That is one awesome looking machine! Love the network connectivity. That minimalist front panel rocks, so do those external heat sinks. That touch screen, and app really make adjustments convenient. Enjoy it man!
I went a different route to combine my ht and stereo. I use a Marantz processor for ht and a Balanced Audio Technology tube preamp amp for stereo which feed a pair of musical Fidelity mono amps. I just switch the xlr cables
Boulder 866, what other integrated amps are it's competition ?? Gryphon 300 is one I know but there has to be others with same 200+ wpc worth checking out. I dont like that this has no volume knob, I would struggle with that, having to always do via remote.
So....how does it sound? "sound like a million bucks" doesn't tell me much. Did you try it with any analog sources? What speakers did you test it with? I mean anyone can tell ya a $14k integrated amp sounds great, more details would be appreciated.
i would have to agree, at least at the price point. astonishing product. i sold the gryphon diablo 300, which was fake sounding and way too fast, for this boulder 866 which is more versatile and far more natural. i also found the gryphon dealers to be horrendous, at least in southern california. extremely full of it, not professional. boulder was the opposite. not to mention, MADE IN AMERICA, all components made in house. simply an astonishing brand and product. the fact that this thing costs what it does makes it the ultimate no brainer for a living room solid state system. i had to ditch all my racks and vinyl after having kids, this product is truly a godsend. the only thing they didn't do was include a remote. this amp is such an incredible value, and it just works really well. the updates work. the roon works. also sounds great with the boulder phono pre.
Same thoughts. This unit is really really good with "slower" speakers or just a dynamics machine with fast speakers. The value is insane. I compared this with the Naim Uniti Nova and its Like day and night... The control it has over bigger woofers is insane.
I'm sure it's awesome, as well as it ought to be at that price. A couple of things REALLY stand out to me as detriments, though. No 5 way binding posts. No RCA jacks for legacy analog equipment. Only 3 analog inputs. $14,000? Yikes. Honestly, it would not be for me....nice review, though.
you can keep your RCA's. this is a state of the art, internal DAC, roon streaming device, all in one. simply astonishing. $14K is nothing considering what's inside. you're not getting a DAC anywhere near this for under $5K. this amp is a bargain. every single component made in house, made in america. bargain.
that was an extremely utterly poor review. It told me absolutely nothing about the amplifiers perceived sound quality performance and perceived sound characteristics of the amplifier, in which characteristics of sound including rhythmic capability, timing, transparency, resolution, detail, colour, smoothness, naturalness etc etc and so on of the attributes of the amplifiers perceived capabilities when paired with different source equipment and loudspeakers. Top of the tree, i don't think you or anyone can claim such a thing 🤔 . You obviously do not know how to review any piece of audio equipment in terms of telling people how the piece of equipment performs and reacts when paired with other different audio equipment situations, when paired with different source equipment and loudspeakers 🤔 .
it may me better than the mc152 mcintosh im prob. gonna buy..but its as ugly as-SIN...IT LOOKS LIKE A FREEKEN..YEP-PHONE!!!N...IM ALOT OF THINGS..BUT NOT A ..PHONE-GUY!!!NOT A CHANCE!!!NUFF-SAID!!!LEARN 2 PUT THE PHONE-DOWN!!!
It's not the worlds best integrated. The Boulder is great, but i do prefer Diablo 300. The worlds best might be the Danish Aavik I-880 integrated amplifier at 70000$
@@JilesMcCoy I heard the Aavik at the Florida Audio Expo with $100K Borrensen stand mount speakers. I can't say I'd prefer it over the Boulder. However, if I had the money I'd pick the $150K VAC. But the Boulder would do just fine.
@@henriksrensen3220 Hello, I am writing to you from Peru, and I actually want to buy The Gryphon Diablo 300. Please, can you explain to me why you prefer the Diablo 120 over Diablo 300? thank you.
This unit is outstanding!
If its price was 5k, would you rave as much? Or in general, is the raving directly proportional to the price?
That is one awesome looking machine! Love the network connectivity. That minimalist front panel rocks, so do those external heat sinks. That touch screen, and app really make adjustments convenient. Enjoy it man!
Thanks. I really enjoyed that piece of gear. Wish I still had it!
so did you actually listen to it ? could you describe the sound other than its amazing ?
This is a great amp but I would LOVE to see you compare it to the new $12.5K Bladelius Audio ODEN Integrated amp...
Have them send one over.
I would love to see an unbiased review of this amp!
Once you use the unit you cant be unbiased ;-)
I went a different route to combine my ht and stereo. I use a Marantz processor for ht and a Balanced Audio Technology tube preamp amp for stereo which feed a pair of musical Fidelity mono amps. I just switch the xlr cables
Which XLR cables do you swap? From what to what?
@@FransKeylard from the main L:R outputs from my Marantz Processor to the outputs of my BAT tube preamp. The xlr cables feed my mono amps
Thank you for a great review!
Glad it was helpful!
Boulder 866, what other integrated amps are it's competition ?? Gryphon 300 is one I know but there has to be others with same 200+ wpc worth checking out. I dont like that this has no volume knob, I would struggle with that, having to always do via remote.
We answered this question in our Hifi Mafia livestream earlier today. Check it out.
So....how does it sound? "sound like a million bucks" doesn't tell me much. Did you try it with any analog sources? What speakers did you test it with? I mean anyone can tell ya a $14k integrated amp sounds great, more details would be appreciated.
Thanks for watching. For this piece I would recommend checking it out in person.
If this Amp drive ATC SCM 20 , what your comment on it? Please 😅
No problem with those at all.
I love Vitus SIA 30
Id love to hear it!
@@JilesMcCoy I've heard the Vitus SIA 30. Very comparable to Boulder. Jiles you need to get to the EXPOs.
i would have to agree, at least at the price point. astonishing product. i sold the gryphon diablo 300, which was fake sounding and way too fast, for this boulder 866 which is more versatile and far more natural. i also found the gryphon dealers to be horrendous, at least in southern california. extremely full of it, not professional. boulder was the opposite. not to mention, MADE IN AMERICA, all components made in house. simply an astonishing brand and product. the fact that this thing costs what it does makes it the ultimate no brainer for a living room solid state system. i had to ditch all my racks and vinyl after having kids, this product is truly a godsend. the only thing they didn't do was include a remote. this amp is such an incredible value, and it just works really well. the updates work. the roon works. also sounds great with the boulder phono pre.
I love it too. Wish I had one permanently for my 2 channel set up.
Same thoughts. This unit is really really good with "slower" speakers or just a dynamics machine with fast speakers. The value is insane. I compared this with the Naim Uniti Nova and its Like day and night... The control it has over bigger woofers is insane.
To me the Gryphon Diablo 300 is better sounding. To say that the Diablo 300 is too "fast" sounding is nonsense, and makes Zero sense
@@henriksrensen3220 did you compare both amps? What Speakers?
@@AudiolandCH Audiovector R6 Arreté
Tool, nice
They are great!
I'm sure it's awesome, as well as it ought to be at that price. A couple of things REALLY stand out to me as detriments, though. No 5 way binding posts. No RCA jacks for legacy analog equipment. Only 3 analog inputs. $14,000? Yikes. Honestly, it would not be for me....nice review, though.
Thanks for watching!
you can keep your RCA's. this is a state of the art, internal DAC, roon streaming device, all in one. simply astonishing. $14K is nothing considering what's inside. you're not getting a DAC anywhere near this for under $5K. this amp is a bargain. every single component made in house, made in america. bargain.
It's good but far from being the best, the absolute best one is the Audionet Humboldt it ha no competition at any price!
I want to try that one out for sure.
and that thing will depreciate like a rock, the boulder will not. boulder is in a league of their own.
Damn give me one I would Like to compare it.
Hahaha 🤣, you are absolutely joking aren't you, no such thing as the best, never even mind you can claim such a thing 🤣 .
is this Class A biased? at what power is class A?
I think it is AB. Don't believe you can run these streaming amps in Class A.
I’m looking for the best
Join the club!
Unbiased? I think not.
You should think again.
that was an extremely utterly poor review. It told me absolutely nothing about the amplifiers perceived sound quality performance and perceived sound characteristics of the amplifier, in which characteristics of sound including rhythmic capability, timing, transparency, resolution, detail, colour, smoothness, naturalness etc etc and so on of the attributes of the amplifiers perceived capabilities when paired with different source equipment and loudspeakers. Top of the tree, i don't think you or anyone can claim such a thing 🤔 . You obviously do not know how to review any piece of audio equipment in terms of telling people how the piece of equipment performs and reacts when paired with other different audio equipment situations, when paired with different source equipment and loudspeakers 🤔 .
Thanks for watching!
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌
Not a very realistic purchase for 99.999% of us..
Agreed, but it is awesome!
This is real beast❤️
Thanks!
it may me better than the mc152 mcintosh im prob. gonna buy..but its as ugly as-SIN...IT LOOKS LIKE A FREEKEN..YEP-PHONE!!!N...IM ALOT OF THINGS..BUT NOT A ..PHONE-GUY!!!NOT A CHANCE!!!NUFF-SAID!!!LEARN 2 PUT THE PHONE-DOWN!!!
This is my go to integrated. The AMC is super nice too!!! I’d love to hear how you like it when you have it.
Mac
It's not the worlds best integrated.
The Boulder is great, but i do prefer Diablo 300.
The worlds best might be the Danish Aavik I-880 integrated amplifier at 70000$
Probably not... the Aavik. But maybe. Ive not spent a lot of time with one.
@@JilesMcCoy I heard the Aavik at the Florida Audio Expo with $100K Borrensen stand mount speakers. I can't say I'd prefer it over the Boulder. However, if I had the money I'd pick the $150K VAC. But the Boulder would do just fine.
P.S.-The Boulder is probably the best or close to the best streaming integrated amp.
@@sandman7849 Boulder is great, but Gryphon is great too.
I love my Diablo 120.
I actually prefer the Diablo 120 over the Diablo 300.
@@henriksrensen3220 Hello, I am writing to you from Peru, and I actually want to buy The Gryphon Diablo 300. Please, can you explain to me why you prefer the Diablo 120 over Diablo 300? thank you.