week for the new movies that are available, so I usually have several ready to go at all times.

I am very happy with the Kaleidescape purchase and would definitely recommend it. I still watch and enjoy Vudu, Hulu and Netflix in the same room, they just aren't anywhere near as much fun. I'm working on a turntable next for the same idea ... might as well get the best source information since we spend so many hours getting everything else in the system right (to our eyes and ears).

 

[LL21]

Fantastic and welcome back. Thanks for that...will continue to pursue Kaleidescape.