If you are willing and able to search for ultimates, then the Boulder 2150s are choices you should consider. If you want to recalibrate your idea of what a solid-state reference can sound like, then find a dealer or audiophile who can demonstrate these monoblocks. If you get mad at the idea of luxury cars, homes, and art collections, you can get mad at the Boulder 2150s as well. If you are a violent neo- Luddite and oppose all reporting on technology, then pick on my esteemed editor. I’m only a humble reviewer who is tasked from above.

What really counts, however, is that this one of the least- colored, best-performing amplifiers ever made. I’ve only listened to one other amplifier that competes, and its lack of coloration does make the music in great recordings and performance far more satisfying. I spent hour after hour listening to this amp with my Wilson Alexias, the Legacy Aeries, a friend’s Quad ESL-2905s, and a pair of classic Spendor BC1s. And I’m convinced that the 2150 can get the best out of any real-world speaker on the market.

I would love to own this equipment. Admittedly, spending a fraction of the price can get you a very good high-end system, and gains in sound quality do diminish as the price rises, but diminishing returns are a fact of life with any luxury. You can still hear the differences, and my experience is that you come to enjoy them more and more with time.

The Boulder 2150 and 2110 are also the kinds of gear that represent a lasting investment. Their sound quality is so good that that they can be the core of a great system for years to come. They are superbly built and their construction is modular enough that any future repairs should be easy.

As I said at the start of this review, it is hard to described colorations you cannot actually hear. Yet I would much rather have gear that disappears into the music, and the rest of the system, than gear that highlights some special aspect of music. The Boulder 2150 and 2110 are consistently musically involving with any music I know of, and they are revealing of every aspect of the music and recording, without emphasizing any given aspect.

As for some kind of ranking relative to other top contenders, I no longer have both the Pass Xs preamp and Pass Xs 300 amplifier—and these are the only units I’ve ever reviewed that are good enough to make a fair comparison. Nuances at this level are so much a matter of personal taste that I really question their value. I’m sure I would hear some small differences in the soundstage, in the bass and midrange, and in treble air. At the same time, I really mean it when I say that the differences in sound between electronics of this caliber have reached the point where setup, choice in recordings, room interactions, and other external factor will do more to shape the sound.

And yes, I’m sure better designs will come in time, and I recognize the fact that others may prefer more euphonic components. But I’m amazed by the extent to which this new generation of the very best amps and preamps really does outpace the other elements in a high-end system and does approach the absolute sound.

Link do recenzji: Boulder 2150 – The Absolute Sound

Overall, my first listen immediately produced a reaction similar to when I first heard Boulder's 2110 preamplifier, which I reviewed two years ago—but to an even greater degree. The 2150s gripped the woofers of my Wilson Audio Specialties Alexandria XLFs (and, later, the Wilson Alexxes; review in the works) with greater clamping force than did my reference darTZeel NHB-458 monoblocks. I can't say the bass extension went further down or that bass definition increased (the NHB-458s perform really well there). But the punch and speed, the starting and stopping power, were definitely accelerated.

As with that 2110 preamp, everything, from top to bottom, tightened up through the 2150s—another good thing, because now the system spoke from one sonic perspective: with greater speed, transparency, and, to a lesser degree, resolution of detail than with my reference darTZeels.

The Boulder 2150 is a state-of-the-art powerhouse of an amplifier designed to impart little or none of its own character on the sound of the incoming signal. Boulder has accomplished this by engineering noise to an absolute measurable minimum. The 2150 did likewise with distortion and every other sonic parameter. Its 0 ohm, nonreactive output impedance ensures that its behavior won't vary, regardless of the electrical characteristics of the loudspeaker in use.

In other words, Boulder Amplifiers has done everything it can to achieve the goal of a blank slate: a product that makes the output signal much larger than the input signal, without in any way altering that signal's electrical and, therefore, audible characteristics. I'm confident that John Atkinson's measurements will confirm Boulder's published specs.

Assuming that Boulder has succeeded in all this means that a system's analog and digital source components (as well as the cables that link them) and the speakers that ultimately transduce signals into soundwaves will have the greatest effects on your system's final sound—because these amps will contribute the least. The remaining variable is probably the biggest: the sound quality of the recordings played. With the right associated gear, the best recordings will be allowed to express themselves as well as or better than you've ever heard them. The worst ones won't be able to hide in the shadows, because these amps cast none.

Based on having the pair of them in my system for an extended period of time, I conclude that Boulder Amplifiers' 2150 is a muscular, tonally neutral, all-controlling monoblock power amplifier capable of unrestricted macrodynamic excursions and, because of its vanishingly low noise floor, the most delicate and highly resolved explorations of microdynamics. The 2150's high level of transparency let me see into the sound as far as is possible, to pick out the smallest details of music and space.

The 2150's electrical stability produced well-controlled, ultra-solid, well-defined low-frequency response that was neither over- nor underdamped, and remarkably clean, precise, etch-free transient response from top to bottom. In fact, the 2150s' overall grip and control produced aural images and a solidity of soundstage that were, in my experience, second to none. The 2150 was "analytical" only in the sense that it added no sound of its own to the signals it was fed—but this means that the associated gear must be chosen with great care. Owners of 2150s must also be willing to accept the fact that some, or even many, of their favorite recordings don't sound so great.

Link do recenzji: Boulder 2150 – Stereophile

Link: Boulder 2110 – Stereophile – Product of the Year 2017

Link: Boulder 2150 – The Absolute Sound – Golden Ear 2015

Link: Boulder 2150 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2020

Link: Boulder 2150 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2020

Link: Boulder 2150 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2019

Link: Boulder 2150 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2019

Link: Boulder 2150 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2018

Link: Boulder 2150 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2018

Link: Boulder 2150 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2017

Link: Boulder 2150 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2017