Alright guys, the boulder has been playing since 11pm and it is 145am right now.
Before i begin, please know this session was done at about 85db in loudness which is a little too low in volume for me, but the baby is asleep so i gotta try to do what i can for tonight. Anyhow, my initial impressions were so so. I was not really like holy sh@t wow. I felt like the sound was dull, bland, non exciting. I was using the audio research ref6 as a preamp and i wasn’t really impressed. I then switched to the luxman preamp and the feeling was even worse unless i used the loudness button on it. So i decided to go back to the luxman combo and yes there was noticeably more detail and sparkle happening. I felt as if the treble knob had been turned to the right. Anyhow, i went back to the audio research ref6/boulder combo and again i felt as if the detail lost a few ounces of sparkle. So i sat down, let music flow through the system with the boulder/ arc combo and i started to notice that the words to certain songs were more articulate. I felt as if the words were easier to understand. There were songs that i couldn’t ever know what they were saying and with the boulder i can actually make out what these words are. I thought that was very interesting. So i kept playing and playing more music and started to realize that some songs sound good (at 85 decibels still which sucks) and some other songs not so much. In essence, the boulder is not forgiving. It does not give a damn to present you with the raw truth of your material. If it sucks, it will let you hear it. For instance, try to watch a youtube video from any show from the 90s on your 4k tv right now and notice how crappy it looks? Same thing goes for this amp. It does the same with your music.
Here is the compromise, do you want ALL YOUR MUSIC to sound good? the luxman has the edge here, but it may not be the true definition of transparency because it is "coating" the sound with its flavor. That said, do you want to hear what your system sounds like as it is? the clables, the source, the material, the preamp, etc? the boulder shows you this.
Lastly, i noticed that my ears don’t get fatigued nor do i want to turn the sound down after hours of listening. Is it because i am listening at 85 decibels or because the boulder is not bright or forward, but rather dead neutral? I am leaning towards the latter.
One more thing, let's not forget system synergy is key so maybe this amp needs a boulder preamp to really shine? who knows...
Next session will be over the weekend when the wife and kid are out of the house. I prepare to do full throttle sessions of 100 decibels or more and hear what these 250 lbs are all about.
Before i begin, please know this session was done at about 85db in loudness which is a little too low in volume for me, but the baby is asleep so i gotta try to do what i can for tonight. Anyhow, my initial impressions were so so. I was not really like holy sh@t wow. I felt like the sound was dull, bland, non exciting. I was using the audio research ref6 as a preamp and i wasn’t really impressed. I then switched to the luxman preamp and the feeling was even worse unless i used the loudness button on it. So i decided to go back to the luxman combo and yes there was noticeably more detail and sparkle happening. I felt as if the treble knob had been turned to the right. Anyhow, i went back to the audio research ref6/boulder combo and again i felt as if the detail lost a few ounces of sparkle. So i sat down, let music flow through the system with the boulder/ arc combo and i started to notice that the words to certain songs were more articulate. I felt as if the words were easier to understand. There were songs that i couldn’t ever know what they were saying and with the boulder i can actually make out what these words are. I thought that was very interesting. So i kept playing and playing more music and started to realize that some songs sound good (at 85 decibels still which sucks) and some other songs not so much. In essence, the boulder is not forgiving. It does not give a damn to present you with the raw truth of your material. If it sucks, it will let you hear it. For instance, try to watch a youtube video from any show from the 90s on your 4k tv right now and notice how crappy it looks? Same thing goes for this amp. It does the same with your music.
Here is the compromise, do you want ALL YOUR MUSIC to sound good? the luxman has the edge here, but it may not be the true definition of transparency because it is "coating" the sound with its flavor. That said, do you want to hear what your system sounds like as it is? the clables, the source, the material, the preamp, etc? the boulder shows you this.
Lastly, i noticed that my ears don’t get fatigued nor do i want to turn the sound down after hours of listening. Is it because i am listening at 85 decibels or because the boulder is not bright or forward, but rather dead neutral? I am leaning towards the latter.
One more thing, let's not forget system synergy is key so maybe this amp needs a boulder preamp to really shine? who knows...
Next session will be over the weekend when the wife and kid are out of the house. I prepare to do full throttle sessions of 100 decibels or more and hear what these 250 lbs are all about.