CES 2008

Bolder Boulder

Wes Phillips & Jon Iverson  |  Jan 7, 2008

We'd been told to check out Boulder's new music server, but that's not exactly what the $24,000 1021 Disc Player is. It's a CD player (with a few other formats "to be announced") that uses a computer disc drive to feed a one-minute buffer to "preserve the integrity of the audio signal delivered from the drive. "Also," confided Steve Rockwell, "the clock is about this far [pinches fingers together], so jitter is phenomenally low."

Raw data is dumped from the buffer to a Boulder-designed Eigen-value DSP oversampling filter—which itself, has a data buffer to eliminate timing glitches.

The independent, precise-interval master clock is said to "reduce jitter and low-frequency modulation noise to "immeasurable levels." The clock signal is also fed "upstream" to control the DSP.

There's also Boulder's selectable digital volume control, which can be programmed for 1dB steps or turned off.

The 1021's analog section is pretty slick too, incorporating Boulder's six-pole Bessel filter and the output stage of Boulder's 983, which is "robust enough to drive long cables."

Did we mention the large display panel? It can display data from the 1021's internal processor or pull it off the Internet.

We tried lifting the 1021 and per pound, it just might be a bargain.

COMMENTS
Tosh Fraser's picture
Submitted by Tosh Fraser (not verified) on January 7, 2008 - 7:03pm

If only they'd spent the same effort on distinguishing that blinding array of 15 identical shiny buttons as they did on milling a pattern of slots in the side panels, then we'd have an easily operable interface on our $24k center piece. Where have the ergonomics engineers gone? Designing range hoods and cook tops?

Wes Phillips's picture
Submitted by Wes Phillips (not verified) on January 7, 2008 - 7:25pm

I can't speak for Wadia, but I will say the remote, which is what most users will interface with, seems more ergonomically laid-out than the face plate.

Jim's picture
Submitted by Jim (not verified) on January 31, 2008 - 1:10pm

Another piece of audioart. After 27 years playing at hi-fi (and I have had a wonderful time in doing so after owning myriad pieces of both expensive and mid range gear) I finally wised up, purchased a Linn Classik Music system with a pair of Linn Kans and have never looked back.Rounding out my system is a Systemdek IIX TT with Sumiko BPS MC phono cartridge; and NAD PP-2 phono preamp and and ancient but beautifully made Nakamichi 700 Tri Tracer cassette deck.I have never had more fun with a hi-fi system than with this present setup -- one which is flexible enough to offer an integrated amplifer/tuner-CD player in one box -- and through the Classik's preamp out, also allows me to use both pairs of tube mono blocks which I added to the system last year -- a pair of Quicksilver Mini-Mite monoblocks and another pair of Antique Sound Lab Wave 25's.What this system does first and foremost is faithfully honor the music. And in all of my years of dabbling in hi-fi, I've never enjoyed music more

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