CD Player: Krell KAV-300cd.
Amplifiers: Krell KAV-300, NAD 310.
Interconnects: AudioQuest Opal v3.
Speaker Cables: AudioQuest Dragon 2.
Accessories: Audio Power Industries Power Wedge 112, Magro Stereo Display Stand.
Sound Treatment: ASC Tube Traps, Studio Traps, Bass Traps; RPG Abffusors; Marianne Moore signature model Gilgamesh among the Hairy Carnivora lapcat.—Wes Phillips
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Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 4: Measurements
The DM302's specified sensitivity, 91dB/W/m, is high for a small speaker, but indeed I measured a B-weighted figure of 90.1dB/W/m—this mini will play quite loud with only a few amplifier watts. However, its impedance plot (fig.1) reveals that it drops below 4 ohms for much of the midrange, coupled with a moderately high phase angle in the upper bass. Wimpy amplifiers need not apply for the job of driving this speaker. The "saddle" in the magnitude trace at 55Hz indicates the tuning of the reflex slot.
Fig.1 B&W DM302, electrical impedance (…
Wes Phillips compared the DM302 with the Polk RT5 in April 1998 (Vol.21. No.4):
The $299/pair Polk isn't the only affordable option out there. B&W's DM302, at $250/pair, is even cheaper. Since Stereophile awarded the B&W an "Editor's Choice" award in 1997, it seemed incumbent upon me to compare the RT5 with the B&W in a level-matched joint audition. For the comparison, I used a system comprising the Mark Levinson No.39 CD player, the Conrad-Johnson ART preamp, and the Krell FPB 600 power amplifier. I connected everything with Kimber KCAG and Black Pearl speaker cable. Both…
It's not every Consumer Electronics Show that someone introduces a $29,000 solid-state phono preamplifier—and I miss it. The 2002 CES was one. My show report in the April issue made it seem as if I'd found out about it there, but the fact is, someone clued me in after I'd returned home. I needed to come clean on that.
I passed Boulder Amplifiers' CES room maybe 50 times, but all that came to mind was the time I'd visited Boulder, Colorado (where the company is based) in the early '70s and everyone was wearing plaid shirts, hauling backpacks, munching granola, and walking with that…
There are three internal slots, one of which comes with a standard RIAA equalization card. The other two are for optional cards that Boulder can supply (for $1000/set) for alternate compensation curves such as those used by American Columbia, Decca/London ffrr, and EMI in the early 1950s. The large, mirror-like, flush-mounted front-panel buttons let you choose inputs, EQ, Mono/Stereo, a low-cut filter at 5Hz, 10Hz, or 20Hz, Demag, Mute, and On/Off.
That's outside. Inside is a very complex approach to phono-section design. While some designers try to rid their products of circuitry—like…
Exactly. That's what this phono section did. It was like analog on acid. Every note, every musical gesture became the most important, most profound note ever struck—until the next one.
The closest I'd come to that feeling before was the first time I'd heard the original Connoisseur phono section, designed by Peter Mares. That model made the music "make sense" in a similar fashion, mostly due to its rhythmic control. The Boulder 2008 was even more intense and overwhelming, though that might have been due in part to improvements made since in the rest of my system.
Most listeners…
I hate saying some of these things because I'm sure I've said them before, and probably in my review of the Manley Steelhead. The Steelhead is a wonderful phono preamp, does everything terribly well, and will keep me very happy until I win the lottery, But when I reinserted it in my system following my love affair with the Boulder, it sounded softer, more distant and slow, less dynamic, and less together. The Boulder was like being hit over the head in a nice way with a 2 by 4, the Steelhead like being flogged with a wet noodle.
That's gonna make EveAnna Manley unhappy, but the facts…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Boulder 2008: Balanced solid-state MC/MM phono preamplifier with three inputs, two outputs, adjustable loading and gain. No specifications available.
Dimensions: Phono preamplifier: 18.0" W by 4.25" H by 15.5" D. Power supply: 18.0" W by 4.25" H by 15.5" D. Shipping weight: 63 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: None visible.
Price: 29,000.
Boulder 2010: Balanced line preamplifier with 6 inputs, 2 main outputs, 2 record outputs. Maximum input level: 7V RMS. Maximum output level: 28V RMS. THD+noise (2V output, 20Hz-5kHz): 0.0008% (-102dB); THD+…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Simon Yorke turntable; Graham 2.2, Immedia RPM2 tonearms; Lyra Helikon SL, Helikon mono, Dynavector XX-2, ZYX R-100FS cartridges.
Digital source: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 3D CD player, Accuphase DP-85 SACD player.
Preamplification: Hovland HP-100 preamplifier; Manley Steelhead, Zanden 1200 phono sections.
Power amplifiers: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300, Music Reference 200.
Loudspeakers: Rockport Antares.
Cables: Phono: Hovland Music Groove RCA-RCA, Cardas Neutral Reference DIN-XLR. Interconnect: Discovery Essence, Harmonic…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Beginning with the Boulder 2008 phono preamplifier, I set the parameters for one of its inputs to MM/High Impedance for most of the tests, to be sure that the 50 ohm balanced source impedance of my Audio Precision System One would not interfere with the accuracy of the readings. In this condition the 2008's input impedance at 1kHz was 44.7k ohms. With it set to MC/Low Impedance, with no resistors added, the input impedance was 1335 ohms, again at 1kHz.
The MM gain was slightly lower than usual, at 34.2dB (1kHz). The MC gain was higher, of course, at 63.7dB…