Visit to Boulder Amplifiers in CO

jbreezy5

This past week I went to Denver, CO and went on a 8-hour tour of the Rocky Mountains. Absolutely breathtaking!

I traveled to Colorado Springs and Boulder on separate days also. I had a great time as the mountains are my favorite.

Last day of the trip I called Boulder Amplifiers and asked if it was possible to take a tour of their facility. I spoke with Logan, head of sales/marketing, and he was very gracious and welcomed me and a guest, as requested.

One could imagine my excitement as I arrived. All of Boulder Amplifiers equipment is high-end in terms of cost and build quality; even their entry-level equipment approaches $10k; their new 812 pre/dac/headphone amp is soon to be released at/around $8.5k, but don’t hold me to that, as I don’t remember the exact price they will be asking.

It was truly spectacular to see all that goes into the design and development of their amplifiers. They even have proprietary machinery to complete the anodizing process.

Along the way I met a number of members of the staff, and got to see screen-shots of the CAD design for the 812, and later a model pending final approval! Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember everyone’s name, but everyone was as gracious and welcoming as Logan.

I have to say that, in every way, the staff and facility were as organized and meticulous as their finished products would suggest. One person I met was Jamison (sp?), whom, engineers the Boulder equipment. I specifically inquired about the design of the volume controls and he was able to confirm and show me on a completed circuit-board that even the 812 will have a true discrete resistor-ladder volume control using SMD resistors (not an IC resistor volume control, as would be found in a typical surround receiver) for the purest sound possible.

This is a big deal considering that there are preamps marketed at similar price-points that still implement traditional, lower-cost, volume controls with wiper mechanisms (i.e. ALPS and Noble pots, for example). Even Boulder’s entry offering “goes the extra mile”, so to speak, on the volume control! I’m thoroughly impressed by this company, but this was not the finale of the visit.

Logan took me to their dedicated listening room, which was properly treated, had no parallel surfaces, including the ceiling, front/back walls, and sidewalls! The concrete on which the listening room was set was completely separate from the foundation for the rest of the facility. Indeed there was no audible echo in the room that I or my guest could discern, whether from our own voices, or the music itself.

Logan played Fleetwood Mac - Dreams and a song I didn’t recognize, but sounded superb. At our request, he also played: Enya - Angeles; Steve Winwood - Back in the High Life; Steve Winwood - Don’t You Know What the Night Can Do; and Rush - Tom Sawyer

Needless to say this was the best I’ve heard any of these songs as they were played back on the highest quality offerings of pre/power amp in an ideal room set-up in which no expense was spared, and on mega-buck Focal speakers (see image).

Thanks Logan, and everyone at Boulder Amplifiers, for your hospitality and an audiophile’s dream on my final day of vacation!

Cheers!

pearsall001

Super nice! That had to be a phenomenal experience. Boulder is a top notch company & it's so nice to see how accommodating they were after a simple phone call.

That's a trip that you'll never forget ☺️

SIHAB

Way cool!

Emlyn

That room could do with a couple big ferns in the corners and a nice area rug to really tie the room together.



Very nice of them to open the doors. I think PS Audio's building is in the same general area too somewhere around Boulder, CO.

jbreezy5

Emlyn wrote: »

That room could do with a couple big ferns in the corners and a nice area rug to really tie the room together.



Very nice of them to open the doors. I think PS Audio's building is in the same general area too somewhere around Boulder, CO.

True, this room was all about sound hence the “all business” look there.

I’ll have to reach out to Paul McGowan next time I’m in CO, lol.

marvda1

You should have hit up Ayre while you were there.

invalid

Very nice of them to open the doors. I think PS Audio's building is in the same general area too somewhere around Boulder, CO.

[/quote]

True, this room was all about sound hence the “all business” look there.

I’ll have to reach out to Paul McGowan next time I’m in CO, lol.[/quote]

I don't think PS audio is doing tours at this time.

Joey_V

I envy you that you were able to visit the mother ship.

txcoastal1

Joey_V wrote: »

I envy you that you were able to visit the mother ship.

If I brought one home, and the wife found the invoice...instead of "the mothership" one might actually call it "The Death Star"