Integrated Amp Reviews

How nice it is to see extended frequency response and a pure untouched 10k square wave like this without the need of an Audio Precision auxiliary AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter to hide/mask the switching noise oscillations all over it. Like Class-D needs to make it look not even half as good as this, and with out the AP filter!! buzz saw comes to mind, but sadly that not shown anymore, as it's too visually bad for business.

Cheers George

- - - "I appreciate warm sound, but acoustic music does not sound overtly "warm" in the various halls I frequent. "

I'm not sure how exactly to interpret that part of the review. But from my perspective as someone obsessed with the differences between live and reproduced sound, one of the distinguishing characteristics to me of live acoustic sources is "warmth." The average sax, trumpet, trombone, even acoustic guitar, sounds so much bigger than on most audiophile playback systems I've heard. Most reproduction to me has a reductive, hardening effect on most acoustic sources. "Warmth" in terms of fullness of "body" and richness of harmonics is just what I hear in acoustic music vs reproduced, virtually wherever I am situated to the music, or in whatever hall I listen.

Of course, since essentially all reproduction is compromised in regards to reproducing true realism (especially if we are talking about symphonies!), it's a pick-your-compromise and we tend to zero in on the aspect of sound that strikes us as most consonant with reality. Some may zero in on the transient precision and dynamic presence of, say, some horn systems, others may find the more relaxed richness of another speaker gets at what they hear in real music. I tend toward (certain) tube amplification insofar as I hear a bit more of that roundness, body and relaxed warmth I pick up on when hearing live sources. YMMV of course...

Save $6000 and buy a Krell K-300i.

Nice work, Mr.Jason!

The Boulder is probably a nice piece of gear but I'd still insist on a Round Volume knob, the bigger the better. I'd even like the power switch to be mounted behind the volume knob in an Old School way of things with the Volume knob acting as the OnOff control like an old Car Radio.

Does this Amp have a sloping Front Panel like the Pictures seem to show?

Anyway, nice work Jason,

Tony in Venice Florida

This does feel a little like one of those "damned with faint praise" reviews and the comparison to the k-300i is vague and leads one to believe that to the reviewer's ears it's really a tossup based on what you like (which obviously for most of us would lead to the conclusion of "I'll take the one that is $6k cheaper"). I know that JVS loved the k-300i and it was been very well reviewed elsewhere - I admit I've never heard it. But the K-300i is often compared to a unit I owned for a while - the Naim Uniti Nova. I thought the Nova was impressive and enjoyed it more than I thought I would given that when I got it I was coming from a pricey VAC tube rig. I briefly considered trying the K-300i while I had the Nova and spoke to a few people with experience of both units who felt that it would be a sideways move unless I really needed the extra power of the Krell. I then went to a Pass Int25 which to my ears was just in a different class than the Nova - I won't bore you with the details, I'll just leave it at the fact that for me this wasn't even a close comparison in terms of what these amps were capable of. And now recently I got a Boulder 866, which I find to be in an altogether different class than the Int25, by at least as significant a margin as I found the Pass to be superior to the Naim. The Boulder feels to me like it competes with some of the high-dollar separates that I've owned in the past. Because of the surprisingly high performance of the DAC, it almost seems like a bargain at its price. Of course, the commutative property doesn't always hold in audio... but for these reasons I am skeptical that the 866 and the K-300i are on a level playing field with only one's preferences and about $6k sticker price separating them.

Jason Victor Serinus could be a good music reviewer but as a gear reviewer, I feel sorry to say that he is the most boring I've ever read in the pages of Stereophile.