I'm in DC for Capital Audiofest and stopped into JS Audio today to compare "entry level" (using that term pretty loosely in this case) Boulder and D'Agostino gear. In this case the Progression pre/stereo power vs. Boulder 1110/1161 vs. Boulder 1110/1160.
Some context.
I've just begun the journey of upgrading most of the components in my system. My current system was built in the late 90's and consists of:
VPI TNT 3
Graham Phantom 2 (replaced a 2.0 that died and Bob no longer had parts to fix it)
Lyra Kleos
Herron VTPH-1 MC
Audio Research LS-25
Wilson Watt/Puppy 6
The Watt/Puppy 6's were replaced about a month ago with a pair of CPO Alexia 2's from JS Audio. Planning to replace the pre/power next, although at these price points they will be done one at a time.
The audition system (below)
DCS Bartok (non-Apex I think)
Wilson Alexia 1
Assorted Nordost cabling
First up was the D'Agostino combo. Very full bodied and rich sound. Comparing it to my existing gear at home significantly more detail and much, much much better bass control. My McCormack DNA-1 deluxe can't quite control the woofers of the Alexia 2's, this was iron-clad in the bass by comparison. The one knock against the D'Agostino gear was that the bass on some tracks sounded a tiny bit rounded. I don't want to say it was bloat but rather a slight loss of detail, like sanding a sharp edge to make it rounded.
Next up was the boulder 1110/1161. The presentation here was very different, a bit more recessed in the stage (like sitting 2-3 rows further back) and a bit thinner than the D'Agostino gear. On the other hand the sound was also faster and had more detail; small details in the music jumped out more with the Boulder gear. This really emphasized the rounded off feeling I had with the D'Agostino gear in the bass but across the entire audio range. It made me feel like the D'Agostino was trading detail for a fuller presentation. If I had to choose I preferred the Boulder presentation but did find myself wanting a bit of that fullness the D'Agostino offered.
Finally we replaced the 1161 with the 1160. I wasn't expecting there to be a meaningful difference aside from turning the volume down by 3db, but boy was I wrong. Within seconds of the first track the dealer muttered "I don't remember these being that different" and the difference between the two power amps was pretty stark. The 1160 completely cured the thinness the 1160 had but kept the speed and detail. It was pretty much the best of both worlds.
Definitely preferred the 1110/1160; the problem will be figuring out a way to pay for it. That last price increase on the 1160 was pretty painful and pushed it a bit out of reach.
Some context.
I've just begun the journey of upgrading most of the components in my system. My current system was built in the late 90's and consists of:
VPI TNT 3
Graham Phantom 2 (replaced a 2.0 that died and Bob no longer had parts to fix it)
Lyra Kleos
Herron VTPH-1 MC
Audio Research LS-25
Wilson Watt/Puppy 6
The Watt/Puppy 6's were replaced about a month ago with a pair of CPO Alexia 2's from JS Audio. Planning to replace the pre/power next, although at these price points they will be done one at a time.
The audition system (below)
DCS Bartok (non-Apex I think)
Wilson Alexia 1
Assorted Nordost cabling
First up was the D'Agostino combo. Very full bodied and rich sound. Comparing it to my existing gear at home significantly more detail and much, much much better bass control. My McCormack DNA-1 deluxe can't quite control the woofers of the Alexia 2's, this was iron-clad in the bass by comparison. The one knock against the D'Agostino gear was that the bass on some tracks sounded a tiny bit rounded. I don't want to say it was bloat but rather a slight loss of detail, like sanding a sharp edge to make it rounded.
Next up was the boulder 1110/1161. The presentation here was very different, a bit more recessed in the stage (like sitting 2-3 rows further back) and a bit thinner than the D'Agostino gear. On the other hand the sound was also faster and had more detail; small details in the music jumped out more with the Boulder gear. This really emphasized the rounded off feeling I had with the D'Agostino gear in the bass but across the entire audio range. It made me feel like the D'Agostino was trading detail for a fuller presentation. If I had to choose I preferred the Boulder presentation but did find myself wanting a bit of that fullness the D'Agostino offered.
Finally we replaced the 1161 with the 1160. I wasn't expecting there to be a meaningful difference aside from turning the volume down by 3db, but boy was I wrong. Within seconds of the first track the dealer muttered "I don't remember these being that different" and the difference between the two power amps was pretty stark. The 1160 completely cured the thinness the 1160 had but kept the speed and detail. It was pretty much the best of both worlds.
Definitely preferred the 1110/1160; the problem will be figuring out a way to pay for it. That last price increase on the 1160 was pretty painful and pushed it a bit out of reach.