Upgrade from Boulder 1100 Series to Boulder 2100 Series

[Stevet]

I recently made two major upgrades to my hi fi system and one other upgrade. I have Magico S3 2023 speakers and was using the Boulder 1110/1160 combination, which sounded good, but I just knew I could do better. So I took the plunge and sold the 1100 pair and ordered and purchased the Boulder 2110/2160 preamp/amp combination. I also moved all of my equipment and racks (except the power amp) from between the speakers and to the side wall about 15 feet in front of the speakers. What a wonderful change and improvement. The 2110/2160 combination is far, far more musical and emotionally involving than the 1110/1160 combination, without loss of anything. In every respect this is a huge improvement and has really, really made these Magico speakers come to life and yet completely disappear at the same time. I also believe that moving the equipment to the side wall has contributed to the better sound, but the major improvement is from going to the Boulder 2100 Series. I can appreciate that some people find that the Boulder 1110/1160 combination sounds a bit on the cool and analytical side, but that sure is not the case with the 2110/2160 combination. The sound with the 2100 series Boulder amp/preamp and Magico S3 speakers is so much richer and more three dimensional (wider, deeper and extended in every direction), with no loss of detail. And the detail is not distracting in any way from the music, which can be the case with overly analytical amps and preamps. The bass is better in every way without dominating the sound in any way or distracting, and the 1100 series was not weak in this way, it is just that the 2100 series is profoundly better. If you can make this work financially I STRONGLY recommend going to the Boulder 2100 series if you are thinking of solid state and wish to upgrade your preamp and amp. It is such a joy to hear this system now. I cannot see how anyone would be disappointed in any way. I also understand that now is probably a good time to make such an upgrade as future pricing is likely to go up, perhaps significantly, within the next 6 months or so because of tariffs and economic uncertainty. I have listened to the new 1162 and 1163 power amps from Boulder at Axpona (not at a dealer or in a home) and at least with this limited experience can say that while the 1162 and 1163 are very, very good, the 2160 is far superior to either the 1162 or 1163. My two cents.

 

[Lee]

The new 1100 series Boulder monos at Axpona on the Wilson Watt Puppies was one of the very best rooms at the show imho.

 

[Stevet]

The new 1100 series Boulder monos at Axpona on the Wilson Watt Puppies was one of the very best rooms at the show imho.

As I said, "new 1162 and 1163 power amps from Boulder at Axpona" ... "are very, very good", but you should really listen to the 2110/2160 combination for comparison.

 

[divertiti]

As I said, "new 1162 and 1163 power amps from Boulder at Axpona" ... "are very, very good", but you should really listen to the 2110/2160 combination for comparison.

I haven't heard the 1162, but have compared the new 1151 Monos with 2160 on a couple of different occasions, they come very close. In SWAF, there were two very similar rooms by the same exhibitor, one with Rockport Orion driven by 2160 and another with the smaller Rockport Lynx driven by the 1151 monos. Almost everyone I spoke to, myself included, preferred the Lynx with the 1151s. That's just one data point, agree that any interested buyer should audition both and decide if the price difference is worth it.