The success of any party depends on just a few things: the venue, the guests, the food and drink, and (of course) the music. Evenings at John DeVore's factory at the <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/111806wander/">Brooklyn Navy Yard</a> are invariably successful. More than that, they are fun. You love the place. You enjoy the company. The food is delicious and the drinks do the trick. And (of course) the music is intoxicating. You want to be there.

As we approach the end of the 21st century's "oughts" decade, many feel that playing music from a discrete physical medium is positively <I>20th</I> century. Much of my own music enjoyment now comes from computer files, often high-resolution, streamed to my high-end rig via a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/207slim">Logitech Transporter</A> or <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/computeraudio/bel_canto_usb_link_2496_usb-sp… Canto USB Link 24/96</A>. It is perhaps a paradox, therefore, that high-end audio companies are still devoting so much effort to developing expensive, state-of-the-art disc players. In April I very <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/meridian_8082808i2_signature_refer… reviewed</A> Meridian's superb 808i.2 CD player&#150;preamplifier, which costs $16,995 as reviewed, and Michael Fremer is about to review the ultimate Scarlatti SACD playback system from another English company, dCS. The $80,000 price tag of the Scarlatti makes the subject of my review this month, the Boulder 1021, seem relatively affordable at $24,000.

As we approach the end of the 21st century's "oughts" decade, many feel that playing music from a discrete physical medium is positively <I>20th</I> century. Much of my own music enjoyment now comes from computer files, often high-resolution, streamed to my high-end rig via a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/207slim">Logitech Transporter</A> or <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/computeraudio/bel_canto_usb_link_2496_usb-sp… Canto USB Link 24/96</A>. It is perhaps a paradox, therefore, that high-end audio companies are still devoting so much effort to developing expensive, state-of-the-art disc players. In April I very <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/meridian_8082808i2_signature_refer… reviewed</A> Meridian's superb 808i.2 CD player&#150;preamplifier, which costs $16,995 as reviewed, and Michael Fremer is about to review the ultimate Scarlatti SACD playback system from another English company, dCS. The $80,000 price tag of the Scarlatti makes the subject of my review this month, the Boulder 1021, seem relatively affordable at $24,000.

As we approach the end of the 21st century's "oughts" decade, many feel that playing music from a discrete physical medium is positively <I>20th</I> century. Much of my own music enjoyment now comes from computer files, often high-resolution, streamed to my high-end rig via a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/207slim">Logitech Transporter</A> or <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/computeraudio/bel_canto_usb_link_2496_usb-sp… Canto USB Link 24/96</A>. It is perhaps a paradox, therefore, that high-end audio companies are still devoting so much effort to developing expensive, state-of-the-art disc players. In April I very <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/meridian_8082808i2_signature_refer… reviewed</A> Meridian's superb 808i.2 CD player&#150;preamplifier, which costs $16,995 as reviewed, and Michael Fremer is about to review the ultimate Scarlatti SACD playback system from another English company, dCS. The $80,000 price tag of the Scarlatti makes the subject of my review this month, the Boulder 1021, seem relatively affordable at $24,000.

As we approach the end of the 21st century's "oughts" decade, many feel that playing music from a discrete physical medium is positively <I>20th</I> century. Much of my own music enjoyment now comes from computer files, often high-resolution, streamed to my high-end rig via a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/207slim">Logitech Transporter</A> or <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/computeraudio/bel_canto_usb_link_2496_usb-sp… Canto USB Link 24/96</A>. It is perhaps a paradox, therefore, that high-end audio companies are still devoting so much effort to developing expensive, state-of-the-art disc players. In April I very <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/meridian_8082808i2_signature_refer… reviewed</A> Meridian's superb 808i.2 CD player&#150;preamplifier, which costs $16,995 as reviewed, and Michael Fremer is about to review the ultimate Scarlatti SACD playback system from another English company, dCS. The $80,000 price tag of the Scarlatti makes the subject of my review this month, the Boulder 1021, seem relatively affordable at $24,000.

As we approach the end of the 21st century's "oughts" decade, many feel that playing music from a discrete physical medium is positively <I>20th</I> century. Much of my own music enjoyment now comes from computer files, often high-resolution, streamed to my high-end rig via a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/207slim">Logitech Transporter</A> or <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/computeraudio/bel_canto_usb_link_2496_usb-sp… Canto USB Link 24/96</A>. It is perhaps a paradox, therefore, that high-end audio companies are still devoting so much effort to developing expensive, state-of-the-art disc players. In April I very <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/meridian_8082808i2_signature_refer… reviewed</A> Meridian's superb 808i.2 CD player&#150;preamplifier, which costs $16,995 as reviewed, and Michael Fremer is about to review the ultimate Scarlatti SACD playback system from another English company, dCS. The $80,000 price tag of the Scarlatti makes the subject of my review this month, the Boulder 1021, seem relatively affordable at $24,000.

As we approach the end of the 21st century's "oughts" decade, many feel that playing music from a discrete physical medium is positively 20th century. Much of my own music enjoyment now comes from computer files, often high-resolution, streamed to my high-end rig via a Logitech Transporter or Bel Canto USB Link 24/96. It is perhaps a paradox, therefore, that high-end audio companies are still devoting so much effort to developing expensive, state-of-the-art disc players. In April I very favorably reviewed Meridian's superb 808i.2 CD player–preamplifier, which costs $16,995 as reviewed, and Michael Fremer is about to review the ultimate Scarlatti SACD playback system from another English company, dCS. The $80,000 price tag of the Scarlatti makes the subject of my review this month, the Boulder 1021, seem relatively affordable at $24,000.