I have heard the Boulder 1060 paired with the Audio Research Ref 3 and Ref 5. Both were excellent pairings. My local dealer is a Boulder, ARC dealer. Curious, what speakers are you driving? What interconnects and speaker cables? What is your source? I must say that the Boulder system that I heard sounded very natural (1060, 1010, 1021, Wilson Maxx3, Kimber select ICs and speaker cables).