Agreed, the Rowland 625 should be a good match with the Corus. That's a no brainer. The Boulder is a great amp, but imho needs a reference tube preamp to balance it out nicely. Good luck! |
I'm curious with your comparison of the Rowland and Boulder GC as my Dealer (who deals in both brands) felt the Boulder was on another level compared to the Rowland (as it should be given the price differential). My impression of the Boulder from reviews is that it is certainlyl not lean, but dynamic with deep, layered bass. Jeff Fritz in his review for Ultra Audio felt the Boulder matched the bass drive, control, authority, and slam of the big Gryphon Antileon Signature, so lean is certainly not the impression I have of the 1060. By "lean" did you mean not as lush or warm? The Boulder to my ears is on the slightly warm side of neutral, so no it is not as warm as Rowland, but that doesn't mean it isn't a great amp. |
Hi Guidocorona,
Thanks for sharing your observations. My understanding of the Boulder 1060 is that it is very neutral, detailed & revealing of upstream equipment. In and of itself it may not be quite as harmonically resolved as the Rowland, however I have a theory that combining valves with the Boulder should bring the perfect balance of harmonic richness, tonality, detail retrieval, drive and sound staging.
Inner Ear Magazine did a review of the Vac Renaissance Signature Mk2 pre with a Boulder 1060 and thought that this combination was a perfect match in kind with my above comments. Here is a link to the review fyi - http://www.innerearmag.com/reviews/preamps/VAC_Signature_Preamplifier_MkII.shtml
I have my new Ayon CD-5s burning in over the next 3 days which i've rolled with NOS 6h30p-DR's, so it should sound wonderful with the Boulder. Looking forward to posting my findings on AG soon! |
I agree with Stringreen and Johnnyb re: the OP's question, If you've already got a rowland front end, then it's a no brainer to go for the M625.
The Boulder pre/power combination is very dynamic and quiet, but this combination does not have enough harmonic richness or warmth for my taste. The Ayon is a good impedance match for the Boulder, and is very quiet..so this combination should sound wonderful, adding class A warmth and sweetness, as well as harmonic richness and body. If this combination sounds great, I will most likely upgrade to a higher end Ayon separate next year. I thought i'd mention the Vac review just to show the extent to which the Boulder's sound changes with good tubes upstream.
Yes I think there is a photo floating around somewhere of an egg frying on the top of an M625! No wonder they needed ceramic circuit boards!! |
Guido, perhaps one of Rowland's competitor's? though I think that's likely one part urban myth, one part photo shop :D |
Insomniac, I agree with your observation that the JRDG is warmer, but i'm suspicious about your pre-amp choice with the Boulder, and warm up time. Firstly, the Boulder requires 24hrs warm up (and to be left on 24/7) to sound it's best. 2hrs warm up is not enough, and time and again has resulted in average reviews of the 1060. The Boulder is also twice the price of the JRDG in Australia.No, money doesn't always buy a better amp, but no one would argue with Boulder's engineering. Also, the Boulder is dead neutral. Imho, it needs a reference tube preamp which is a good impedance match to bring out it's potential; the 1060 is *very* revealing of upstream gear, for better or worse. Check out the above link to the Vac review if you get a chance. |
Insomniac, yes the preamp you would have heard would have been the 1010. That's a good pre, however I (personally) feel the way to get the best sound out of the 1060 is matching it with a tube pre that is very quiet, sweet and warm & has balls. Then you're in for sonic bliss.
The tank analogy isn't wrong; it takes about that long for that thing to fully warm up, but when it does, it's worth it.
I have to admit, i'm more interested in ultimate sound than the clothes an amp is wearing. Having said that, the Boulder is quite smart looking, and one brute beast! I could have bought an M625, and very nearly did, but went with the Boulder. Time will tell if I made the right move? |
Musicaddict, I found your comments interesting. You said "I'd be scared to hook up a Boulder to the already "hot" 802D". Mark_nz remarked in his earlier post - 07-03-11: Mark_nz
..I have auditioned the 802D in combination with Classe, and separately the 802 Diamond in combination with Corus & Jeff Rowland Model 625.
Both combinations sounded good - but I thought the 802D + Classe had a bit better overall tonal balance whereas the 802 Diamond + 625 combination was a bit bright. I also compared the Model 625 to my Cambridge Audio Azur 840W amplifier. (using Wadia CD player and Corus preamp).
Unsurprising the Model 625 best the 840W in terms of detail, transparency, soundstaging, bass control and extension. However the 840W (which has slight warm bass and soft treble) was a better tonal match for the 802 Diamond. The reason for this is that 802 Diamond is brighter and has tighter (less bloated) bass than the 802D.
So based on my experiences a slightly lean amplifier (with good bass control) will better suit the 802D. Hifimaniac & Guido both remarked they thought the Boulder sounded slightly leaner than the M625, likely making it a better match with the 802Ds (or similarly bright sounding speakers). You also accurately commented "I auditioned the 802D several times for hours and deemed it a speaker that begged for slightly warmer, but detailed, electronics.". I agree the Boulder needs a preamp with warmth, sweetness, holography and detail to balance it out. There are probably several reference tube pre's which would sound wonderful with the Boulder...Guido mentioned VTL, my favorite is Ayon. Vive la difference! |
