All three of these expensive phono preamps I wrte about this month share certain sonic attributes not found in less costly, less ambitious units: all are free of "electronica" and glaze. Their edge definition of aural images is smoothly and naturally delineated. All three produce music on a grand, effortless scale. All, to varying degrees, are without easily identifiable sonic signatures,…
Massive Attack!
For comparison's sake, Boulder also sent along a sample of their 2008 phono preamp ($34,000), which I reviewed in the July 2002 Stereophile (Vol.25 No.7). Immediately obvious was that both the 2008 and 1008 were capable of producing massive dynamic swings well beyond the…
Description: Solid-state, balanced phono preamplifier. Inputs: 3 balanced, convert to unbalanced. Outputs 2 balanced. Frequency response (RIAA): 20Hz–20kHz ±0.1dB. Channel separation: >100 dB, 20Hz–20kHz. Distortion: 0.01%. Noise (ein, MC): 98nV, 20Hz–20kHz. Maximum output: 16V. Input impedance (MC): 1000 ohms, MC; 47k ohms (MM). Maximum gain at 1kHz: 70dB (MC); 44dB (MM).
Dimensions: 18" W by 5" H by 15.85" D. Weight 32 lbs, shipping: 41 lbs.
Serial number of review sample: J016.
Price: $12,000. Approximate number of dealers: 28.
Manufacturer:…
I measured the Boulder 1008 with Stereophile's loan sample of the Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com). The voltage gain was sensibly arranged, at 38.4dB for moving-magnet cartridges and 64dB for moving-coils. These figures include the interaction between the signal generator's source impedance and the Boulder's input impedance. Adjusted for that effect, the gains are 42.5dB and 68.5dB, respectively.
Both inputs preserved absolute polarity (ie, were non-inverting), and, with the supplied loading resistor in…
Still, two characteristics remained that might be problematic for some listeners. First, the dullness of the upper midrange and lower treble, which I find common in many switching amps, was so reduced in the original Ref1000 monoblock power amp that it was a problem with only a few recordings and/…
Description: Solid-state monoblock power amplifier with class-D output stage. Input: single-ended RCA or balanced XLR. Output: one set WBT 5-way safety binding posts. Power Output: >500W into 8 ohms (27.8dBW), >1000W into 4 ohms (27.8dBW). Minimum Load: 2 ohms. Voltage gain: 27dB (single ended or balanced input). Peak Output Current: 45A. Frequency Response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.5dB all loads. THD+N: 0.007% 1W, 1KHz, 4 ohms. IMD (CCIF): 0.0007%, 1W, 14:15KHz, 4 ohms. Output noise: 90µV RMS A-weighted, 10Hz–20kHz. Damping factor: >1000. Output Impedance at…
Since he wrote about them in his March 2009 "Music in the Round" column, Kalman Rubinson has been using as his reference power amplifiers Bel Canto's e.One Ref1000 Mk.2 class-D monoblocks ($5990/pair). Like the original Ref1000, which KR wrote about in November 2006, the Mk.2 (now called Ref1000M) uses Bang & Olufsen's 1000ASP ICEpower modules, but with improvements in mechanical damping, parts selection, and filtering of the residual switching noise present at the amplifier's output. With the Bel Cantos driving his B&W 802D speakers, Kal found the…
"Kill the album. Kill the sucker."
Guess who?
Could those words have come from anyone but America's greatest ring-a-ding-ding wannabe gangster, Francis Albert Sinatra? In Sinatra lore, that was what he said to pull the plug on the second of two records he made with…
It was as if art were imitating bad technology. Ensconced in orchestra seats T1 and T3, designated "Prime Orchestra" in San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall, I and longtime audio consultant and dealer Tim Marutani were befuddled by what we heard. For all their vaunted superiority, the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, sounded like a dim, disordered mess. Highs were flat and lifeless, the midrange was muddled, and the deep double basses sounded so…
This started even before I got them into my living room, as Philip O'Hanlon, of Vivid importer…