Ano wyszło, naprawdę szybko, że Boulder to kawał phonostage’a. Może nie fizycznie, ale brzmieniowo jak najbardziej. Właściwie trudno mówić o niespodziance, bo każde ich urządzenie, jakie miałem okazję testować, było jednym z lepszych w swojej klasie cenowej. Jeśli więc tu można było mieć jakiekolwiek wątpliwości, to mogły one wynikać jedynie z zaskakująco niskiej (jak na tą markę!) ceny. Z drugiej strony jasne było, iż zarówno inżynierskie podejście Jeffa Nelsona, jak i fakt, że Boulder za długo pracował na swoją renomę, żeby pozwolić sobie na wypuszczenie słabego komponentu, sugerowały, że można było liczyć na ponadprzeciętną jakość dźwięku.

Już pierwsza płyta, po którą sięgnąłem, „Komeda Ahead”, na której zagrali bracia Olesiowie i Christopher Dell, pokazała charakterystyczny dla 508ki (i bardziej ogólnie dla Bouldera) charakter grania. Za każdym razem z produktem z ich logiem jest on bowiem uporządkowany, doskonale kontrolowany, pozbawiony najmniejszych choćby śladów nerwowości, czy innych podbarwień, bogaty w informacje podane w precyzyjny, przejrzysty, klarowny, ale i spójny sposób. Balans tonalny testowanego phono jest zdecydowanie neutralny, ale brzmienia, nawet przy sporej dawce złej woli, nie da się określić mianem zimnego, suchego, czy technicznego.

Kontrabas Marcina pokazany został przez Bouldera jako duży, mający sporą masę instrument z wielkim i więcej niż poprawnie wypełniającym swoją rolę pudłem rezonansowym. Schodził nisko, gdy była taka potrzeba, a na samym dole był naturalnie miękki. W innych fragmentach, gdy muzyk szybko szarpał za struny i zmniejszał się udział pudła, brzmiał bardziej sucho, w bardziej zwarty sposób. W obu fragmentach brzmiał jednakowoż równie prawdziwie i cały czas czarował dobrze oddaną barwą. Podobnie zresztą jak wibrafon Dell’a, który wypadał równie naturalnie, dźwięcznie, w którym, podobnie jak w kontrabasie, wybrzmienia odgrywały sporą rolę. Warte podkreślenia jest, iż 508ka równie dobrze jak wybrzmienia oddawała szybkie impulsy / uderzenia pałeczek bez trudu nadążając za muzykiem. Cała prezentacja była równa, spójna, przekazywanie prowadzenia między instrumentami i jednoczesne „wycofywanie” się pozostałych – wszystko to Boulder prezentował precyzyjnie, ale i absolutnie swobodnie.

Podobnie jak w przypadku rocka, tak i gdy przyszło do „dużego” grania, czy to symfonii Beethovena, oper Mozarta i Bizeta, czy w końcu ścieżki dźwiękowej z „Gladiatora”, rozmach i swoboda, z jaką muzyka były prezentowane z 508ką w zbalansowanym torze nie pozostawiały właściwie niczego do życzenia. Tu, w tak złożonych nagraniach, w końcu w większości przypadkach zaangażowane w wykonanie były orkiestry i chóry, owa pełna kontrola i wynikające z niej doskonałe uporządkowanie wydarzeń na scenie, były jeszcze ważniejsze niż przy mniejszych składach. W połączeniu z bardzo dobrą rozdzielczością zapewniającą dużą ilość informacji, owo uporządkowanie przekładało się na możliwość śledzenia wybranych grup instrumentów, czy ścieżek melodycznych, które były klarownie separowane od pozostałych. Przydawała się również umiejętność poprawnego prezentowania skali danego wydarzenia muzycznego, które w tych przypadkach potrafiło wypełniać dużą część przestrzeni mojego pokoju.

Boulder 508 może nie dorównywać wielkością i masą innym urządzeniom tej marki, tudzież cenowo lokować się wyraźnie niżej. Może nie dawać opcji dopasowania obciążenia i wzmocnienia do każdej wkładki indywidualnie, czy wybrania najlepszej krzywej korekcji dla danej płyty (tzn. zrealizowanej w innym niż RIAA standardzie). Tylko co z tego, chciałoby się zapytać. To nadal urządzenie wysokiej klasy o podobnym charakterze brzmienia i zbliżonym zestawie cech, jakie oferuje właściwie każdy znany mi komponent tej marki. Gra czysto, przejrzyście, dźwięk jest świetnie kontrolowany i poukładany, gdy trzeba dostaniemy z nim odpowiednią skalę i rozmach prezentacji. Z głośników płynie spójna, energetyczna prezentacja, dynamika jest więcej niż dobra, a brzmienie jest, jak to w przypadku Boulderów, neutralnie-muzykalne.

Link do recenzji: Boulder 508 – Hifiknights.com

Boulder 508 Phono to rasowy high-endowy przedwzmacniacz korekcyjny. Bardzo przemyślany, prosty w obsłudze, o zminimalizowanych funkcjach, a przy tym bezkompromisowy poprzez zastosowanie jedynie XLR-ów. Jednak – przede wszystkim – niezwykle atrakcyjny brzmieniowo i bezwzględnie wart sprawdzenia jako propozycja do stworzenia analogowego systemu bardzo wysokiej klasy.

Boulder gra dźwiękiem otwartym, dynamicznym i czystym. Emanuje z niego blask i energia. Pierwsze wrażenie jest spektakularne. Dla mnie to równoznaczne z zapaleniem się żółtego światła. Przekroczenie go z naiwną wiarą w jego trwałość może prowadzić do rozczarowania i ukrytego za najbliższym zakrętem końca przygody. Cierpliwie więc zmieniałem płyty...Doszukiwałem się podstępu. Wyczekiwałem zmęczenia, a jednak nic złego się nie zadziało. Bo tak po prostu gra 508. Jest jak kolejny krok w kierunku odkrywania zasobów systemu, a raczej jego mniej zaznaczonych, mniej oczywistych czy mniej dotychczas docenianych cech. Efektem tego wszystkiego jest doznanie, że muzyki na płytach jest jakby więcej.

Bas jest rozbudowany, mocny i schodzi naprawdę nisko. W swoim spektrum pozostaje wypełniony, bez śladu osuszenia. Potężny i muskularny, ma duży wolumen i potrafi pomasować mocnym podmuchem, chwilami odczuwalnym bardziej jako wibracje niż dźwięk. Jednak zawsze pozostaje kontrolowany. Nie wymyka się porządkowi muzyki. Jest odważny, czasem brawurowy, ale równocześnie zdyscyplinowany. Wielkie wrażenie zrobił na mnie fragment „Twin Peaks” z tematem „Into The Light”, zagranym na kontrabasie smyczkiem. Efekt jest akustycznie doskonały, detaliczny, zróżnicowany barwowo i opanowany dynamicznie. Niczego mu nie brakuje i podpisuję się pod tym stwierdzeniem pełnym imieniem i nazwiskiem.

Od analogowej średnicy oczekuje się często pozornie przeciwstawnych zdolności: magii i prawdy, buduarowego klimatu i skandynawskiej czystości, nasycenia i klarowności, ludzkiego ciepła i anielskiego blasku. W sumie, dlaczego nie? Odważę się też powiedzieć, że Boulder jest na to przygotowany. Poza umiejętnością grania prawdziwego, zgodnego z duszą różnorodnych gatunków muzycznych, oraz jakością samego nagrania, potrafi także odkrywać głębsze tajemnice muzyki, sięgać do emocji towarzyszących przecież nawet najwytrawniejszym profesjonalistom. Podpowiadać małe sekrety, ukazywać nawet dyskretne sztuczki wykonawców oraz realizatorów. Niewielka emfaza tu i tam, dociążenie cichszych fragmentów głosu, doświetlenie szemrań i delikatnych smagnięć perkusyjnych miotełek. Albo przeciwnie – demonstruje beznamiętną dyscyplinę. Słuchanie Bouldera przynosi więcej informacji. Nie rozprasza to słuchacza, a raczej angażuje w dogłębniejszą analizę nagrań. Doskonałą wiadomością, którą właśnie Wam przekazuję, jest to, że to działa w zróżnicowanym repertuarze. Starszy rock, underground, bardowie, klasyka ani wyśrubowane realizacyjnie samplery nie stanowią dla 508 Phono przeszkody. Wyciśnie z nich najdrobniejsze niuanse. 

Link do recenzji: Boulder 508 – Hi-Fi i Muzyka

Always one of my perennial favorites, the 1970 release of Cat Stevens’ Tea for the Tillerman contained one of his better-known hits, “Wild World.” This track is about the end of a relationship and, in Stevens’ case, the end of his involvement with then romantic interest Patti D’Arbanville. Stevens handles vocals and the acoustic guitar and, with the Boulder 508 in my system, the sounds of fingers on the fret board were easily heard. Stevens also plays a piano, which melds into the overall presentation with a high measure of ease and simplicity. The drums, while not overly dynamic, were also portrayed with sufficient power, speed and finesse to make them noticeable and caused my toes to start tapping. A double bass, congas and a tambourine rounded out the instruments on this popular track. The presentation was very clear, concise, and there was no congestion or distortion to mar the sonics. The Boulder 508 Phono Preamplifier made this track highly enjoyable by doing what it seems to do best, perform at a high level in spite of its more modest price.

Does the Boulder 508 Phono Preamplifier Have Any Resale Value? Perhaps a more relevant question is: can you name a Boulder component that does not have solid resale value? Additionally, can you name a Boulder component not highly sought after on the used gear market? Boulder gear has a history of products selling used in an almost immediate timeframe. In fact, even finding Boulder gear not multiple decades old on the used market is a pretty heady challenge. Given the modest cost of the Boulder 508 Phono Preamplifier, a minimum of 50 percent of retail price is completely expected. Because of their stellar reputation of performance and build quality, all Boulder gear, including this phonostage, should have little problem selling used, and for a premium price as well. 

While this component is somewhat inconsistent with the average size and cost of Boulder’s remaining product line, it is no less the same level of an overachiever. This phonostage does credit to the sterling reputation the Colorado-based manufacturer has enjoyed almost since their inception. It is very well-designed, very well-built, performs at a very high level and, best of all, is very moderately priced. Given the retail price of $5,000, the Boulder 508 Phono Preamplifier is, for any system of commensurate cost, an outstanding value/performance choice for a phonostage. 

In my system, it provided an exceptional rendering of LP excellence and a recreation of a high level of sonic quality. I expected a gain issue, due to the Boulder 508’s predetermined fixed output levels and no user adjustment. I also expected a significant level of hum, due to increasing the amplitude on the preamp necessary to compensate for the lack of gain. I expected the low output 0.2 mV cartridge to cause this phonostage to suffer a performance reduction. And, happily, not one of these things occurred. In fact, quite the opposite. What I discovered instead was, on album after album, sonic bliss. Clarity, accuracy and dynamics were consistent with any of the similarly-priced phonostages I have reviewed thus far. Imaging was equal to any phonostage I have had in my system, regardless of price. And the remarkable level of silence and very low SNR was, to coin a phrase – deafening …

It should not come as a surprise when I can highly recommend the Boulder 508 Phono Preamplifier. It has and does it all: competitive price for such a high-end component, excellent sonics, fabulous build quality and the pervasive consistency of quality and performance of all Boulder products. Anyone looking for a phonostage anywhere near this price class should audition this phonostage. I mean, after all, the Boulder name pretty much tells one everything one needs to know.

Link do recenzji: Boulder 508 – Future Audiophile

Personally, I found its appearance to be quite ingratiating; it didn’t take up much space on my new Stillpoints ESS rack and was dead quiet in operation. No hum, no buzz, no nothing. It just sat there like a quiet guest—until the needle dropped on the vinyl. Then came something else entirely.

Having recently auditioned the $52,000 Boulder 2108, I reckoned that the 508 would be a big step down in performance. It wasn’t. The first LP that I played on the TechDAS Air Force Zero turntable with a Graham Phantom Elite 12″ tonearm and a TechDAS TDCO1 cartridge was a Deutsche Grammophon recording of Narciso Yepes and Godelieve Monden playing Telemann guitar duos. This is a subtle record that takes far less dynamic wallop than delicate figurations and beautiful timbral shadings to make its point. Right from the outset, I was smitten by the 508’s ability to convey them. The exceptional linearity of the 508 manifested itself not as a dryness of sound, but as an ability to convey little details accurately against extremely black backgrounds. Another notable feature was the wide and deep soundstage. Once again, the clarity of the Boulder had a beneficent effect, not only allowing you to hear where the instrumentalists were positioned, but also how their plucks resounded into the hall. The sense of the ambient decay of the notes, particularly on the Sarabande section of the Partita in E major, came through vividly, as did the twang of the guitars on the Menuet that immediately follows the Sarabande. The 508 delivered a keen sense of the body of the guitar and the forcefulness of the performers in communicating with each other. In this regard, the absence of noise with the 508 was itself a striking development. What you don’t hear in high end can often be as important as what you do. In my experience, whether it comes to amplifiers or phonostages, this is an arena in which Boulder has always excelled.

Nonetheless, the linearity of the Boulder and its prowess in the bass region should not be underestimated. This came home to me in listening to the 45-rpm reissue of the South African musician Hugh Masekela’s “Stimela,” which is probably one of the most overplayed cuts at audio shows, but, heck, I like it. And it reveals a lot. What it revealed to me in this instance was the profound bass definition that the 508 delivers. The drum crescendos in “Stimela” were cleanly defined and propulsively powerful. I also noticed how clearly the 508 captured not only the huskiness of Masekela’s voice, but also how beautifully it rendered his enunciation of the song’s lyrics. It was as though they were etched in stone. Ditto for his playing on the flugelhorn. The way Masekela soared into the treble region, then issued plaintive wails was profoundly moving to listen to on my system. Boulder often gets knocked for delivering a sterile sound, but it’s a bum rap. This went right to the emotional essence of the music. Ditto for a Sackville label recording that I recently acquired called Three Is Company that features the jazz soprano saxophonist Jim Galloway, a remarkable musician who teamed up with the pianist Dick Wellstood for this album. This is traditional straight-ahead jazz and on lively numbers like “Minor Drag,” the 508 viscerally delivered the fast-paced excitement of the music. The 508 nailed the sometimes nasally and keening quality of Galloway’s soprano sax, while Pete Magadini serenely mans the drums, gently accompanying his peers.

To some extent, I’m scratching my head over the 508. It definitely marks new territory for Boulder, which rockets into the stratosphere when it comes to the pricing of amplifiers, phono- stages, and preamplifiers. Somehow the company has managed to cram into this small box a wealth of the attributes of its top-notch gear. It has done the same thing, incidentally, with its new 866 integrated amplifier, which I listened to for several months and which left me flabbergasted at what it delivers. The 508 is a fine piece of equipment that is at home in any high-quality system and is likely to elevate the vinyl performance of not a few. For anyone considering a solid-state phonostage in this price level, auditioning it isn’t an option but a must.

Link do recenzji: Boulder 508 – The Absolute Sound

Starting with the Ortofon MC Jubilee moving-coil, it was clear that the 508 is one very fine-sounding phono stage. While essentially neutral in character, its standout feature is its gloriously clean and detailed top-end. I was also aware from the off just how quiet it is. Not only in terms of background hiss or hum, but how tolerant it is of vinyl surface noise. This meant that low-level detail retrieval was excellent.

What's more, the mid and fine treble performance was complemented perfectly by the way the unit handled bass. The 508 dug deep, with a punchy and detailed low-end that missed absolutely nothing. With simple double-bass lines, I could hear every single pluck of string, every movement of finger upon fretboard and the decay of each note through the instrument's body. And all this without the 508 ever losing sight of the overall tune. The unit may have the ability to dissect a recording with impressive precision, but it certainly knows how to put it all back together again before it reaches your ears.

Switching to a moving-magnet cartridge, I repeated the test tracks only to realise that the notes I had made when using the MC designs were still spot-on. While the two different sections of a good many phono preamps often exhibit dissimilar voicing, the resemblance of the MM and MC 'halves' of the 508 was startling.

Admittedly, I had mainly been using two Ortofon models, which have a family resemblance, but the differences I was hearing were clearly down to the cartridges themselves, and their differing generators and stylus profiles. The character of the 508 remained resolutely fixed regardless of whether MM or MC was selected. Which is most impressive.

The Boulder 508 is an easy phono stage to recommend. It boasts clarity, low noise and a consistency across MM and MC that makes it a hugely enjoyable listen. If there's a drawback it's that there are other phono stages offering greater flexibility at a lower price, but if the features here cover your needs then the 508 should be high on your 'must hear' list. Simplicity and purity are its watchwords.

Link do recenzji: Boulder 508 – Hi-Fi News

I’ll do my best. However, Boulder sums it up on their website, saying, “Where the 2008 was pure excess, the 508 is pure efficiency.” If you could go to the Porsche dealer and just buy a 911 with the engine, the body, suspension and one seat, that’s what you’re looking at here. Nothing to take away from the analog experience. Just high performance. Where other Boulder phono preamplifiers are one or two large chassis components, with multiple inputs (and the switching circuitry that goes along with) the 508 features one single, mega quality input with minimal loading and gain options. But it’s damn good. Finally, the case is machined out of the same high- grade aluminum, bead blasted and anodized with the same tools and process as every other Boulder component. No corners have been cut in execution.

This is a Boulder, and their stuff is built to last. Listening to more reference material, tracks used for decades cements my impression of the 508. There’s so much low-level detail present, and the soundscapes rendered, so large, I can’t help but think I am listening to a much more expensive component during the audition of the 508. And the rock-solid pace that this preamp delivers, keeping everything in the mix sorted with its unique space is breathtaking. Run of the mill LPs sound like limited edition pressings, and the delicious records are beyond.

This might be your last If the Boulder 508 phono stage is your first phono stage, you might not appreciate just how good it indeed is, and what an incredible value it represents. If you’re a somewhat seasoned analog enthusiast, who thought this level of sound was out of your reach and can work with a single input and limited adjustability, raise your fist in the air.

Nothing else we’ve ever reviewed comes close to the Boulder 508 in sheer sonic prowess for $5,000. Like every other Boulder product I’ve ever heard, the 508 does an incredible job of achieving what I consider perfect neutrality. It doesn’t sound like tubes, transistors, JFETs, anything. It just lets the music pass through. If this sounds like your little slice of heaven, get down to a Boulder dealer and audition the 508. I suspect you will be as smitten as I am. Though the bulk of the review listening was done in system two (listed below) putting the 508 in my main reference system proves equally enthralling. Stepping up from the Luxman/Kiseki combination to the Brinkmann Bardo/RoNT/Koetsu Jade Platinum and the Grand Prix Audio Parabolica/TriPlanar/ Atlas tables still has the 508 delivering class-leading performance.

In addition to giving the Boulder 508 one of TONEAudio’s Exceptional Value Awards for 2018, and thinking it’s quite possibly the best value in money no object phono stages ever, I have purchased the review sample and plan on living with this for years to come, maybe decades. Only a company like Boulder that handles every aspect of production from start to finish in-house (and they are one of a very short list of companies in the world that do) could make something this incredible for this price. Highly recommended. – Jeff Dorgay

Link do recenzji: Boulder 508 – TONE Audio

I have had a fair amount of experience with Boulder gear and I have always enjoyed its neutral presentation. Boulder gear does not colour the sound but strives to present what it is given with great presence and dynamics. Resolution is very clear. I opted to begin with the 1970 Polydor live album of Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen. ‘Feelin’ Alright’ has always offered great energy and power right off the vinyl and the 508 acquitted itself as expected. The sound was visceral and very organic. The horn section was brassy and powerful. This is a large band and choir and the soundstage reflected the expansive scale of the production. Joe Cocker is one performer I never had the chance to see live and the 508 delivered an electric performance off of this very well engineered album that is likely as close I will ever get to being there under the circumstances.

Gerry Rafferty’s City to City [United Artists Group] is a soundtrack of your life record that I have enjoyed for forty-two years. It is not so much a collection of ten songs as a two-sided bounty of memories. Playing ‘Baker Street’ and ‘Right Down the Line’ back to back brought back the summer of 1977 in clear definition. This was perhaps the finest rendition of these songs I have heard on this original vinyl release through any stereo system. The signature saxophone on ‘Baker street’ had soul and swing alongside the rasp of the reed as the song queued up visions of lonely early morning streets after a summer rain. Images of lives in twilight come to the fore in this poignant song. When a piece of gear can put you inside the music, that is the goal and the fulfilment of listening. The 508 with its simplified yet refined and sophisticated design delivers the goods with aplomb.

I have a first-class phono stage – the well regarded Simaudio Moon 610LP – and it is, in a word, superb. It also offers a ton of loading settings and short signal paths that I can use for a myriad of cartridge reviews. Consequently, I am very pleased with what I have. However, the 508 gave me pause. If I were simply enjoying my system without new gear rotating in and out, I would be more than tempted to make a switch. The 508 is that special. It is, in the world of Boulder products, an actually affordable device. A four-figure bargain designed by one of the world’s leading aspirational brands. No corners were cut, and yet signal paths were shortened, and circuits were refined. The result is a unit I will unequivocally recommend. Take time and give it a listen. You may very well keep it.

Link do recenzji: Boulder 508 – Hi-Fi+

The Boulder 508 reveals dynamic response and instantaneous capabilities quite surprising and unimaginable from its chic and sober look. And yet it responds with timing and energy at the slightest solicitation and impulse for the sheer pleasure of the listener who is willing to listen a little deeper into the work and interpretation. The execution and clarity of individual notes are first-class.

The immediacy and spontaneity felt in the sound stage offered to us is vast and perfectly proportionate and is clearly revealed in the message returned by the Boulder. The precise placement of images in space allows you to locate any chair during a classical performance or a pop/rock performer, live or in studio.

In two words or a hundred, it is rigor, transparency, and neutrality that probably best define the musical spirit of this Boulder phono preamplifier. The balance is exceptionally linear, the high resolution very powerful, even when connected in unbalanced mode with adapters, and it never falls into the surgical or emaciated character that can result from the use of transistor circuits.

Able to be quick as lightning, it also knows when to be subtle and delicate on the most moving pianissimo. The drama of Lea Dessandre’s voice on “Venezia” from the album Citiesby Thibault Cauvin is a perfect illustration.

The Boulder 508 is the perfect example of a design made with the essential bare necessities. This is not a simple style exercise but well and truly a new product that aims to make achievements from one of the best audio manufacturers of the 21stcentury more accessible.

The build quality, just like the aesthetics, conform to the very demanding quality standards of the manufacturer. Musically, the 508 captivates with its precision, its transparency, and its sweetness.

Boulder grand cru.

Link do recenzji: Boulder 508 – Haute Fidélité

The Boulder coupled this neutrality with what I consider a key but often overlooked essential ensuring the listener’s involvement in the music: It was happy being a sonic chameleon, never calling attention to itself. Instead of goosing up the highs or lows, or generating other types of whiz-bang sonic fireworks, the hi-fi gear I’m usually most fond of does its best work by letting the music speak for itself and letting me listen into the sound.

Equally as impressive as the Boulder’s neutrality was its supreme silence: In terms of background and self-noise, the 508 is the quietest phono stage to have passed through my system. Small-scale recordings, such as a reissue of Leonid Kogan and Elisabeth Gilels’s 1964 disc of sonatas for two violins by Leclaire, Telemann, and Ysaÿe (LP, EMI SAX 2531/Electric Recording Company ERC008), let me hear how well the 508’s noiselessness allowed delicately nuanced passages to bloom from silence with greater microdynamic detail and subtlety. If you’re looking for a phono stage with which you can fully enjoy more intimate music and/or music at lower volume levels, the Boulder 508 should be right up your alley.

That’s not to say the 508 couldn’t do macrodynamics as well: Given the right source material, it was capable of blowing down the walls. In “Malletoba Spank,” from Duke Ellington’s Jazz Party in Stereo (LP, Columbia/Classic CS 8127), the Boulder deftly moved from forte to fortississimo (fff) with ease, delivering hair-raising doses of explosive impact and drama when called for. While not quite as dynamically expressive as the best phono stages I’ve heard, the 508 was still plenty satisfying in this regard, and would likely exceed the capabilities of most systems it’s likely to be paired with.

Being primarily a tube guy, I was a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed the Boulder 508, which won me over with its well-considered design and highly refined sound. It’s undoubtedly the most neutral phono stage I’ve ever used, and its cleanly rendered coherence, fine expression of dynamics, and convincing rhythm and timing help make it a component whose overall sound quality is greater than the sum of its parts. That it’s able to deliver this level of refinement without erring on the side of sterility or blunted musicality is a testament to Boulder’s engineering expertise and excellence of execution; that Boulder can wrap it up in such a gorgeous and finely finished enclosure for $5000 only underlines that testament.

This combination of attributes makes the Boulder 508 unique among phono preamplifiers in its price range; that alone should make this little wonder a tantalizing prospect for vinyl-loving audiophiles. I’m hard-pressed to think of any caveats other than the 508’s lack of flexibility. But to those looking for a straightforward, fuss-free phono preamplifier that prioritizes sound quality, I say put the Boulder 508 at the very top of your audition list: It’s my top choice in a solid-state phono stage at or near $5000.

Link do recenzji: Boulder 508 – SoundStage! Hi-Fi

First, the Boulder 508 is a supremely quiet phono preamp. No noise or residual hum. Good start!

Nashville Obsolete is warm, pure, and unprocessed to a fault, some tracks featuring strings recorded at Royal Sound in Memphis. A warm-sounding phono preamp and/or cartridge would probably swamp the sound. The 508 allowed the innermost low-level details to emerge and presented the guitars, mandolin, and fiddle with "just right" attack and sustain; those elements sounded convincing against a noticeably superquiet background. Rawlings' and Welch's vocals were especially believable, presented with holographic realism in the somewhat distant-sounding mix.

In recent years, I've done most of my listening through either the CH Precision P1 phono preamp with X1 power supply or the combination of Ypsilon's MC16 step-up transformer and VPS100 phono pre. In many ways, the 508 splits the spectral difference between the detail of the CH and the richness of the Ypsilon. In terms of instrumental timbres and textures and overall resolution, I was able to hear into the orchestra as well through the 508 as through the far more costly phono preamps.

The 508 didn't produce the full size and scale the others manage, but it's plenty big; likewise, while the 508's dynamic slam is somewhat restricted compared to those, it still offers plenty. The more I listened to the 508, the more I appreciated its subtle balance of attractive (overall) strengths with only minor acts of omission that separate it from far more expensive phono preamps. It's not splashy or flashy, and it doesn't add to the picture the sorts of "wow" flavors to which some listeners are drawn at first—and then later can't help but hear and dislike. (We've all been through that at one time or another.)

With the 508 phono preamplifier, Boulder stakes a strong claim to the "affordable" end of high-performance audio. Are "affordable" line-level preamps and amplifiers coming soon?

Link do recenzji: Boulder 508 – Stereophile

Link: Boulder 508 – Hi-Fi i Muzyka – Nagroda Roku 2019

Link: Boulder 508 – Hi-Fi News – Highly Commended

Link: Boulder 508 – TONE Audio – Exceptional Value Award 2018

Link: Boulder 508 – Haute Fidélité – Reference

Link: Boulder 508 – The Absolute Sound – Editors' Choice 2023

Link: Boulder 508 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2023

Link: Boulder 508 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2022

Link: Boulder 508 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2022

Link: Boulder 508 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2021

Link: Boulder 508 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2021

Link: Boulder 508 – Stereophile – Recommended Components 2020