Well, it depends. Take our JMlab Utopia speakers. The Utopia is spec'd at 94.5dB sensitivity, so it should be pretty easy to drive. Or is it? As it happens, despite the system's highish sensitivity, the woofer is a long-throw, ported design that likes a grippy, controlling high-current amplifier. And I have yet to hear a more controlling solid-state amplifier than the huge Boulder 2050 monoblock. In our size-obsessed world, the…
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How much power do you really need? How much power can you actually use? What's necessary, and what's icing on the cake? And does anyone really need 1000Wpc?
Around back are more surprises. The amps are supplied with a bright blue, industrial-looking mains connector that's keyed to the electricity in your part of the world. If you like, the 2050s can be operated on a 220V circuit. The custom-engineered speaker terminals are gold-plated and robust beyond description, and are said to offer a good, low-impedance connection. Only one input is available on the rear panel, and that's balanced XLR, pin 2 hot. Just above it sits a male XLR marked Loop Out for passing signal to a second amplifier in a passive biamp setup. And Boulder provides beautifully…
Of course, with a kilowatt of power on tap, I hankered to listen to some BIG music, and so turned to the Bill Holman Band's Brilliant Corners: The Music of Thelonious Monk (JVC JVCXR-0028-2). My listening notes for track 4, "'Round Midnight": "The midrange is so brilliantly fleshed out it's scary. The horns have just the requisite bite and burnish. The highs are soaring, the bass fantastically tight and in control, the pitch differentiation remarkable." The sunshine and joy in the recording—both of the music itself and of the obvious delight the band took in playing it—came through wholly…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state monoblock power amplifier with 80 bipolar output devices. Inputs: 3-pin balanced XLR, pin 2 hot. Continuous power into 8, 4, and 2 ohms: 1000W (30dBW, 27dBW, 24dBW). Peak power: 2000W into 4 ohms (30dBW); 4000W into 2 ohms (30dBW).
Dimensions: 18" W by 10.75" H by 26.75" D, plus 12" D for power connector. Weight: 230 lbs each.
Price: $59,000/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 8. Warranty: 5 years.
Manufacturer: Boulder Amplifiers, 3235 Prairie Avenue, Boulder, CO 80301. Tel: (303) 449-8220. Fax (303) 449-2987. Web: www.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
I auditioned the 2050 in balanced mode using Boulder's 2010 Isolated Balanced preamplifier and B.A.T.'s more affordable VK-5i. Single-ended preamps were the Nagra PL-P and the YBA Signature 6 Chassis.
CDs were spun by the Forsell Air Bearing CD transport, the signal fed into Boulder's 2020 Advance D/A converter, dCS's Elgar, and Ensemble's Dichrono DAC, with occasional blasts on the dCS 972 sample-rate converter between transport and the D/As. I also tried the dCS 972/Elgar combo straight into the 2050s.
Analog signals were provided by the…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Following its 1/3-power, 1-hour preconditioning test, the Boulder 2050's heatsinks were hot but could be touched for 2-3 seconds without discomfort. All measurements were made in the Boulder's balanced configuration; there is no single-ended input, but the amplifier can be driven single-ended with external adapters. The voltage gain switch was left in the high position, as J-10 had left it.
The Boulder's input impedance measured 220k ohms, its output impedance 0.017 ohms at either 20Hz or 1kHz, this increasing to 0.021 ohms at 20kHz. The 2050's voltage…
John Atkinson responds:
Heaven forbid that anyone interpret Gordon's essay as being a statement of Stereophile's policy, as I feel that this vision of the role of hi-fi is too narrow, even self-defeating. As I see it, there are two major flaws. First, when he talks about the use of nonclassical music in equipment reviewing—and many writers, including myself, do make considerable use of rock and jazz—he is confusing what hi-fi components are for with a writer's need to choose program material that reveals aberrations or performance virtues. As the editor of this magazine, I would rather…
Heaven forbid that anyone interpret Gordon's essay as being a statement of Stereophile's policy, as I feel that this vision of the role of hi-fi is too narrow, even self-defeating. As I see it, there are two major flaws. First, when he talks about the use of nonclassical music in equipment reviewing—and many writers, including myself, do make considerable use of rock and jazz—he is confusing what hi-fi components are for with a writer's need to choose program material that reveals aberrations or performance virtues. As the editor of this magazine, I would rather…
Letters in response appeared in January 1989, Vol.12 No.1
The disagreement
Editor: I'd like to have a say concerning the disagreement between JGH and JA on choice of sources for equipment evaluation. My musical taste is eclectic, but I do critical listening to equipment using familiar folk and classical pieces. I find records of acoustic music easier to compare to their live counterparts than is the grungy (you don't need a "d"!) rock'n'roll that I actually listen to more often. I know that if a component contributes minimally to the sounds of acoustical instruments, then it will…
Gordon's was the best
Editor: J. Gordon Holt's editorial on the acoustic standard in October was one of the best in a long time. I also find real sound to be the only comparison to judge by, but I believe you must measure your equipment too, to prevent opinion, whim, or Mercury retrograde from affecting your decisions. Measurements are important in identifying the problems in equipment.
Editor: J. Gordon Holt's editorial on the acoustic standard in October was one of the best in a long time. I also find real sound to be the only comparison to judge by, but I believe you must measure your equipment too, to prevent opinion, whim, or Mercury retrograde from affecting your decisions. Measurements are important in identifying the problems in equipment.
Stereophile, however, seems to emphasize the very subjective preference JGH condemned in his article, and it is subjective preference that has resulted in the current hysteria over cables. Most…
Gordon's favorite music?
Editor: I have often heard and read people's arguments for using their favorite music to test music systems. I have never seen such an effort cloaked in such opaque terms as Mr. Holt did in "The Acoustical Standard" (October 1988). Why was he trying to hide the fact that he likes to use his favorite music to test out components?
Editor: I have often heard and read people's arguments for using their favorite music to test music systems. I have never seen such an effort cloaked in such opaque terms as Mr. Holt did in "The Acoustical Standard" (October 1988). Why was he trying to hide the fact that he likes to use his favorite music to test out components?
It is easy to find fault with his analysis. It is well known to anyone who studies acoustics that concert halls have the deadest, and some of the most peculiar balances of any listening chamber. In concert, the reverberant soundfield…