So i had a total of 5 people come over over the last 2 days and each and everyone of them said the same thing which was that they have never ever heard anything sound remotely close in my room or living room to what i have put together now. I am actually beyond shocked myself at how good things sound. I can't put it into words that can describe the great feeling i have with entire system as a whole. The synergy, dynamics, speed, explosiveness, muscularity, clarity, layers of detail, zero fatigue, etc, etc, etc. Me saying that i am happy would be an understatement because i am actually FLOORED with how everything is sounding.
With that out of the way, here are my thoughts of the pass labs xp30 vs boulder 2010:
Pass labs xp30 PROS:
- sounds very lively
-rounded high frequencies which allows you to listen to recordings that are not perfect
- great punch and meat on the bones when it comes to the lows
- awesome mids that reminds you that this is a class a preamp
- open soundstage
- not analytical or cold. It is very inviting and works hard to make each song as pleasant as possible
- excellent bang for the buck
Boulder 2010 Pros:
- clear like water
- Bass control with zero bloat or overhang
- amazing separation and imaging
- it gives you nothing but the facts
- It will reward you by letting you hear each hard earned dollar you spend in your system
- dynamics are startling to the point that you almost cringe each time the music has dynamic swings
-the best built preamp i have ever owned and i mean miles and miles ahead. It actually makes ARC preamps look and feel like toys in comparison.
Pass labs xp30 CONS: (please note that these are based on the comparison i made to the boulder 2010 which is 3 times the price)
- sounds congested at times
- lacks the speed & dynamics of more expensive preamps
- It is not as transparent as the boulder 2010. ( i actually did not hear much of a difference using a cd or streaming tidal through this preamp, but i did notice a difference through the boulder)
- it has great bass, but not as controlled or tight as the boulder
Boulder 2010 cons:
- $$$$$$$
-$$$$$$$$$$$$
- very transparent which means it will put your weak points right in your face
- very but very difficult to find on the used market
- you will find yourself thinking about buying expensive powercords to see how much better it can sound
With all that said, the gap between both preamps is quite obvious through my system. Yesterday i actually had one person tell me that he thinks the boulder 2010 is about 60% of my success here and the xs300s probably the other 40% (he was not counting the speakers) so who knows if this boulder is what is making my alexias sing the way they do now. The only way to find out will be by me buying another preamp at some point and see what the outcome will be.
For me, i feel that found the preamp that will continue to go forward with me in this journey and will only be sold if another preamp can come in here and beat it, but other than that i won't move out of it. It took me 2 years to find it so i won't take that chance.
What is in my head right now? well, first it is to sell all this stuff i have in my room that i am not using anymore and then begin to look into getting a better streamer to feed a better signal to my esoteric k1. i actually demoed the aurender w20 today and was very impressed. i am also thinking about doing a home demo of the nordost odin 2 speaker cables (i am nuts i know) and potentially their odin 2 powercords. Finally, i want to do isolation devices such as stillpoints or anything like that.
we shall see...
With that out of the way, here are my thoughts of the pass labs xp30 vs boulder 2010:
Pass labs xp30 PROS:
- sounds very lively
-rounded high frequencies which allows you to listen to recordings that are not perfect
- great punch and meat on the bones when it comes to the lows
- awesome mids that reminds you that this is a class a preamp
- open soundstage
- not analytical or cold. It is very inviting and works hard to make each song as pleasant as possible
- excellent bang for the buck
Boulder 2010 Pros:
- clear like water
- Bass control with zero bloat or overhang
- amazing separation and imaging
- it gives you nothing but the facts
- It will reward you by letting you hear each hard earned dollar you spend in your system
- dynamics are startling to the point that you almost cringe each time the music has dynamic swings
-the best built preamp i have ever owned and i mean miles and miles ahead. It actually makes ARC preamps look and feel like toys in comparison.
Pass labs xp30 CONS: (please note that these are based on the comparison i made to the boulder 2010 which is 3 times the price)
- sounds congested at times
- lacks the speed & dynamics of more expensive preamps
- It is not as transparent as the boulder 2010. ( i actually did not hear much of a difference using a cd or streaming tidal through this preamp, but i did notice a difference through the boulder)
- it has great bass, but not as controlled or tight as the boulder
Boulder 2010 cons:
- $$$$$$$
-$$$$$$$$$$$$
- very transparent which means it will put your weak points right in your face
- very but very difficult to find on the used market
- you will find yourself thinking about buying expensive powercords to see how much better it can sound
With all that said, the gap between both preamps is quite obvious through my system. Yesterday i actually had one person tell me that he thinks the boulder 2010 is about 60% of my success here and the xs300s probably the other 40% (he was not counting the speakers) so who knows if this boulder is what is making my alexias sing the way they do now. The only way to find out will be by me buying another preamp at some point and see what the outcome will be.
For me, i feel that found the preamp that will continue to go forward with me in this journey and will only be sold if another preamp can come in here and beat it, but other than that i won't move out of it. It took me 2 years to find it so i won't take that chance.
What is in my head right now? well, first it is to sell all this stuff i have in my room that i am not using anymore and then begin to look into getting a better streamer to feed a better signal to my esoteric k1. i actually demoed the aurender w20 today and was very impressed. i am also thinking about doing a home demo of the nordost odin 2 speaker cables (i am nuts i know) and potentially their odin 2 powercords. Finally, i want to do isolation devices such as stillpoints or anything like that.
we shall see...