Boulder 866 integrated is making the Magico A5s purr.....excellent mids and highs with good control, pace and rhythm. A great integrated amp, .Boulder got a winner here.
Am I the only one who's thinking it sounds more natural without the Stromtank? It has less of an etched sound and the bass on the second song also got a better groove. I think this really speaks for the quality of the power supply in the 866!
I'd imagine if you spent 25k on the A5s, you'd probably want an amp of equal measure, and an outboard DAC, etc., but this is a cool way to check out what the 866 has to offer. I'd imagine its main shortfall would be in the DAC (vs. the six figure? MSB stack). The 866 is what I'd consider square in the range of a potential end-game system for a lot of enthusiasts, and I love integrated/all-in-one components.
Not as "big" sounding as the big Boulders, but a bit sweeter. Bass not as developed as well. Not the first time an amplifier manufacturer's "smallest " amp sounds sweeter, smoother, more natural than it's big brothers. Especially with solid state. I'm not well versed in integrated amps, but the 866 is arguably the best solid state integrated I've heard. Good product. Might be the sleeper in Boulders line imo. Good alternative to separates imo. That's high praise.
Keep doing what you are doing Jay. This stuff is great. I can’t get enough. I second the other comment asking for a comparison clip versus the ultra system. Would be enlightening to have the reference front end directly comparable to the more budget friendly setup.
I really like that the 866 being Boulders Entry Level Equipment comes in at +/- $15,000 and has such a Superior Sound Signature! Jay, this is a Great starting point as a Reference for Future Comparisons in the Reasonable Price ranges that people have been asking for! Great Jump Off Point!
Jay: not sure i have heard anything from all your systems that sounds bad. Although I can not afford any of the equipment you bring to the channel, the good thing is I get to hear what my dreams are made of and that is worth the price of admission!!!! Thanks for letting all of us experience what true Ultra High End can sound like. I dream of such a system and then wake up in a cold sweet wondering what bank I have to rob to afford it all!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Thanks again for bringing to the channel what we all dream of.
Hi Jay, you’ve always said a separate amp and preamp always beats an integrated. Does this change your mind? Does the 866 also include the the streamer and dac?
Jay could you please compare the Boulder 866 to the new Bladelius Audio ODEN Integrated amp? Bladelius Audio or better known in the USA as THRSHOLD back in the 80's and 90's are making some of the very best gear now at any price ! I'm really shocked nobody has imported Bladelius Audio here in the USA yet ! I would love to see a Shoot-Out between these two amps ! I would love to see you compare Bladelius Audio Separates to your Best Reference System too ! 🤔
Don't know, but I like absence of power conditioning in this case, more focused and solid presentation! Overall, very solid presentation which has that equilibrium called synergy)
I heard an 866 at a friend's system with Focal speakers. I found it to sound stiff and etched compared to the Aesthetix he has had for several years. I think he agrees with me. It's probably that he and I both like the warmth of tubes
The 866 sounds excellent. It of course doesn't quite have the grip and control of the big Boulder, but it sounds very good with a clear family resemblance. Certainly worthwhile checking out if you don't have a spare $600K for the full complement of 3000-series components. 😁
both are good depending on what speakers you match with. Magico A series will definitely be better on 866 as they are lazy speakers in my opinion. Ri101mk2 is more mellow amp
I am not fully sure what to make of this "audio" recording. I am 1stly sure that it sounds markedly different in real life. As it sounds through YT however, bass while being fast and detailed seems to lack real oomph in lower end say below 45hz, maybe this is the track but I wonder? As well mids do not seem fleshy or fat but they are at least smooth and kind of there, trebles sound clear and high but also appear too lean for my taste, slightly missing some upper "meat on the bone" as it were and NO do not accuse me of mistaking the notorious midbass bump that engineers often include to make speakers sound better. I know my schitt audio lol. Anyhow just my 2 cents but unit does impress with the effortless ease (I know it can be pushed much harder) of driving the Magicos on this track and it seems to have very decent level of soundstaging and imaging accuracy. Cheers.
You can't use UA-cam for evaluation on sound quality. It's getting completely cruised by the compression and the use of very poor microphone. Try and run this clip via an audio analyser. You can see the distortion and compression all over the place. You can easily hear it to. Upper mids, lower treble and deep bass is distorted. That's why I never comment on how the sound is. Cause I would get a lot of hate for pointing it out.
@@AudioheavenDenmark I understand that but if you check out Zeos Pantera’s channel listen to his headphone and speaker demos. They are literally jaw-dropping. The sound is almost incomprehensibly good especially for YT
@@noseonscent1935 that's also a completely different way of recording. Sure it's possible to make great and very good recordings. Even on UA-cam. But it's not an easy task and it's very demanding. Hooking up an cell phone and push record is not gonna give you anything other than meeeh results.
Very similar to the first presentation, but to my ears sounds like 3-5 dbs lower than yesterday. If this presentation matches the first one in level then it appears that less current was being delivered with stock power cord. Otherwise very enjoyable presentation.
Don't you think it's time someone offer FULL DISCLOSURE and do a HEAVIEST HITTER POWER technologies available and possible video? Don't you think if you went on Blast as you say people could then really compare the very real various levels of quality of power and what's possible at the highest levels far beyond simply what you or others show? For everyone no more embarrassing lay down low performance high priced power products? It's easy to demonstrate what appears as or to be Superior performance when the Real STATE OF THE ART in power is being masked from a audience and showing and comparing only products that are at a margin of better performance but not showing the Technologies that performancewise will stomp all others? Does it not really potentially begins to appears like a rigged game across virtually the whole of the industry? I can truly say after decades of extremely financially successful ventures I could not be, nor was there ever the appearance of my positions proverbially being ever bought and paid for. My positions I held or reinforced financially backed what was PROVABLY truly best not what simply generated the most short term revenue while burning my trusting audiences or clients. Will this industry ever escape this perception of cons that so many comment about?, that so many are disgusted by? Will any real innovators come forward as being much more valued than simply a cheap salesperson or influencer? if this cannot change then as so many have stated the industry will realistically probably devolve further into more misinformed stooges which would be sad. Everyone gets a chance or multiple chances to stand up and do what's right. I look forward to seeing if the wagon can be serviced properly before the the wheels fall off and we loose a hobby and passion that so many Love.
What is up Jay? The quality of the equipment you have presented so far is beyond doubt and from from the obvious impression,you are a professional in the industry and it is quite an achievement to be able to afford the high prices and live comfortably, a level most will never have the privilege to enjoy or preferring stamping a stop sign on excess. You also have a dedicated space allocated enabling the release of a high level performance potential of your selected gear, another advantage a hobbyist is deprived of. Here is an observation deprived of profit making sensibilities, why overwhelm a budget speaker set (by your standards) with a front deserving hyper-expensive and damn great speakers? Which level of affordable audio speakers investments are capable of serving your stratospheric front end potential and synergistically impress your ears where subjective bias is king?
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Just wonderful!👍😊👏👏👏
Thank you jay this is incredible! i just watched your take on the 866 in the members section. cant wait for more comparisons!
Awesome for being a member of my website!!
The subtlety of 866 nicely glues the mids and lows of the A5. But the lightning fast highs of the A5 is still there.
Boulder 866 integrated is making the Magico A5s purr.....excellent mids and highs with good control, pace and rhythm. A great integrated amp, .Boulder got a winner here.
Am I the only one who's thinking it sounds more natural without the Stromtank? It has less of an etched sound and the bass on the second song also got a better groove.
I think this really speaks for the quality of the power supply in the 866!
Cristal clear sound. 3dr track very reflexive...throwed me back in past.. . Thank you.. Miss the Bass tone on all tracks...
Much better with the storm tank night and day for many thanks .now I need a storm tank.
Same here in my comments 😊
I'd imagine if you spent 25k on the A5s, you'd probably want an amp of equal measure, and an outboard DAC, etc., but this is a cool way to check out what the 866 has to offer. I'd imagine its main shortfall would be in the DAC (vs. the six figure? MSB stack). The 866 is what I'd consider square in the range of a potential end-game system for a lot of enthusiasts, and I love integrated/all-in-one components.
Not as "big" sounding as the big Boulders, but a bit sweeter. Bass not as developed as well. Not the first time an amplifier manufacturer's "smallest " amp sounds sweeter, smoother, more natural than it's big brothers. Especially with solid state. I'm not well versed in integrated amps, but the 866 is arguably the best solid state integrated I've heard. Good product. Might be the sleeper in Boulders line imo. Good alternative to separates imo. That's high praise.
Keep doing what you are doing Jay. This stuff is great. I can’t get enough. I second the other comment asking for a comparison clip versus the ultra system. Would be enlightening to have the reference front end directly comparable to the more budget friendly setup.
I really like that the 866 being Boulders Entry Level Equipment comes in at +/- $15,000 and has such a Superior Sound Signature!
Jay, this is a Great starting point as a Reference for Future Comparisons in the Reasonable Price ranges that people have been asking for! Great Jump Off Point!
Great sound with the A5
And stromgtank
I'm curious Jay, what do you do for a living to afford all this great gear ? I Hope this isn't to personal but I'm just curious.
Jay: not sure i have heard anything from all your systems that sounds bad. Although I can not afford any of the equipment you bring to the channel, the good thing is I get to hear what my dreams are made of and that is worth the price of admission!!!! Thanks for letting all of us experience what true Ultra High End can sound like. I dream of such a system and then wake up in a cold sweet wondering what bank I have to rob to afford it all!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Thanks again for bringing to the channel what we all dream of.
Hi Jay, you’ve always said a separate amp and preamp always beats an integrated. Does this change your mind? Does the 866 also include the the streamer and dac?
magnifico.💯💯💯💯💯💯
Cool
Jay could you please compare the Boulder 866 to the new Bladelius Audio ODEN Integrated amp? Bladelius Audio or better known in the USA as THRSHOLD back in the 80's and 90's are making some of the very best gear now at any price ! I'm really shocked nobody has imported Bladelius Audio here in the USA yet ! I would love to see a Shoot-Out between these two amps ! I would love to see you compare Bladelius Audio Separates to your Best Reference System too ! 🤔
Don't know, but I like absence of power conditioning in this case, more focused and solid presentation! Overall, very solid presentation which has that equilibrium called synergy)
Hi Jay, great sound !!!
I heard an 866 at a friend's system with Focal speakers. I found it to sound stiff and etched compared to the Aesthetix he has had for several years. I think he agrees with me. It's probably that he and I both like the warmth of tubes
Listening to this UA-cam Video through a Boulder 866. 😂
Sounds great!
The 866 sounds excellent.
It of course doesn't quite have the grip and control of the big Boulder, but it sounds very good with a clear family resemblance.
Certainly worthwhile checking out if you don't have a spare $600K for the full complement of 3000-series components. 😁
What a hulk of an integrated amp, maybe the heaviest I have personally ever seen or heard of. Dayamnnnnnn boy!
Awesome
boulder 866 able to wake lazy magico A5 up. Amazing amp!!
Yep
Boulder 866 or Pass labs 250,8 or Luxman x10 for YG Carmel 2 ? Sometimes they can be a little bit harsh on my NAD M33 that I have now .
What a difference compared with the powerconditioning, with the stromtank it’s far more refined, obvisiosly😊
And that's only the best at that level of power. It can still get so much better
sound like S7 before fully dialed in
Mids and highs sound great but the low end was kinda distorted. I would go with the Jeff Rowland for 1/2 the price
can you shoot some demos with the Sasha Daw and the big Boulders?
How you have the digital setup? Are you using the Taiko extreme hookup to the 866 internal DAC by ethernet or AES/BUS?
Taiko isn't here.
Vitus RI-101 MK2 🦁
It's a bit woolly in the bass and big difference in the first demo due to stromtank
Interesting
waiting comparison with the best from luxman (L595) and passlabs (int250).
I would like to hear the Boulder 866 vs the Vitus 101 mkll
both are good depending on what speakers you match with. Magico A series will definitely be better on 866 as they are lazy speakers in my opinion. Ri101mk2 is more mellow amp
I am not fully sure what to make of this "audio" recording. I am 1stly sure that it sounds markedly different in real life. As it sounds through YT however, bass while being fast and detailed seems to lack real oomph in lower end say below 45hz, maybe this is the track but I wonder? As well mids do not seem fleshy or fat but they are at least smooth and kind of there, trebles sound clear and high but also appear too lean for my taste, slightly missing some upper "meat on the bone" as it were and NO do not accuse me of mistaking the notorious midbass bump that engineers often include to make speakers sound better. I know my schitt audio lol. Anyhow just my 2 cents but unit does impress with the effortless ease (I know it can be pushed much harder) of driving the Magicos on this track and it seems to have very decent level of soundstaging and imaging accuracy. Cheers.
Thanks
You can't use UA-cam for evaluation on sound quality. It's getting completely cruised by the compression and the use of very poor microphone. Try and run this clip via an audio analyser. You can see the distortion and compression all over the place. You can easily hear it to. Upper mids, lower treble and deep bass is distorted. That's why I never comment on how the sound is. Cause I would get a lot of hate for pointing it out.
@@AudioheavenDenmark I understand that but if you check out Zeos Pantera’s channel listen to his headphone and speaker demos. They are literally jaw-dropping. The sound is almost incomprehensibly good especially for YT
@@noseonscent1935 that's also a completely different way of recording. Sure it's possible to make great and very good recordings. Even on UA-cam. But it's not an easy task and it's very demanding. Hooking up an cell phone and push record is not gonna give you anything other than meeeh results.
@@AudioheavenDenmark fully I agree!
less of everything 😅, the sound seems anemic after the removal of the stromtank
Very similar to the first presentation, but to my ears sounds like 3-5 dbs lower than yesterday. If this presentation matches the first one in level then it appears that less current was being delivered with stock power cord. Otherwise very enjoyable presentation.
Thanks
Don't you think it's time someone offer FULL DISCLOSURE and do a HEAVIEST HITTER POWER technologies available and possible video? Don't you think if you went on Blast as you say people could then really compare the very real various levels of quality of power and what's possible at the highest levels far beyond simply what you or others show? For everyone no more embarrassing lay down low performance high priced power products? It's easy to demonstrate what appears as or to be Superior performance when the Real STATE OF THE ART in power is being masked from a audience and showing and comparing only products that are at a margin of better performance but not showing the Technologies that performancewise will stomp all others? Does it not really potentially begins to appears like a rigged game across virtually the whole of the industry? I can truly say after decades of extremely financially successful ventures I could not be, nor was there ever the appearance of my positions proverbially being ever bought and paid for. My positions I held or reinforced financially backed what was PROVABLY truly best not what simply generated the most short term revenue while burning my trusting audiences or clients.
Will this industry ever escape this perception of cons that so many comment about?, that so many are disgusted by? Will any real innovators come forward as being much more valued than simply a cheap salesperson or influencer? if this cannot change then as so many have stated the industry will realistically probably devolve further into more misinformed stooges which would be sad.
Everyone gets a chance or multiple chances to stand up and do what's right. I look forward to seeing if the wagon can be serviced properly before the the wheels fall off and we loose a hobby and passion that so many Love.
It's richer in harmonics than your $600,000 system.
What is up Jay? The quality of the equipment you have presented so far is beyond doubt and from from the obvious impression,you are a professional in the industry and it is quite an achievement to be able to afford the high prices and live comfortably, a level most will never have the privilege to enjoy or preferring stamping a stop sign on excess. You also have a dedicated space allocated enabling the release of a high level performance potential of your selected gear, another advantage a hobbyist is deprived of. Here is an observation deprived of profit making sensibilities, why overwhelm a budget speaker set (by your standards) with a front deserving hyper-expensive and damn great speakers? Which level of affordable audio speakers investments are capable of serving your stratospheric front end potential and synergistically impress your ears where subjective bias is king?